What I’ll Be Doing This Summer – Raising the Roof results

Many thanks to all those who took part in the polls about what sorts of things you’d like me to teach over summer. I’ve learned a couple of things, which I will share with you, oh gentle readers.

1. Don’t ever ask a question without being fully ok with recieving every one of the possible answers. Giving the option of saying “doesn’t appeal” made perfect sense when I put the polls together. I hadn’t quite factored in my own reaction to seeing that response come up as often as it did. A little part of me started whimpering like a puppy beside a slowly spreading puddle.
2. There is very little demand for a whole day on Reading for Writing. This was the only class which had more people saying Hell No than Yes Please. Almost twice as many. In fact you could take any other two options and add their “doesn’t appeal” numbers together, and still not beat that score. The whimpering puppy has been joined by a kitten in a boot.
3. Don’t expect to get a lot of help in making the decsions. Other than a reasonably strong desire to attend Poetic Turns in January, you didn’t really give me much guidance. The only other thing I can gather is that you’ve all got other plans for February 3rd. The kitten’s boot has just fallen over. Into the puddle.
4. It’s all up to you, Captain. Whatever I choose, it’ll please and disappoint a similar number of people. So I simultaneously can’t win, but also can’t lose. In which case, I may as well please myself. (But not do Option 4. Sigh!) So … the boot turns out to be waterproof, and the kitten leaps to dry ground.

So we will be having a two-day Poetic Turns class on January 20th and 21st. That one should make quite a few of you happy. The February classes are going to be two one-off, single-day writing workshops. I won’t repeat material, so you can come to either Saturday, or Sunday, or both. Why two single-days, rather than one two-day? Because I want to thow it open to as many people as possible, and this way I’m not ruling out anyoe who works on Saturdays! It gives me the maximum amount of flexibility, and means we can spend a decent chunk of time on each exercise. (Just imagine: half an hour of writing time, rather than fifteen to twenty minutes … you won’t know what to do with yourselves!)

I don’t yet have the costs completely worked out, but will try to get funding to keep them down to something manageable. So stay tuned. Or if you already know that you plan to come, send me an email to enroll yourself! (And if you aren’t on my class mailing list but would like to be, send me an email!)