Five Years a Writer

Way back in 1997, when I was mid-career toiling in the trenches of corporate writing, I was desperate for some professional development. I wanted a shot in my career arm by learning from someone with deeper skills and broader experience in the writing field than I then possessed. It was a tall order, because I didn’t want a full-length program; I didn’t want a PR, marketing or advertising focus. I wanted the teaching to be laser focused on the craft of writing. Where to find that in a market of certificate- and diploma-length programs, all of which danced around the edges of capital-W writing? What is the perfect course for a writer? When I eventually landed on two options, offered through a local university’s continuing education division, I was afraid my no-nonsense boss would turn down my funding request. Would she see the transferable value — for both me and the organization — in a creative writing class and a creative non-fiction class? As it turns out, she did, signed off on both