Great teacher and great course!

Good learning experience

Interesting course, great teacher! This is the third course out of 5 I am currently studying and every course is really unique. This one was full of reading tasks, references to the great works of literature and gave many "must read" lists for me which I find very helpful. The story we read during first module blew my mind since it was so accurate with regards to the discussed topic. With regards to the peer assessments - finally I've got 3/3 normal, constructive criticism for one of my assignments! (This was the first time from the beginning of my learning, 1 our of 12 assignments). For 2 of 4 assignments I've received inspiring "Si" as a review :) Nevertheless, the material of the course is interesting. I would definitely recommend it to everyone who is interested in writing.

This is the third course in the specialization. While I have enjoyed all three modules, I learned the most from this one.

The first three weeks are very effectively focused on the course theme, setting and description--why it is an essential component of story-telling, what constitutes significant detail, and how to "research" to find the detail to include. The videos in the final week (on genre and historical fiction) wander a bit from the central theme, but are certainly relevant to issues of setting and description.

The four exercises are interesting and challenging. In addition, they are nicely varied and all clearly related to the theme.

Amity is a wonderful lecturer and interviewer, and I look forward to reading some of her work.

Ms. Gaige is compelling because she is genuine in communication rather than the slightly pedantic tone of the others in this specialization. I'm not saying that they are poor teachers; all are very useful. But Ms. Gaige does not seem compelled to bring to the student some new, golden insight that although almost ineffable, is critically important. She addresses more practical issues and the more abstract implications for writers in a naturally developing way. The viewer ends up discovering more for oneself - which makes things stick - than with the models and mnemonic lists (Triangle, ABDCE) that one has to make their own connection rather than having it come from the learner.

1,000 thanks Ms. Gaige.

There is a lot of talk in writing groups about setting and description, feelings that it needs to be more concise, less descriptive, don't use adjectives, etc. It was refreshing to hear and learn about the important roles these two things play in fiction. This course focused on how to incorporate setting and description effectively and how to structure it in order to entice the reader to read further, because the reader wants to know more about the world the characters inhabit. Characters in a novel, just as in real life, are affected by their environment. I enjoyed the course and the activities assigned. I already feel like I am a better writer for having taken this course.

Of the three courses I've done so far, this was the most challenging. The assignments had me introspecting on past experiences. I've realized that setting and description is my area of weakness in creative writing and this course showed me how weak I was. But I tried my best and the comments that I got during the per reviews were encouraging. I think having a review from an experienced writer would boost a student's confidence tremendously, so could the creator of the programme please consider it. The tutor, Amity Gaige, did an amazing job leading through the four sessions; she was a tremendous help in preparing us for our weekly assignments. Kudos to you, Amity Gaige.

I think it was a wonderful course. Totally worth any writer's time! The instructor is amazing and, the assignments and peer reviews really give an opportunity to the writer to hon their skills! I, personally, was motivated to regularly write and work on my drafts because the video lectures helped me identify a lot of my areas of development. This is my favorite course of this specialization (and craft of style as well). Everything that the instructors talk about in these courses is very practical when it comes to writing fiction. I can certainly vouch for the fact that after taking these courses, I have improved as a writer. What better can one ask for!

I loved Amity Gaige, the class materials and additional readings. Very very good, but there has to be a better way to grade/give feedback. The lack of feedback is infuriating after spending time writing and editing.

You need to tighten up your cyber-security. It looks like people are communicating using Coursera as a portal. Could be extremely dangerous.

It is a shame the classes are not monitored and discussions from 2-5 years ago are left in a current 2023 class. Really needs cleaned up. I was also left to review stories from 2018. Would be so much more helpful to be able to communicate with a smaller group of dedicated students.

Great follow-up course to "The Craft of Plot." As a side note, those auditing this creative writing series from Wesleyan University must choose one of their paid routes of they desire to turn in assignments and get feedback from classmates. I guess this is the new course structure for specialized topics on the Coursera platform. The inability to turn in assignments was of little concern to me, but it may disappoint some, so I thought I'd mention it. Otherwise, at the very least, you'll have a firmer understanding and appreciation for crafting detailed settings and descriptions after auditing this course.

Out of all of the five courses for Creative Writing, this is my favorite one. Amity Gaige teaches how to use the five senses to describe a physical location in your story. She gives in-depth advice on creating rich descriptive locales by teaching you how to make a reader 'experience' your world through sensuous writing. After learning how to craft a plot and build a character, the next step is to immerse the reader into your world and story. This course teaches you how to do exactly that. I found it very insightful. Thank you, Amity, and thank you Coursera.

This gentle lecturer asked for what were, for me, the toughest assignments so far (I've previously completed Plot and Character), possibly because, as a multi-cultural person/identity, my sense of place is rooted in people, no geographies. My top of mind takeaways are the notions of significant detail, of nothing happening nowhere, of authenticity of significant detail through the eyes of the observer - the litmus test. It's also a course I especially treasure, because a few of its assignments helped me remember childhood details I'd thought forgotten.

Great course and well taught. This is the 3rd course I finish from the Creative Writing Specialization. My writing has greatly improved as well as my ability to do peer reviews with meaningful observations and critique which I have put into practice in Writing Your First Novel as well (that course is more of a capstone than a real course though). I STRONGLY recommend this specialization by Wesleyan. I only wish the staff was more involved with the course rather than leaving it as passive income. Congratulations to the instructor on her latest novel.

Sophisticated, enlightening, and very helpful are some of the words with which I can describe this course. I used to dislike having to describe so much, but now I have an insight of what to describe and how to describe only what matters to the story.

Amity Gaige is an amazing instructor, and it's impossible not to be engaged with all her activities. I loved the readings which she sent us to do and which amplified our view of the setting in whatever you want to write about.

Thank you so much for her and Coursera for offering me this opportunity!

I really enjoyed Amity's style of teaching for this course on The Craft of Setting and Description. Her instruction, examples, and general style of teaching was very well thought-out, deliberate, and specific. One of my weaknesses as a writer, I believe, is around setting and integrating exposition but in a showing way. These exercises were helpful, I had hoped that the feedback from my peers would be more helpful. Some feedback was great, but some was too superficial (did they read it?) or too harsh (wanting to boast their own expertise).

This was my favorite writing course in the 4 creative writing classes. The teacher was engaging, articulate and the assignments were challenging. This student felt that the teacher was always one step ahead of this student's thoughts; when she talked in theory that begged a question, it was followed up by a concrete example. Regarding the assignments, some were tough but you got the feeling that the professor was rooting for you to do your best. An excellent class that I would recommend to other writers.

It is a wonderful course with challenges to me as a beginning writers, and many takeaways in the assignments. The instructor not only shared lots of knowledge/skills of writing as a professional fiction writer with 5 senses, but also via the workshop chat to reveal personal tips of other productive writers. I feel I gain more knowledge, writing skills, as well as confidence to keep writing towards the capstone project, and to be enrolled in next course of this great Creative Writing

Gaige is engaging!! Always looked forward to her lectures, her insight, her guests, her analyses and her assignments. The one that was the toughest me turned out to be my best work. The student critiques - which are so helpful and affirming - said as much. Read things like, “This is the best student work submitted,.” Simply means Ms. Gaige teaches well and to every level. Just make sure you give yourself enough time before the due dates so you can edit yourself o your best work!

It was a great experience. This course enhanced my writing skill to a whole new level. The most important thing is that it was both: challenging and fun.

I would recommended to anyone who wishes to improve their skill as a writer, storyteller, and so on.

You would regret it if you don't enroll on this one. By the way, language is not a excuse. English is not my mother language, and I had a lot of fun with this course. It also improved my writing skill. Grammar is a must.

Cheers!

Amity Gaige is excellent. I would join the program just for her. She leads you specifically and shares examples to help you understand better. We are learners and that's what we need- the specifics. Not vague ideas and feels that teachers normally share. I thoroughly enjoyed all the lectures. Most persuasive and easy to understand. Thanks very much. I only wish that the system of grading was different as needs faculty intervention to be more meaningful for the learners.

All the courses in this Creative Writing Sequence have been informative, and what I've learned has transformed my storytelling. Amity Gaige's class, The Craft of Setting and Description, is particularly engaging, and her approach to the craft offers help with visualization, research, POV, and oh-so-much more! I am incredibly grateful this course exists. Thank you, Amity Gaige! I encourage Coursera to add more offerings like this for aspiring authors! I'll subscribe!

Really enjoyed this course, even though the assignments were increasingly hard.

In the first week there are a few hours of videos, after that only about 1.5 hours of material per week, but it's very concentrated goodness. The lecturer is very clear and interesting.

The assignments are "stretching", and the more you put into them the more you get out. I also learnt a lot by reviewing other people's work. The reviews I received were helpful, thoughtful and positive.

This segment of the Creative Writing course was highly valuable to me. I am a "good writer", but have never had any coursework in creative writing. Even as an English minor in college, I CLEP-ed out of all writing courses due to high school essay submissions. I regret not having pursued writing courses in college, but now this valuable course has clarified many things for me, and my writing has been greatly enhanced with the guidance provided. Thank you!

Professor Gaige is one of the very best teachers that I've had in my entire life. She tries to explain everything in small details and examples; examples that make it crystal clear for the students to comprehend the whole concept; explaining them in such a sincere way, it is hard to believe that you're actually learning something new, but you are.

thanks a lot for your super informative course professor Gaige,

I hope I can use the lessons in my writings.

The courses in this series have been extremely helpful in focusing my attention on what matters most. Each component fits nicely, especially the last one. I really think the various interviews with writers and the teaching staff make a huge difference, bringing the aspiring writer into the real world, actually sitting around the 'table' with the pro's. Writing and receiving peer reviews is a tremendous learning opportunity. Thanks, and well done!