Jumping into MasterClass

or, Giving Myself the Gift of Learning

I’d seen the ads many times. The confident face of some master artisan staring out at me, promising to teach me their secrets of the trade. “Explore online classes from the best in the world”. There was Steve Martin teaching comedy and James Patterson teaching novel writing, and I could learn writing for television from Shonda Rhimes. And on and on… culinary arts, entertainment, TV, design, fashion, politics, oh my. Some of the best and the brightest had lent their wisdom to this platform for learning.

I’ve looked into it a few times. Too expensive… don’t have the time for it… its video format’s not interactive, so how much would I really learn? It wasn’t until *his* face popped up that I seriously considered the investment. I compared prices for a single class vs. an all-access pass. I read multiple reviews and blog posts from people who’d taken MC classes. I considered the money I’d spent on online classes from LitReactor, and the differences (LR offers real time interaction with teachers and other students, and chances to have those teachers read and offer input on written work, but also, more expensive than an all-access MC pass).

I looked at the list of MasterClass teachers and though *he* hadn’t been added yet, there was Margaret Atwood and David Mamet and Dan Brown… and *he* would be on that list sometime in the spring. Who is this *he* I’m referring to? Why Neil Gaiman, of course. And he didn’t so much pop up on an ad as much as Mol made sure I knew he was being added to the roster (thanks for that, Sweetie). Mol knows me well. I’m a big fan, ok, fanboy, and thrilled to have the chance to soak up his writing wisdom and delightful accent.

So I took the plunge. I gifted myself an all-access pass and started with Atwood’s class on creative writing. She is a delight. There is space on the site for discussion among those taking the class, though it’s not as interactive and immediate as what’s offered on LitReactor. On the other hand, I can take any class I want for a year after spending about half what I’ve paid for a single class on LR.

I’ll likely take all the writing classes offered. I’m also interested in other topics: culinary arts, design, film/TV related. I figure anything I learn is more information I can plow into future stories. Plus, learning is fun. This is part of my plan for the coming year: invest in my passions, in myself, as a form of self-care.