MasterClass

by Charlotte Hinger

 Well, what do you know? There is something new under the sun. It's MasterClass.

For some time my on-line reading was interrupted by a promotion for MasterClass. I ignored these clips the same as I do all other annoying ads. I wanted to cut down on subscriptions, not acquire new ones. 

Then The New Yorker published an article about the lecturers. Those at the top of their field vie with one another to be selected to lead a class. It's the ultimate indorsement of their abilities. Honestly folks, James Patterson and David Baldacci are not in it for the money. 

I'm absolutely hooked. Curiously, the presentations are straight lectures. The "star" sits a chair and tells the viewer everything he knows about his area of expertise. I've finished four classes: James Patterson, David Baldacci, Joyce Carol Oates, and Aaron Sorkin. The episodes vary from 8-15 minutes. Some include a round table analysis of students' work. 

The styles are wildly varied. I enjoyed Aaron Sorkin the most even though he opened by gloomily stating that speaking was very hard for him and he would be much more comfortable just writing the whole thing. This wonderfully talented playwright and scriptwriter wrote A Few Good Men and one of my favorite TV series, The West Wing. One of his most endearing statements was about writer's block. He said that was his default status: deeply depressed and blocked as a writer. 

I like Patterson a lot as a person. He's so passionate about promoting literacy. I'm only an occasional reader of his books, but used one in a creative writing class I taught. I wanted the students to see how he turned a whole plot with one of his one word, one sentence, paragraphs. It's not easy. Plus, I admire the way he gives co-authors full credit on his covers. An amazing fact is that the man writes in longhand while sitting in a rocking chair. He's a generous man and natural outliner. One of his detailed outlines is what his bevy of co-authors receive. 

Joyce Carol Oates teaches writing at Columbia University. Her approach is lovely and poetic and seductive. How can one person master so many different genres? I really wanted her book, We Were The Mulvaneys, to win the Pulitzer Prize of the National Book Award. Her suggestions frightened me. I found myself resistant to accessing some of the thinking she urged me to explore. Yet, as she pointed out, that's where my best writing lies dormant. Oates writes mysteries (both novels and short stories) in addition to literature. She's phenomenal and mystical. 

Ah, Baldacci! He was whisked in on a magic carpet. Yet, like most ultra successful writers he paid his dues. He learned his craft. The man has the most abrupt machine gun delivery of anyone I've watched so far. He does not pause between sentences. His first published novel was Absolute Power. For that he received a 2 million dollar advance for American rights, and 2 million for foreign rights. He's a lawyer so he knew a lot about contracts from the beginning. He has the most joyful presentation and gives a new meaning to "natural writer" When he worked full time as a lawyer, after the kids and his wife went to bed, he wrote from 10pm to 2am every night. I especially appreciated this man because he has the most turbulent intuitive (yet linear) idiotic method of writing a book of any of them. Finally. Someone just like me.

Next on my agenda is one on poetry, followed by lessons in forensics by none other than John Douglas.