CLASS OF 2010

Odyssey has helped me realize that writing at a high level is not a question of talent or luck, but hard work. It helps cultivate mindfulness while writing and dedicated writing practices. I can whole-heartedly recommend it to aspiring authors as a way to hone both their writing skills and passion.

The Odyssey workshop rocked. It pointed out ways in which I was unintentionally cheating my readers. I unlearned bad writing habits. My prose is now bolder, my marketing more intelligent, and my storytelling more emotionally powerful. Now I must go forth and write well. No one wants to disappoint Jeanne.

Odyssey is the best thing I’ve ever done for my writing. It opened my eyes to my strengths and, most importantly, my weaknesses. My writing has made quantum leaps, and although hearing about my weaknesses wasn’t easy, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

I arrived at Odyssey two days after I graduated from MIT, and as the familiar sleep deprivation began again, I couldn’t help feeling that Odyssey is the MIT of writing—I once more felt that there was so much to learn here that it was like trying to drink from a fire hose. But there was one crucial difference: While MIT decimated me, Odyssey lifted me up. Jeanne has a downright uncanny and divinely gifted way of pointing out all of my problems and kicking me in the ass, yet somehow at the same time never once making me feel that I’m not good enough; in fact, she is so kind and so insightful about my writing that I feel quite the opposite.

Odyssey was a transforming experience for me. What I learned about writing was only matched by what I learned about my own capabilities. I cannot imagine a better way to start a career as a writer of fantastic fiction. Jeanne Cavelos is an amazing teacher.

I was on the cusp of evolving as a writer, but I had no way to make that leap. Odyssey helped me achieve that evolution, and now I am a better writer and a great deal more confident about it.

For me, the Odyssey experience reinforced the habit of writing; of actually sitting in the chair and producing a finished product.

The excellent lecture program revitalized and focused my process of revision, and the guest lecturers, professionals from a variety of genres and backgrounds, offered fascinating insights and writing tips.

The success of the program is due to the director, Jeanne Cavelos, and her unique skill set. She possesses a critical editor’s eye, a teacher’s ability to plan and communicate, and a generosity of spirit necessary for a true mentor.

Attending Odyssey is like walking through the wilderness of the writing process with a guide who knows the way.

I cannot begin to describe how much Odyssey has given me. It is, in fact, all of the amazing things previous Odyssey grads have said it is, and more. I am now equipped to make my writing the best that it can be. Before Odyssey, I simply was not.

I’ve taken part in other writing programs, and I can attest to the fact that Odyssey is in a different league. The reason for this can be summed up in one word: Jeanne. Never have I come across any teacher of any discipline who was more dedicated, professional, sharp, creative, clear, and good-natured than she is. In fact, I have serious doubts about her being human, and I’ll just say this: She puts the Jeanne in Genius. Her lectures and elaborate, detailed critiques (about eighty of them in six weeks!) are packed full of priceless teachings. I can’t wait to get home and use all my new tools. (After I sleep for a month.) I am so exhausted, but so happy to have experienced Odyssey. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And I wish I could do it again.

I wholeheartedly recommend Odyssey to any writers who are dedicated to seriously improving their craft.

I wanted an ordered march through the elements of writing. I wanted concentrated work in the areas in which I was weak. I wanted to produce some brand-new stories within a short amount of time. I wanted to learn about the business of being a writer. I wanted to meet writers and establish a support network. It’s not often you get everything you want, but I did at Odyssey.

Odyssey is tougher and more intense than any workshop or writer’s conference I’ve attended. By having one mentor and total immersion, I’ve made more breakthroughs in six weeks at Odyssey than in two years in an MFA program. Jeanne is thoughtful and compassionate, but doesn’t let students get away with anything. Her insightfulness and dedication are Odyssey’s greatest resources.

I knew it was going to be good to have the Odyssey Workshop experience, but I could never have dreamed it would have made such a different to me as a writer and a person!

In only six weeks Jeanne has fostered me from a beginner to someone who feels confident she has the skills to make a career as a professional author. This approach, relating the elements of fiction directly to my own work, has made the difference. I had read books about writing and participated in online workshopping but it never ‘clicked’ like it did here.

Jeanne clearly loves teaching new writers, loves to see how they grow and change over six weeks, and is good at it too.