Today, my new creative writing teacher informed the class that we should consult him before writing anything "dark or disturbing." I only took the class because my therapist recommended that I join the class so I could freely express my darker thoughts without her help or a fear of being judged. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, my teacher read my story about a haunted house for a class assignment. She liked it very much and turned it in to the office to be sent into a state writing competition. An hour later, I was called to the office where the guidance counselor called my work "disturbing" and said I "need help". FML
Today, I forbade a student in the writing seminar I instructed from continuing to present his disturbing poems about demons. He responded to this by convincing nearly every other student in the seminar to write and read out loud several of his poems. FML
Today, in my psychology class, the professor had us write down our name and birthday on one side of the paper and on the other side put down a mental disorder we would like to know more about. I was going to write 'Social anxiety disorder' but I was too worried about what people would think. FML
Today, my therapist asked me if I’d been journaling as he suggested. I had to tell him that I don’t trust writing down my innermost thoughts anymore, because when I was younger my mom read by diary multiple times and beat me for what I wrote. So did my ex-boyfriend. FML
Today, I lectured my second-grade class to be more descriptive in their writing. I gave them an assignment to describe something in the classroom. I was grading their work later, and one student wrote, "My class is taught by a fat teacher with gray hair." FML
Today, I woke up to a bloody nose. Instead of rushing to the bathroom, I creatively dripped the blood over a knife for photography class because the assignment was to show emotion. So many of the students and faculty were disturbed that I'm now forced to talk to the school psychologist. FML
Today, I gathered the courage to participate in a class discussion. My professor laughed at me. FML
Today, my university professor asked us to submit anonymous course feedback. I wrote three paragraphs criticizing his lectures. Ten minutes later, I realized I'd left my full name at the bottom of the page. FML
Today, after complaining that I had nothing to write about in my weekly journal for college, my professor suggested in front of everyone that I should get a girlfriend. FML
Today, I got up the courage to go to my very first voice lesson. I thought I did alright, but at the end my teacher told me, "Now don't worry about grades in this class, I grade on effort, not on talent." FML
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Top comments
Palirose 22
Write what you want anyways. Don't let some teacher stifle what you have to express!
davincidasecond 24
You can always start your own blog and write your own stuff.
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Comments (94)
Omniprism 15
Well talk to them. Tell them what you just wrote here. I'm sure they'll understand.
MorePewpewLessQQ 5
With all due respect, OP, it may be a creative writing class, but your teacher has an obligation to ensure the safety of all of their students. I don't know the teacher, so I'm speculating here, but I don't think the teacher said what he did to be judgmental. He has a duty as an education provider and responsible adult to try to read between the lines in everything and get people help if they need it. Maybe he would like to be consulted to ensure the material really is just dark fiction and not a sign or cry for help that you are a danger to others or in danger yourself. He also has a duty to the other students in the class, not just you. He has to ensure everyone is safe and okay. I don't think that he wants his students to stop being creative, he wants them to talk to him so that he knows that you and everyone else is not in danger. I'm sorry that you felt hurt or judged, but I have to say, what he said does not sound like judgment, it sounds like concern with responsibility, and good intent. You may want to also speak with your therapist about what happened, they may not realise putting someone in that situation may make them feel worse if they don't know what to expect. Speak with the teacher, you don't have to give him your personal details, but find out why he made that policy, instead of just speculating that he did it with ill intent.
schalk 12
^ What this guy said and also.. Don't you pay your therapist to freely express yourself & not just lazily tell you to sort yourself out?
TogeBara 12
Tell the teacher why you joined (that your therapist told you it would be a good way to let loose some feelings and what not) then say you are in no way going to do anything you write about or any of that nonsense.
SilentRhapsody 13
I think that it wouldn't matter whether or not he had said to consult him about writing something dark. Had the OP written something dark, the teacher would most likely have become concerned and talked to them about it anyway. This way you can tell the teacher what's up and avoid the awkward "I need to see you after class" conversation that would have inevitably come anyway. Teachers and professors are obligated by law to say something if they think a student is possibly going to put themselves in danger (or others). I don't blame him for the rule. It's just a liability thing so that he knows who he needs to worry about and who he doesn't.
ball_crusher 4
go to the teacher and tell him that. just tell him that you are in a therapy program and writing "dark" things is a way to express your negative emotions.
Kristoffer 35
I agree with the others who say to inform him (not consult - you're not getting his opinion on the matter, you're just making him aware) that you will be writing dark things as part of a therapy program. If he doesn't like it, he can refund your money and you can find a more open-minded creative writing venue.
JoseIsAdork 31
my own therapist who encouraged me to write out my feelings rather in story or poem form, song what ever I wanted to ended up freaking out about what I wrote when I shared them with her to express some of the stuff I had trouble just saying out loud. don't worry op, hopefully there is a different way that you can get it all out. look at a lot of the authors these days, some of their stories rather fictional or real are very dark or even disturbing but they are famous for their writing. I'm sure there has got to be some where you should find to share your writing and your feelings without fear of being judged or someone freaking out about it!
liaRawr 9
It's creative writing for all your teacher knows you could be the next big thing
Taurus_ChicKa 37
I agree with what others are saying - tell the teacher the deal, and if necessary, have him call the therapist (though that might violate the doctor/patient privilege, I don't know). And he just said "consult," so it doesn't automatically mean he won't let you write something dark. Maybe he just wants a heads-up. :) Good luck!
caddie_w 2
I have to disagree with all of you - the other students in the course shouldn't have to be involuntarily involved in your group therapy. They're there to hone a skill. How are you going to respond to a writing critique of your innermost thoughts? The instructor has a point. Drop the class immediately and start a journal.
naiveprophet 15
#81, I agree 100%. I made the mistake of using several assignments in a creative writing class to get out my feelings over the deaths of my sisters... The rest of the class knew my sisters, knew what I was writing about, and it made the situation very uncomfortable for myself and for the other students when it came time to critique. OP's class and instructor may not and probably do not know that OP is using this for therapeutic purposes, and will critique quite freely, and I don't think that's what your therapist has in mind when s/he suggested that you express your darker thoughts. OP, you don't need to have those thoughts critiqued by creative writing students. It's part of their job to judge what you're writing. This isn't the class for you.
blackonblight 33
That's the other point. I don't really get why a therapist would suggest this. General writing, yes, taking a course, being graded and involving others, not so much. I'm thinking maybe OP misinterpreted the advice they were given, and probably should have just started a journal/personal writing collection. Maybe a blog, but you risk people coming to it to make comments just to hurt you.