Hello!
My name is Dr. David Willis and I currently teach at a Community College in Southern Alabama. I graduated in December 2006 with a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Southern Mississippi where I worked under Frederick and Stephen Barthelme.
I live in Milton, Florida but I am originally from Chico, CA. I received a dual B.A. from Arizona State University in 2000 (English and German) and my M.A. from California State University, Chico in 2004. My primary work is writing fiction, and I am currently working on trying to get a variety of work published.
Like many people, I started college with a plan. I enrolled at Arizona State University as a Chemical Engineering major. By the end of my freshman year, however, I was on quite a different path. After struggling a little bit in the sciences, I sat down and really tried to think of what classes I actually enjoyed. At the time, the only class I was really inspired in was my English class. Through a similar enjoyment in my German classes, I went from having a major and a minor to having two majors. This was certainly a long way from my original intent of being a Chemical Engineer, but it taught me to be very flexible in my education and in life. As Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Finding my love in academics took a little bit, but I followed my bliss to an excellent career.
Now, again like many of you, I juggle work, family, and extracurricular activities. The only thing I can say is to stay the course and be ready for the parts where it is not going to run smooth. I am looking forward to getting to know each of you and helping you develop into more effective writers.
If you any questions at all please let me know. Unlike a brick-and-mortar class, I cannot read your body language or see a look on your face that tells me you are confused or unclear about any instruction that I give you. I would like to give you the best feedback as possible and I require a little bit of help in accomplishing our common goal.