Fiction Writing

I'm not actually sure I mentioned this on the blog yet, but I'm taking a fiction writing class this semester. It was full, so I'm not officially enrolled, but I really wanted to take it and it will probably be my last chance, so I'm just sitting in. Considering this is a really busy semester, I kind of wish I was getting credit for it though.
It's a fun class. Until a couple weeks ago, we'd discuss different parts of a story, like character, setting, ex, and did different exercises about them.
There was a table full of objects and we had to start writing about one. We couldn't stop until our time ended. I wrote about a baby shoe.
We described the person who was sitting across from us. And we also wrote a description of one of our characters.
Then we all left the classroom and went somewhere to describe the setting (I went to the pool).
And we chose one of our characters and wrote five things they wanted, what was preventing them from getting it, and how they eventually got it (or didn't get it). That's an important part of a story, especially for stuff to be character-driven. Character-driven stuff can be really important. It's a lot more interesting than if a character just gets stuck in an event and swept along with it. We should be able to see how the character influences his own story (There are a few good stories that aren't necessarily like this though).
A few weeks ago, we started doing something different. Throughout the semester, everyone will bring in 2 or 3 short stories. A couple of us will pass out stories every day, and the class will read them before the next class. Then we'll all discuss them - what they're about, what was good about them, and what can be improved upon. I actually signed up for the first day, which was a couple weeks ago. I kept forgetting to post about it. So they talked about my story (and you're not aloud to talk when people are talking about your story). I might post it on the blog when I get around to fixing all the stuff people mentioned.
And tomorrow another of my stories is due.
It's one I've had planned for a while. It's going to be a longer thing, so I'm just working on the beginning. Except I can't shrink it too much without making it sound too sucky. It's actually based on a really vivid dream I had a while ago about this rich boy who s kind of ignored by his parents and really wants a friend. So an angel that grants wishes comes to him and helps him sort of make a friend out of shadows, and the shadows turn into a boy every night and they hang out and play.
I want to write more of it now... Gotta get out of this semester first.
And I desperately need to edit Katani's story...

So, I've also been reading the short stories of other students. I think it's helping me to read stuff and figure out what needs to be fixed, and what was done well. We've only had about 4 other stories so far, but I'm interested to see what the others will write when their turn comes.