Are you a natural-born storyteller, writer and novelist or can you be taught the craft? Being able to sit around a campfire and spin a yarn doesn’t make you able to write a complete novel does it? What about plot? Pacing? Character development? Story arc? Inciting incident? denouement?
How many times has someone said to you that they could write a novel if they had the time? Yes of course it takes a huge amount of time, but do they understand what a lot of that time involves? It’s not just writing the words of the novel down on the page. Do they really understand the depth and crisscrossing of wires that occurs in a writers brain for that story to emerge. And then they need external help to get it into better shape with an editor.
So you’re really serious about this writing lark, you’ve decided you have the ability to carve some time out of your day on a daily basis and you want to write that novel. What do you do, start writing or look for classes? Can you be taught to be novelist or is it a gift?
There are so many classes about for creative writing. University level courses and below. There are thousands of books on the subject all with the aim of helping you hone your craft. But is it a craft you can hone or is it a gift? Are the courses pandering to a heavy demand because now everyone wants to be a novelist?
This is a serious question and I’m asking for your thoughts. I’ve finished one novel and I’m part way through the second, yet I’ve just signed up for a free six-week course, Start Writing Fiction, with Future Learn by the Open University. Yes I’ve already started, but I could glean just a snippet of information that could be really useful and it’s only six weeks long so I thought I’d sign up and see what I could learn. Maybe I will learn an awful lot. Maybe I will have to adjust everything I already thought I knew. Maybe just one nugget of gold will make it all worthwhile.
What are your thoughts on creative writing courses?
Ian says
I think there is a place for writing courses. Talent or natural ability can always be built on and I have never done a course, through work or outside, where I haven’t learnt something that was useful.
Rebecca Bradley says
I think you’re right Ian. There will be something I can take away from this. Thanks.
fcmalby says
I think many writers have a natural gift for story-telling and for crafting the intricacies a story, but there is always room to learn more. I haven’t been on any writing courses, but I know many people who have found them really useful. You never stop learning, whether it’s by practising, reading, studying. I’d be interested to hear what you learn over the next few weeks and I hope there will be more blog posts.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Fiona. I think the course will definitely provide me with plenty to blog about over the next six weeks! I won’t be running out of topics 🙂
thenovelprojectchronicles says
I think there is something called natural talent but the problem is that doesn’t get you very far. You can have a flair for writing and have no interest in it or never have the tenacity to stick with it in which case c’est la vie.
There may be an argument to say that creation (as opposed to writing per se) can’t be taught. I find that people who are genuinely creative, just can’t help themselves. They’ll lay awake at night thinking about some project and bore you stupid with it if you express half an interest (I do this all the time :-)).
But if that backbone is there then writing courses can (but aren’t always) valuable. I’ve taken a few writing classes in the past and found that there success or failure often rested with the classmates. The class I’m currently taking has been incredible. Everyone is experienced, creative and willing to jump in with both feet. The teacher is smart enough to tailor the coursework to our level and so It’s been a joy to attend. On the other hand I’ve been to classes where I spent the bulk of my time trying break it gently that writing a novel is not a get rich quick scheme.
I think a good analogy might be drawing. a person can be taught the skills and techniques necessary to draw a lifelike orange but probably can’t be taught how to make that orange speak to the viewer about the human condition.
Rebecca Bradley says
Ah, the get rich quick scheme. I wish! Do they know how many people write novels and actually only have a handful of people buy that novel. I know what you mean about creativity. I think there’s a place for both. The framework/mechanics and the drive and flair to put around it.
David J Delaney says
I’d love to do one but can never decide. Some writers think they have merit but some think they are a waste. I suppose to learn the basics, they may be good but writing talent seems to come from copious amounts of practice.
Rebecca Bradley says
I’ll let you know how this one goes with continued updates on the blog.
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
I think classes can help fine tune one’s writing. But it’s like playing a sport. Some kids can practice forever and not be very good. Some can practice and become good enough to go pro. And then there are those who practice and become elite because they also have the gift.
Rebecca Bradley says
Great analogy Alex. Fingers crossed it’s fine tuning for me!
nikival71 says
What a lot of people don’t understand is that it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient at something, and writing is no exception. So, it’s not just the time it takes to write, plan and edit your novel – you need to add on the time you take practising to get to the level that you’re ready to write a novel too. It’s a *big* investment. But, yes, I do believe that craft skills, practice and theory around writing can be taught, at all sorts of levels. I would say that as a very invested lecturer in Creative Writing but my experience is that people improve massively during a degree course, which adds up to a significant chunk of that 10,000 hours.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Niki. I’m really looking forward to my very short course – especially compared to a degree in creative writing! But I’ll be interested in the mechanics that are taught. It’s why I signed up. I’m very open minded and interested. You will see multiple blog posts I’m sure as I progress through the course, letting you know how it’s going.
readingwritingandriesling says
I think when you are in a group of like minded people (in this case writers) you benefit from the energy created- regardless of the script.
Rebecca Bradley says
That’s a great point Carol, we are all there because we want to be. I shall be posting how the course is going, so we’ll see!
Margot Kinberg says
Rebecca – Having a natural talent for writing, and the perseverance to see a writing task through, don’t mean that you can’t learn some new things. I think one can always expand one’s repertoire, so I think it’s great you’ve signed up for that course. I like it that you’re open to thinking about writing in new ways.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Margot, I’m interested in seeing what the course teaches about the mechanics of writing. It’s something I’ve never been taught and have only taught myself how to write!
sharonsant says
My degree was in English and creative writing, and I do believe that a creative writing course can do a lot to enhance and focus your natural talent. I feel that my writing is much better for the hours of teaching I received, not just at a fundamental level, but on a bigger scale too. I learned the nuts and bolts of story structure, plot devices, foils, pacing, foreshadowing: all the clever tools that professional editors know about and the rest of us only guess at. You could argue that all this comes instinctively to some people and that’s fine, but I think there is always room for improvement. It’s about confidence too, and my creative writing degree gave me that in spades. I think that you won’t go far wrong with your course so good luck to you!
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Sharon. I’m not sure I’ll get that out of my short course, but it will be interesting to learn some of the mechanics that it can offer. It’s interesting to read about all the mechanics that are offered on a fill degree course. It sounds worthwhile.
Jacqui Murray says
I love them for the inspiration and the camaraderie. And like you, there’s always a nugget I get that makes all the time worth it. I hope you blog about the course you’re taking. I can experience it vicariously through you.
Rebecca Bradley says
I’ll definitely be blogging about it Jacqui. Just think of all that blogging gold I shall get from the course! 🙂
FictionFan says
As a non-writer, I do think the gift has to come first – I’m not convinced that people can be taught to be creative. But I certainly think that the technique of turning that creative spark into a readable story can be taught. I do worry that a lot of these courses are giving people unrealistic expectations for success though. Of every thousand people who want to, or think they can, write a book, I’d bet there’s only a couple who really have the talent and perseverance to make it happen.
Rebecca Bradley says
That’s a good point about not being taught to be creative but the technique and that’s what I’m hoping to pick nuggets up about. I have an open mind and an inquiring mind so this interests me. I shall be blogging as I go.
Prashant C. Trikannad says
Rebecca, I agree with FictionFan. I think writing, like painting and singing, is a gift you are born with, a talent you can nurture into anything including learning to write fiction.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Prashant. I’m hoping there’s a nugget of nurturing in this course that I will be able to take away that I can shine and help me polish my own work with, which I hope is a natural talent! 🙂
Misha Gericke (@MishaMFB) says
I think it’s better that people write first, and then take classes to hone their craft if they feel the need to.
Personally, I’m not a fan of classes though. They seem to present this idea that only their way of writing works, and I think that each writer has to find their own methods. Sure, if you go to classes to get tips, it’s fine, but I’ve seen so many new writers who got lost because they were trying to imitate others (trying to find the right way to write).
Rebecca Bradley says
That’s what I’m doing, hoping to hone my craft, find the nuggets of gold that I can use to my advantage to make my own work shine. I think you probably have to have a mixture of both, that drive and creativity and then a desire to learn the mechanics to hang your creativity on so to speak.
Cath Bore says
I did an MA in creative writing, I started it being an ok writer with no sense of structure in my writing and completed it as one who was so much better at my craft. I’m not sure if this answers your question! As well as working on novels, over the past year or two I’ve been writing flash fiction, and have had some success re: publication, competitions which is very nice, but I’ve never had any formal instruction on the form (my MA was mostly novel writing and scripts). Last week I went on a 2 hour workshop with a well known flash fiction writer, I came away looking at flash in a different way, the following night I wrote three flashes which while they are not ready for submission as yet I sense they will be diamonds when redrafted and polished! I wouldn’t have written them in that way if I had not attended the workshop, it helped me so much. .
Rebecca Bradley says
I’d also be interested in the future in attending things like those small workshops as well Cath. I don’t think there is anything wrong in trying to advance your knowledge in anything you want to in the world and that includes writing. I’m glad you got so much out of it. I shall blog my way through my very short course and see what happens.
Carol Balawyder says
I like taking writing courses or workshops for several reasons. There’s always something to learn or sometimes it’s good to be reminded of what we already know and have forgotten. I also like the contact with the person giving the class and other writers. It’s motivating and can get me to look at my writing in different ways I particularly like workshops where we get to critique each others’ writing.
Have fun in your class, Rebecca. One of the great things about committing to a class is that it forces you to write.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Carol. I think that’s what I’ll enjoy is doing the course with other writers who are doing exactly the same thing and are as motivated because they have joined the same course. I shall blog as I go along.
Carol Balawyder says
I’m really looking forward to your posts about your course. 🙂
Gene'O says
The basic undergraduate creative writing courses improved my writing dramatically. The more advanced ones did not. So, I’d say the value of writing courses depends on how mature you are as a writer going into them and what you already know about writing as a craft.
I do think people can be taught to write fiction. I’ll allow that there are natural born storytellers, but I don’t believe in natural born fiction writers. It takes work to get good at fiction, but I view it as a skill. It improves with practice, you get rusty when you don’t do it, and the more you read, write, and get feedback on your work, the better you get.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Gene’O. I think that’s a great point about the maturity of the student going into the course because as one of the previous commentors has said, some people on their course thought they were going to walk out of the course and make lots of money or write a best-seller. It’s that thing about there being writing rules, but you can’t break them until you know them and what better place to learn them than on a course.
D.A. Cairns says
At the beginning of my writer’s journey I signed up for a creative writing course and I have to say that I was disappointed. I did learn about professionalism, in terms of manuscript presentation and submissions, but my tutor seemed incapable of understanding the concept of fiction, and…you now creative writing. For example, I named a character in a short story Scat, and he said nobody has that name. What? I think if you have natural talent then you can develop it best through practice, and interaction with other writers, and lots of reading. I have had three novels published and have a contract for the publication of a fourth, and the most valuable contributions to my work have been from editors (I have a massive number of rejections like all writers) and beta readers. Personally I sceptical about the value of creative writing courses.
Rebecca Bradley says
I think there’s probably an argument for both. That maybe the framework for that natural talent, can be taught and the talent then hung onto it and melded around it as you so wish it, including calling your characters what you want to call them. Though that’s got some quite dodgy connotations you know….