Can you teach creative writing?
Extremely interesting piece in the Guardian today, which features opinions on creative writing courses from a range of leading authors. If you’ve ever considered taking an MA or BA to brush up your skills, it’s well worth reading.
I like this from Fay Weldon, mainly because when I started copywriting, I found my fiction dramatically improved:
Four years ago, when I started teaching at Brunel, I was of the opinion that creative writing couldn’t be taught. I wasn’t taught how to write novels – I just wrote them. But I completely overlooked the years I spent writing copy in an advertising agency and what I learned about the nuances of language – for example, how switching the order of two words can completely change their meaning – or even just the impact of how words look on a page.
You can hear my thoughts on the subject here, where I talk about my own experience on an MA Writing course.
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