Can Writing Be Taught or Must It Be Learned?

April 12th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

This is an essay I wrote for one of my creative writing classes.

If you do have the stamina to read through it, I’d be happy to hear your own opinion. I promise you that you won’t be wowed. And I’m not proud of it. But it’s an interesting topic, I believe.

 

 

 

Can writing be taught or must it be learned?

 

The title of this essay holds two queries: “Can writing be taught?” and “Must writing be learned?” It seems sensible to tackle one after the other separately before putting them together. First, it is important to define what specific aspect of writing is discussed here before continuing. Of course, as some readers may have instantly noted, writing, in the sense of learning to spell, forming letters and words, and then ordering them logically in correct grammatical sequence to create sentences, is a craft that must be taught and is often learned at school. Situated underneath this general skill follow two subcategories: Expository Writing – “writing that is designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand” (SIL.ORG (A), 2012) – and Creative Writing – “writing that expresses the writer’s thoughts and feelings in an imaginative, often unique, and poetic way” (SIL.ORG (B), 2012). This essay will only focus on the latter and only in the context of studying Creative Writing at colleges, universities or in workshops. There are myriads of opinions on the matter whether Creative Writing can be taught or not: the concern here is not with coming to a definite answer to this highly-contended question, but merely with attempting to show and oppose the different viewpoints that exist, to examine them, and eventually to place them on a scale and to weigh them against each other in order to reach a conclusion. It must be remembered that, as there has been limited academic research undertaken in this direction and there are not abundant sources available to exploit and examine, the authors of the quotations used below are sometimes not from the exact same time period or geographical region; one must therefore allow for possible changes in attitude and opinion due to the variables of time and place.

It seems almost silly to ask such a question as “Must writing be learned?” » Read the rest of this entry «

Scribble Scribble Scribble

April 3rd, 2012 § 3 comments § permalink

And it is in action that the Creative Writing becomes
defined. That is: if the creative writer cannot act in order to pursue the
writing of something, then they cease to be creative writers. They may
have been creative writers, they may even have an existence ‘in memory’,
as creative writers; but they are no longer such. For this reason – though
not solely this reason – creative writers live equally for the greater parts of
their daily lives in the worlds of perception, memory and/or action.
Were they to live mostly in the worlds associated with specific physical
results (e.g. a ‘final’ draft, a work completed) and physical objects (e.g.
a ‘published’ novel, poem, shooting script) then they would cease to
function as creative writers; and certainly, at points in their careers, this
cessation would prevent them from evolving as creative writers.
- Mantesh, On Creative Writing

Does essay-writing count -_-?

Just received another rejection from BAEN Books yesterday. Took them about 8 months to reply.

Rachel Lichtenstein – On Brick Lane

February 8th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

 

To be honest, this book fell victim to my first speed-reading experiment (which went pretty well – more on that perhaps in another post…). What this means is that I might have missed some beautiful, valuable details. What I did not miss, is that the idea behind this book is brilliant, and Rachel executed it brilliantly as well. For those who don’t know, Rachel Lichtenstein was also a tutor in one of our creative writing classes at university for a few weeks (I’ll refrain from commenting too much on this experience, as it might throw a shadow on the otherwise gleaming report I’m about to give you!).

On Brick Lane is about Rachel exploring the now famous, artistic and vibrant street in East London. By searching for her own family history and her own identity (her Jewish grandparents had lived on Brick Lane, owning a jewelry shop there), she comes across a variety of people who all have a great story to tell, be it about the gangs and the underground gangster movements, or about the frictions between the Bangladeshi community and the fascist group called the National Front,…

She tackles the history of the place from all kinds of different angles – religion: Jewish, Muslim, Christian; art: poets, artists, writers; sexism, fascism; Truman Brewery etc. etc. In the end, you are left with a colourful patchwork that somehow fits together in beautiful harmony. You get a real sense of what this place used to be like, how it changed, why, and what about this change might be good or bad.

We discussed the book in another class today, after everyone had read it, and we did all agree on one thing: Rachel unfortunately paints the  change Brick Lane undergoes as bad, or at the least, disappointing. She may be right in some ways (the Bangladeshi community that make the place so wonderfully vibrant are having to move out due to rising rents), but overall we get a darker feeling than seems appropriate. It certainly does not spoil the reading experience, though, and once you finish you’re left with the feeling that Brick Lane is truly a very special place. The next time I go there, I’ll certainly appreciate it more, and be more aware of the details in my surroundings.

Lastly, what I particularly liked about the book was how Rachel linked the narrative so seamlessly. She would interview one person, who would then within the story he or she had to tell refer Rachel to another person who might have something interesting to say, and so Rachel went to that person, and so and so on. In the end, each person featuring in the book is connected to all the others, though they may not know one another. This way of writing is something I’d really like to experiment with in some way or another, bending it perhaps to suit my personal preferences. It would be a pleasant change to the usual chapter ending with a small, often artificial, cliffhanger…

P.S. the book is packed with nice photography and the occasional poem, too! Very artistic and original.

 

 

Poetry Tube #5

February 4th, 2012 § 3 comments § permalink

Why We Don't Sleep

Some do not dare,

To enter their dreams.

Bellowing beasts with ivory fangs

Milky eyes, spurting hot blood,

Await them there.

Some caress the feathers,

Of their birds of love,

Harking to their tweet and beep,

Painting the loving moments to come -

That never do.

Some punish themselves,

Prolonging the pain of the day:

What the sun could not burn,

The moon will scathe,

With livid, silver light.

Some, just a chancy few,

Loathe leaving their life,

For but the shortest moment.

Coldest reality worth more,

Than the warmest dream.

Poetry Tube #4

January 25th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

The Victims of My Glory

Trampled down.
Walked on,
And over.
Their blood,
Their dried skin,
Their mangled faces,
Coating the road to success.
A crisp, sometimes slippery path,
On which the murderers, smooth and slick,
Slide along the fastest.

About Motivation

January 24th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Alright, one more and then I’ll shut up about this… ;)

I just want to address a few more important points that have popped into my head while talking to friends and acquaintances since my last post on procrastination and motivation

 

The I-Don’t-Care Attitude

Some people tell me: “Why should I bother working harder, forcing myself to do more, if I don’t care? I’m laid back. I’m happy. I’m not procrastinating, this is just my life-style.”

And that’s fine and great. As long as you are really happy.

But if, for example, you’re an aspiring author, and you actually want to write and get published, you have to wake up and realise that this life-style does not work with your chosen profession. Because you will never get anything done. You will never finish anything. If you think otherwise you are living in a dream. Novels don’t get written in those short hours where you “feel creative” and “feel like writing”. Writing a novel is hard work.

  » Read the rest of this entry «

Oops! It’s already 2012.

January 18th, 2012 § 3 comments § permalink

My last post is exactly one month old now! I’m a disastrous blogger, but it’s okay because I really don’t have any readers or fans … yet ;)

I have my excuses, of course. Christmas, New Year’s … nobody has free time in the festive season, right? ;)

2012 is well under way. January seems to be flying past at a startling speed. That’s not good at all! Time is passing way too fast. Deadlines that seem far away are actually just lurking around the corner. Because I know that some of you are not very smart I painted a picture to illustrate what I mean…

Evil Deadlines lurking with a knife!!!!

» Read the rest of this entry «

Killing the Lazy You

December 17th, 2011 § 4 comments § permalink

Everybody does it. Writers probably tend to do it a little bit more than others.

We procrastinate!

Even if you write longhand, you will be forced to type up your work on the computer at some point in time if you’re thinking about writing professionally. And as we all know: the computer – and the internet – can be very distracting, even debilitating! To be productive you have to set yourself rules, you have to control that lazy monster inside you (and, if you can, murder it once and for all), and you have to be disciplined.

First let me summarize and list some tips that are frequently mentioned:

  • Before you start writing, make sure the surroundings are suitable. For some people that might mean a meticulously clean desk, for others it might mean the Starbucks down the road. Make sure you feel comfortable in the environment. If you’re not sure, try out different locations before making your decision (if you’ve been writing in the same place for a while now and you feel a bit stuck, it might also help to drastically change location and to try something new). I found that I can do homework and coursework best at the library, but I simply cannot write stories there. I need a more private location for creative writing: my room. But my room has to be tidy, otherwise the surroundings distract me. » Read the rest of this entry «

Feedback and Voice

December 13th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Something our tutor told us today about feedback was really enlightening, so I have to share it:

 

“If you get feedback, then change your story according to it, and then come back to the critic asking if it’s better, you’re only asking for approval and you’re not in control of your own writing.”

 

I think this is actually a really important point that also concerns voice. If you regard all feedback and criticism as valid simply because you lack the confidence to stand behind what you wrote and to stand behind your ideas, you will never develop your own voice as a writer. Instead, you’ll be struggling to fulfil the expectations of another person. » Read the rest of this entry «

Poetry Tube #3

December 13th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

 

A light flashes for every syllable said
The bass booms for every word spoken
A shot emptied for every sentence
Speech as empty as the glasses
No meaning
And this is fun
Let’s sweat and dance
Round and round
Until the liquid and the sounds
Strip us of our soul
And we exit
A blank piece of paper
To be coloured again.

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