Another Day in Paradise
There's this idea writers have that if we somehow had enough time and were in the right sort of environment, say a secluded cottage in New England, we could write Great Books.
This secluded cottage in New England comes with a well stocked kitchen and all the herbal tea you can drink. There are no distractions during the day and in the evenings you emerge from your secluded cottage to meet with the occupants of all the other secluded cottages in this writer’s utopia. You convene at the lodge and seriously critique each other’s works in progress. Presiding over these gatherings is a Respected Writer/Professor of Creative Writing and Comparative LIterature, who offers sage guidance and encouragement on your writing journey.
I’ve often wondered if this type of thing really worked. I am skeptical.
And so are others.
On Facebook recently, I found a link to a 2012 post by Jim Behrle called “How to Write the Great American Novel.”
"How many great books have been written out of writer’s workshops? Approximately the same amount that have been written from the decks of steamer ships. We all might delight in the idea that we will actually win the lottery, but the chances are better that you’ll get to sleep with Angelina Jolie."
Stephen King also weighed in with his oppinon on writers’ workshops in his memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“And what about those [writers' workshop] critiques, by the way? How valuable are they? Not very, in my experience, sorry. A lot of them are maddeningly vague. I love the feeling of Peter's story, someone may say. It had something... a sense of I don't know... there's a loving kind of you know... I can't exactly describe it....
It seems to occur to few of the attendees that if you have a feeling you just can't describe, you might just be, I don't know, kind of like, my sense of it is, maybe in the wrong fucking class.”
The only creative writing course I’ve ever taken was my junior year in high school, 45 years ago. (Depressing to think it’s been that long since I was 16). I majored in journalism in college, so I did learn the nuts and bolts of stringing sentences together in a coherent manner. But as far as learning the art of plot pacing, character development and writing dialog, I pretty much figured that out on my own.
I would occasionally consider taking a creative writing class to improve my writing. But I figured that the time I’d spend working on classroom assignments that no one would read outside of the classroom was better spent writing what I wanted to write. Also, I was worried that I’d be told I was going about it all wrong, that I’d have to change everything and write The Right Way and writing wouldn't be fun anymore.
A librarian friend of mine has told me she's received review copies of books where it's so obvious the author is writing solely for the approval of the creative writing professor from that summer workshop he attended, that she can practically read the favorable comments scribbled in the margins of the manuscript. Needless to say, they were not very good books.
Mr. King has said he does see some value in these writers’ workshops. They provide a source of income for serious writers who aren’t making a living from their writing. Precious few writers are able to do that, by the way. Even the ones who have real contracts with real book publishers still have day jobs. Being able to share their knowledge of the craft is an honest way to earn a buck, even if it does involve nodding solemnly as the participants offer their maddeningly vague critiques.
I’m going to keep writing my books the way I always have. Although I might enjoy a week alone at a cottage in New England, with or without the herbal tea.
Judy Nichols is the author of several mysteries available on Amazon.
This secluded cottage in New England comes with a well stocked kitchen and all the herbal tea you can drink. There are no distractions during the day and in the evenings you emerge from your secluded cottage to meet with the occupants of all the other secluded cottages in this writer’s utopia. You convene at the lodge and seriously critique each other’s works in progress. Presiding over these gatherings is a Respected Writer/Professor of Creative Writing and Comparative LIterature, who offers sage guidance and encouragement on your writing journey.
I’ve often wondered if this type of thing really worked. I am skeptical.
And so are others.
On Facebook recently, I found a link to a 2012 post by Jim Behrle called “How to Write the Great American Novel.”
"How many great books have been written out of writer’s workshops? Approximately the same amount that have been written from the decks of steamer ships. We all might delight in the idea that we will actually win the lottery, but the chances are better that you’ll get to sleep with Angelina Jolie."
Stephen King also weighed in with his oppinon on writers’ workshops in his memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“And what about those [writers' workshop] critiques, by the way? How valuable are they? Not very, in my experience, sorry. A lot of them are maddeningly vague. I love the feeling of Peter's story, someone may say. It had something... a sense of I don't know... there's a loving kind of you know... I can't exactly describe it....
It seems to occur to few of the attendees that if you have a feeling you just can't describe, you might just be, I don't know, kind of like, my sense of it is, maybe in the wrong fucking class.”
The only creative writing course I’ve ever taken was my junior year in high school, 45 years ago. (Depressing to think it’s been that long since I was 16). I majored in journalism in college, so I did learn the nuts and bolts of stringing sentences together in a coherent manner. But as far as learning the art of plot pacing, character development and writing dialog, I pretty much figured that out on my own.
I would occasionally consider taking a creative writing class to improve my writing. But I figured that the time I’d spend working on classroom assignments that no one would read outside of the classroom was better spent writing what I wanted to write. Also, I was worried that I’d be told I was going about it all wrong, that I’d have to change everything and write The Right Way and writing wouldn't be fun anymore.
A librarian friend of mine has told me she's received review copies of books where it's so obvious the author is writing solely for the approval of the creative writing professor from that summer workshop he attended, that she can practically read the favorable comments scribbled in the margins of the manuscript. Needless to say, they were not very good books.
Mr. King has said he does see some value in these writers’ workshops. They provide a source of income for serious writers who aren’t making a living from their writing. Precious few writers are able to do that, by the way. Even the ones who have real contracts with real book publishers still have day jobs. Being able to share their knowledge of the craft is an honest way to earn a buck, even if it does involve nodding solemnly as the participants offer their maddeningly vague critiques.
I’m going to keep writing my books the way I always have. Although I might enjoy a week alone at a cottage in New England, with or without the herbal tea.
Judy Nichols is the author of several mysteries available on Amazon.
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