Philip Palmer
I teach aspiring writers and my advice is always: 'Don't do it!' Oddly enough, no one is ever discouraged by that.
What that advice really means is: make sure you have backups and income flows, so you can enjoy your life. And write because you want to, and because you think readers will want to enter your story worlds. And if you earn enough to give up the day job, that's a blessed bonus.
On a more practical note, I know a number of writers who have never done a course in writing - I'm one of them. But creative writing courses at BA and MA writing can be a great way to get professional input in a structured way. I teach part-time on a BA at Goldsmiths College in which a small part of the course is creative writing - and the outcomes are often fantastic. Writers thrive, basically, when they get feedback, and when they share the company of other writers.
What that advice really means is: make sure you have backups and income flows, so you can enjoy your life. And write because you want to, and because you think readers will want to enter your story worlds. And if you earn enough to give up the day job, that's a blessed bonus.
On a more practical note, I know a number of writers who have never done a course in writing - I'm one of them. But creative writing courses at BA and MA writing can be a great way to get professional input in a structured way. I teach part-time on a BA at Goldsmiths College in which a small part of the course is creative writing - and the outcomes are often fantastic. Writers thrive, basically, when they get feedback, and when they share the company of other writers.
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