Wednesday 7 September 2011

Am I the Only Uneducated Writer on the Block?

Well, I was following a discussion on my writers' forum about theme, and it struck me that I only had the vaguest idea of what they were talking about. Sure, I knew what a theme was-- an underlying message, right? But it had  never occurred to me to think about it when writing my story, or apply it any meaningful way. 

This I put down to my lack of formal education in writing. I'm sure there must have been a lecture about it on any good course. And it got me thinking, am I alone? I've never taken a class or a workshop about writing.

Of course formal education is not the only education. Point in case, I've picked up something about themes from my writers' forum, and I occasionally read a writing book. I have attended a writers' workshop but it was entirely peer crit based and included no formal teaching. Also I've read a lot of books, does that count?

So, what do you think peeps? Care to share your education credentials? What was the most valuable lessons you learnt? Would you recommend me taking some courses, somehow, someway?


36 comments:

  1. To answer your question, no you're not. I'll proudly tell you I don't have any degrees or anything in creative writing. Yet, my third book will be published this year traditionally.

    What I do have is a talent for storytelling. I got my start writing craft articles. Then I joined a writing network. It was the best membership I ever paid for. Writers are awesome!

    The other more advanced writers on that network, plus the hundreds of craft articles I've read are what helped me get published. I did a year at a Saturday only writing workshop and I did it because it gave me a link to a local literary page (who you know and all that). I haven't looked back since, I keep myself updated by reading books, articles and critiquing other people's work.

    As to themes, I find they emerge in my writing whether I know they are there or not and unknowingly I write about the same ones - familial relationships, trust, fidelity, loyalty and choices.

    If you feel you need it, by all means do a course. Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing if you're satisfied with your progress so far.

    Getting off my soapbox now and moving along...

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  2. I think reading and writing exercises are enough if you don't want to take the leap into courses. There are so many resources out there now, that getting a degree in creative writing seems out of place to me.

    One of the best books I've read that helped me understand things like theme is the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor. It's really meant as an aid in literary analysis, but if you can really understand how other authors use these, then your writing improves as well.

    Good luck!

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  3. I, too, has no edumication in the fineries of writin. Sometimes I feel like that puts me at a disadvantage. Other times I feel like I'm so awesome I can overcome it.

    Either way, it makes having discussions with folks actually educated on it a difficult prospect.

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  4. One of the clearest discussions of "theme" came not from any course, but from a book on "writing for Comics" by Alan Moore (which is a misnomer - the last two words in that title could be removed - it's a great resource.) Alan Moore is the writer of Watchmen / V for Vendetta etc.

    In it (I'm paraphrasing slightly, bear with me)Moore explains theme as "The idea that you want to explore with your story." The plot is the framework you use to tell the story, NOT the story itself. If the theme is racism, the plot is Charlton Heston landing on a planet full of super-intelligent monkeys.

    I've taken a professional writing course, but it was a mentor-based critique, so the "teaching" came from the careful evisceration of my precious words. (But totally worth it. I've now got more skills and less ego.)

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  5. I have an analytical nature and love to pull things apart to see how they work. I do the same thing when I'm reading. Reading for me is the best education... but so is workshops, writing books, creative writing classes, grammar lessons, crit partners etc

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  6. If you are going to be a writer, I think that there is a certain amount of natural talent that you have got to have. Education hones this if you will into a better tool. What you don't know about writing, you can learn. Just remain open-minded and follow some blogs that talk about writing techniques. Moody Writing is one of the ones that does this in practically every blog post.

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  7. The best lessons learned have come through experience. But it doesn't hurt to go to writers conferences and read craft books. I have learned a lot from that as well as from my writer buddies. Just reading blogs clues me in some times.

    And I agree with Michael. There is a bit of natural talent involved. And everyone's success story is different.

    Good luck!

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  8. I'm a firm believer in learning by experience. There's no replacement for just taking the leap and trying things yourself. Don't get me wrong, I think formal education is valuable! But I also think there is only so far it can take you and then you have to learn the rest by doing.

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  9. Thanks for all the great comments. One thing I've discovered it that there's no one way. But I love hearing about other people's experiences. And picking up tips along the way.

    @J.L. It sounds like you've picked up a considerable amount of craft through craft articles. I do think about story-- a lot, but not in a formal way.

    The question is, am I happy. Well . . . yes and no. I'm delighted at what I've acheived so far, but also ambitious to do better. That's why I'm always on the lookout for new ways.

    Themes are an interesting topic. I've never thought about them in a conscious way. What I'm thinking about at the moment are practical ways of deepening the themes which emerge in my own work.

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  10. Hello Witless. Thanks for the tip. That book sounds really interesing, I'll be sure to search it out.

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  11. Hi Joe. I find it amazing that I can do what I do without any formal edcuation. I don't feel bad about it, at all. But it would be nice to have more 'language' when expressing myself to my writerly pals.

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  12. Chris, I'm a huge Alan Moore fan. I will certainly look for his book. Theme, theme very intesting. I do it all on a subconcious level. I can certainly see a trend of themes emerging. I have one about questioning the status quo that often slips in. I'm such a rebel.

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  13. I did an OU degree in Eng Lit which involved some creative writing - but I do agree with others that experience counts for more. It's a craft that needs to be learned. Courses, though, can help you shorten the learning period, I feel. You can learn from the mistakes and experiences of others.

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  14. You know Lynda, I'm teaching myself to read for pleasure again. For the last couple of years I've been reading as a writer. But I want to be able to do both. I'm nearly there. It's a mind-set.

    I do think reading so much has helped me. And as I wrote I was interrupted by an Amazon delivery-- Justin Cronin's 'The Passage.' I'm looking forward to this one.

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  15. Simon, I love the OU. I took some arts course about ten years ago. I'd kinda like to do some more, but writing is consuming all my time.

    I would like to try some workshops, but I don't know of any in the UK. They'd have to be SF, fantasy or horror for me. I'm sure there must be some. There are heaps in the States.

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  16. Michael, not everyone would agree with you about talent. I've seen quite a few articles dismissing it as a myth. Me? I'm on the fence with that one. Thanks for the reminder about Moody Writing. It is a top resource.

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  17. Hello Allison and Liz. Thanks so much for commenting. It seem that everyone, so far has agreed that learning by doing is the most important factor. I wonder where all the Creative Wrtiing MA's are? (not following my blog -- hee hee).

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  18. @Deb,

    I agree. My "practical" vocabulary when discussing writing as a study is limited. But the way I see it, my language as a writer can match up with any of them, and that's all that really counts.

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  19. I think the best education we can get as writers is to read as much as possible and be intentional about it: study the writing of authors we adore and see what they did right. As for "themes" -- mine often don't emerge until after I've written the story. A friend might ask, "So what was that all about?" And as I explain what I was trying to say in the story, I find that I have a theme, after all.

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  20. Oh, yeah, Deborah, an ambitious and progressive writer is ever on the lookout for ways to better their craft.

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  21. @J.L. Oh yes, and that's what's makes it such a challenge. When you climb the moutain, you can see the peak's of the next one rising above you. It's rather exciting.

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  22. Well "theme" is tricksy to grasp in a meaningful way as a writer even when it's being "taught" to you in a wonderful teacher in a traditional classroom. As a student of literature, "theme" is much easier to grasp because you just objectively "find the theme"; you don't have to gain perspective on your own piece and somehow tweak your writing in a meaningful way around something you half-formed based on intuition and now want to fully form so that students of literature can objectively see it one day. :) Okay, that was a mouthful.

    I have a lot of formal education in writing. I like education ... I like that it speeds up the process and keeps me out of the work force which would slow down my writing by eating up my time.

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  23. Hi,

    Late to the party, and not one for giving advice because it can sound awfully "all-knowing", I'll only say reading across the genre' and treading unusual platforms does a lot of good for a writer in expanding one's horizons. Oh, and if it ain't fun while you're doing it, writing that is, go do something else 'cause themed or not if it's a chore to do, it'll show in end product. ;)

    best
    F

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  24. Education is an asset--in any field--but by no means necessary to be a writer, I think. I agree with the other commentors that it's experience that counts.

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  25. Great question and I can't add anything new to the comments. Thanks for commenting on my blog today.

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  26. Another 'uneducated' writer here. And by that, I mean formal education. Most of what I've learned about the craft of writing has been via the internet, critiques, rejections and books.

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  27. @Eileen, thanks for your thoughts about theme. I'm still thinking about it. A new blog post might be in order. Yep, education is cool. I'm jealous that I can't speed up my process like you.

    @Francine, hi. Everyone's coming up with real interesting comments. I'm not sure about enjoyment. Sure you get the odd story that is just pure fun to write. When you're in the zone, that is just so much fun. All the other time, it's work for me. Do I enjoy it? Yes, somewhat. But it's not that pure zone flow enjoyment.

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  28. Hi, Golden, Hi Carol. Thanks for dropping in.

    Hi Cate. I'm surprised how many of us haven't been taught formally. We're so lucky with the internet. There are tons of resources out there.

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  29. I have a BA in English, creative writing. While I learned a lot from going to college, it wasn't from my creative writing classes, which instead gave me several bad habits that I've been working at getting rid of for years. The lit classes? I enjoyed and found valuable. But it was the playwriting (theater department) classes that I found most valuable. Actors know voice and character development, and they know how to wriggle it out of a text in a very practical way that writers (and writing teachers) often don't.

    Anyway. What is theme? Theme is the "so-what," as in "I wrote a story about aliens who are attacking a society run by robots, and the only person who can save them is a bratty kid." "So what?" "I just wanted to say something in favor of bratty kids."

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  30. I got nothing. I took my last English class in something like 1990. I can barely remember what a noun is.

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  31. Like you, it's mostly about writing books, magazines, and better-educated friends. I also add Podcasts from ITunes, especially I Should Be Writing and Writing Excuses. Well worth the time, for info and motivation.
    I also find that the more I write, the more clinicly I read. I recently came across a character-defining "recolection" that would have come-off better in dialogue, but later found that the character's solitude served the story, so I learned my lesson.

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  32. @Rusty *laughs* and what is are these adverbs that everyone keeps talking about?

    @DeAnna, I've heard other writers talk about the value of playwriting. Thanks. I should look into that. Sorry that you picked up bad habits from creative writing class. *sigh* That's just not right.

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  33. Hi Will, god tip, I never thought of podcasts-- thanks. Yep the reading as a writer thing, is a real pain, useful, but not so good when you just want to snuggle down and read a good book.

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  34. My last English lesson was way back in 1987. That makes me feel ancient. But no, you are not alone.

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  35. I have always yearned to take creative writing classes, or go back for the MFA in creative writing, but I haven't done so. Reading books about writing has been so helpful. I even have books about the MFA and how the book is supposed to educate me for only a few dollars instead of the thousands of dollars that the MFA would cost :) I think reading and writing are the two key elements of learning the craft!

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  36. Hello K. Hello Rebecca. It's good to know that I'm not alone.

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