We are finished up our final round of articles discussions in Teaching Creative Writing last night. It was bittersweet (sort of). We've had a lot of good discussions in this class, but the semester is coming to a close, and I'm ready for it. Thanksgiving was not the break that I needed. I'm ready for Christmas Break, and I need it.
One of the articles we discussed is called "Inspiration, Creativity, and Crisis". This article was interesting because it made me think again about the "writer's myth" that we've so often talked about in class. The myth I'm referring to is the one involving Divine Inspiration basically being the only way that people are able to write. Anyone who is in a creative writing program or has done any creative writing knows that creative writing is hard work. Lots and lots of hard work. Blood, sweat, and tears hard work...sometimes. Anyway, I thought about it, and I think I used to buy into the writer's myth" when I was younger. I'm pretty sure I thought that only brilliant people or tortured people could become writers. I may have even thought that ideas happened randomly (that Divine Inspiration), as if they sort of fell into people's minds. Oh, how wrong I was. I'm glad I know better now.
Being teachable also comes up in this article. That is a critical part of creative writing. You can't become a better writers if you're unwilling to learn, to grow and change. So open yourselves up to (constructive) criticism people! It's there to make you a better writer.
BK
3 comments:
Willingness DEFINES a good writer. It takes guts to keep going with this major/field. Maybe it's not completing the degree requirements that is most taxing but rather the courage to keep going after that, after you have hands on the diploma. What's next? Are you going to actually use your degree, all that blood, that sweat, those tears? The "writer's myth," the Divine Inspiration, sure, maybe they are real, but do they last? Have you ever seen a "tortured" hipster writer make it through life only with boxed wine and rice cakes? Exactly.
I am absolutely tired of divine inspiration. There is no way that in the 21st century that anyone is going to crap out the next great American novel.It is the willingness to learn that has the makings of a good writer. I believe some people are born with the ability but even they must hone it into a workable piece of literature.
I think we all want to think that we are teachable, but there are definitely people who are not. I think a large part of being a professor is or teaching writing is learning how to deal with the unteachable. I've watched one of the professors at UCA dealing with unteachable students who believe they are better than the professor and I think the best way to deal with them is just to ignore them. Let them think they're wonderful and move on, until they get some really bitch ass professor or publisher who can cut them down to size.
-Sarah
Post a Comment