How
to be Class Conscious
by
Tim Waggoner
Have
you ever thought about taking a creative writing class?
Working writer or rank amateur, you can benefit from a good
course in creative writing -- provided you know what to
look for.
Teachers
and writers have long debated the value of creative writing
classes. Opinions vary, sometimes wildly. Some believe that
writing can't be taught and taking such classes is at best
a waste of students’ time and at worst damaging to a nascent
writer's development. Others believe that creative writing
classes can provide a valuable educational experience, perhaps
dramatically decreasing the learning curve on the way to
a literary career.
So
which is it?
The
truth is, both views are accurate. The outcome depends on
a number of factors: the instructor, the focus of the class,
your fellow students and -- most of all -- you.
First,
let's examine the reasons not to take a creative writing
class.
Despite
what you might think, instructors don't need any specific
credentials to teach creative writing. I've taught college
courses for eleven years, and I've seen instructors take
creative writing classes only because they thought they
would be a fun outlet for their own creativity, an outlet
sorely needed after teaching endless sections of basic composition.
But these instructors had no qualifications to teach creative
writing -- no publications, sometimes no experience writing
at all.
Other
instructors have experience, but it's limited, often to
poetry. Since verse is so poorly compensated in our country,
poets are forced to find other avenues of making a living.
And those avenues tend to be found in higher education.
If you're an aspiring poet, this works in your favor. If,
however, you desire to write fiction or creative nonfiction,
this can be a problem. Instructors believe (or have been
led to believe by the university system which spawned them)
that having read and studied fiction in pursuit of their
degree is somehow a substitute for actually writing the
stuff.
(In
all fairness, the same holds true for fiction writers who've
never written poetry or creative nonfiction.)
One
of my creative writing instructors in college was a published
poet who readily admitted that his expertise didn't extend
to fiction. But that didn't stop him from dispensing advice
on how to write it.
Another
problem with instructors is that they're often prejudiced
against genre or commercial writing. They see anything other
than literary writing as inferior hackwork. So not only
aren't they as open as they could be to students who wish
to write mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy or horror,
they usually aren't well read (if read at all) in these
genres. And even if they are broad-minded enough to accept
genre writing in their classes, they don't have the knowledge
and experience to help students with the specialized demands
of genre writing.
Sometimes
instructors are hired to teach creative writing classes
on the basis of their publishing credentials, which can
seem quite impressive, especially to beginning writers (not
to mention a naive administration). But a long list of credits
doesn't automatically translate into an ability to teach.
Often, professional writers can't articulate why and how
they do what they do. They see the process of creativity
as something mysterious and ultimately impenetrable. These
sort of instructors can tell when a student's poem or story
isn't working, but they have difficulty suggesting specific
revision strategies.
The
workshop method is still the primary technique used in creative
writing courses, and this means that the success of a particular
class depends heavily on the students involved, perhaps
even more so than on the instructor him or herself.
Students
don't come to creative writing classes automatically skilled
at giving feedback. They need to be trained. I've had students
tell me that since creative writing is supposed to be completely
free-form expression (or so they believe) no one can possibly
criticize someone else's work. It's all creative and therefore
equally valid. If students aren't taught how to effectively
critique one another's work, several varieties of bad, even
damaging feedback can occur.
A
good creative writing class should be a supportive environment,
but taken to extremes, this can result in a class where
every story and poem is great and wonderful, and nothing
ever needs to be revised. These mutual admiration societies
might be warm and fuzzy, but they do nothing whatsoever
to help a writer grow.
The
other extreme is when all a class does is point out flaws,
sometimes quite bluntly and harshly. Classes like this,
where students struggle to outdo one another in ripping
each other's work to shreds, aren't just unpleasant experiences,
they can be downright poisonous.
Then
there are critiques which are too nitpicky, leading to a
half-hour debate on whether or not someone should have used
a comma or a period to end a certain line of poetry. And
given that the class contains creative people, it's no surprise
that there are critiques which focus not on how you can
improve your work, but rather on how the responder would
take your idea and write a different story or poem (something
I was guilty of back in my college days).
Critics
of the workshop technique argue that student feedback leads
to group think, to writing by committee, and that it produces
generic, bloodless work. You're better off, they say, staying
home and writing on your own.
I
currently have one student who, despite my urgings, has
continually revised the first chapter of her young adult
novel after receiving feedback from myself and the class,
as well as editors and agents at a writing conference. And
each time the writing becomes more labored and less interesting.
She's trying to incorporate every suggestion and forgetting
what it is that she wants to say. It's not uncommon at all
to have individual students with this tendency, but an instructor
has to be careful not to allow the workshop process to take
over the class so completely that all people are doing is
washing garbage instead of moving on to the next story,
the next poem.
The
final problem with workshopping is that some students become
addicted to it. They ultimately end up never finishing pieces,
perhaps never starting them in the first place. Giving and
getting feedback has become their primary creative outlet.
This can also happen with creative writing instructors who've
taught for a while. The result is a class full of people
who don't actually do anything except provide feedback on
drafts that will never be anything but drafts.
The
final problem with creative writing classes comes from how
they are evaluated. Properly, such classes should be graded
on a pass/fail basis. If you meet the course requirements
-- completed all assignments, participated in feedback sessions,
demonstrated improvement -- you pass. However, some classes,
usually due to school policy, are graded A through F. But
creative writing is difficult to evaluate in this fashion.
Assigning a grade of D (poor) or F (failure) isn't too tough,
but just how does one rank a story or poem objectively as
excellent, good or fair (A, B or C)? In the professional
world, critics can't always agree on a work's merits, so
how can a single set of faculty at one school arrive at
a codified set of guidelines for determining the quality
of student work?
The
answer is they can't, and grading is often left up to the
subjective tastes of the individual instructor. Work is
deemed excellent -- or good or average -- for no other reason
than because the instructor says it is. If you don't care
about grades, then this doesn't matter. But if you do care
about them (and most students do), then this can create
a class where students try to figure out what the instructor
thinks an A story or poem is, and then attempt to write
such a story solely to get the grade. You can argue that
this situation approximates writing for a specific audience's
tastes, and therefore might be a valuable learning experience
in and of itself. But such a situation discourages students
from experimenting and self-exploration, both vital aspects
of education.
After
all that, you might well be wondering why anyone in his
or her right mind would ever think about taking a creative
writing class. But despite the potential pitfalls, there
are still plenty of good reasons to enroll, because when
a creative writing class is conducted properly, it can be
an extremely effective learning experience.
If
the instructor is a working professional -- someone who
consistently writes and publishes -- students can gain a
great deal. The workshop method is partially based on the
apprentice model, and apprenticeship has been one of the
primary methods our race has used to pass on knowledge throughout
history. Together, a skilled master and an eager, willing
apprentice can work educational wonders.
The
guidance students receive from an experienced writer-teacher
can be invaluable. And this guidance isn't limited to feedback
on written work. It can take the form of advice on publishing,
networking and marketing. Often, professional writers are
able to use their contacts to help advanced students who
are ready to begin publishing.
The
feedback from fellow students who've been trained to respond
properly to each other’s work can also be quite helpful.
Several years ago, a fellow instructor of mine decided to
audit my creative writing class in order to get feedback
on his poetry. He came incognito, and it wasn't until the
end of the course that the other students had any idea he
was an instructor. So many people write in isolation that
having a group of like-minded individuals to share their
work with is a godsend.
Are
you someone who's always wanted to write -- or used to --
but aren't able to any more because between work, family
and the house you just can't find the time? A creative writing
class can provide you with a structured environment and
make you write. You’ll have specific deadlines to meet and
by the time the class is over, you should have several polished
pieces ready to send out. So crunched for time that you
can't make regular class meetings? Many schools now offer
creative writing courses online. Assignments are e-mailed
to instructors and fellow students for feedback and classes
sometimes meet virtually in chat rooms for lecture or Q&A.
You'll miss out on some of the intangibles of face-to-face
feedback, and you probably won't have the same sense of
community as you would in a physical classroom, but for
many busy students, online courses are proving to be effective
alternatives to the traditional classroom experience.
If
you're already a professional writer, you can still benefit
from creative writing classes.
A
class can be a good way for you to stretch your creative
muscles. Are you primarily a nonfiction writer? Then focus
on short stories or poetry. Even if you don't switch specialties
or pick up a second career, the creative techniques you
learn will make your nonfiction that much better.
Are
you a fiction writer? Then concentrate on poetry. The emphasis
on economy and a heightened sense of language can improve
your stories on a sentence level, and the focus on communicating
profound experience can give your fiction more depth.
Are
you a poet? Try creative nonfiction or fiction. Both can
provide opportunities for a broader exploration of experience
and meaning, plus the narrative techniques you'll learn
can be plugged right back into your poetry, giving you a
greater range of literary tools to draw on.
The
workshop setting can also expose working professionals to
other ways of approaching and solving writing problems.
Too often writers become set in their ways, used to working
with a limited number of well-used (and well-worn) techniques.
Beginning writers haven't had a chance to settle into creative
ruts yet, and they come up with all sorts of interesting
(to say the least!) ways of telling their stories. It's
this fresh perspective that can energize a world-weary (and
perhaps word-weary) pro.
Suffering
from writer's block? A creative writing class could be just
the thing to help you break through it. The deadlines, along
with feedback and encouragement from others, might well
be just the thing to get you going again.
Ever
thought about teaching or conducting workshops? There's
an old saying that the best way to learn something is to
teach it. The opposite also holds true: one of the best
ways to learn how to teach a thing is to first be a student
of it. Take a creative writing class and pay attention to
how the instructor teaches. You can pick up a wealth of
information on various teaching techniques and exercises
(which you can swipe for your own classes), but it can also
teach you about classroom management, and how to effectively
-- and often tactfully -- give feedback to students. Plus,
your instructor can become a resource for you to consult
when you start teaching your own classes.
So
what should you look for in a creative writing class? How
can you tell a good one from a bad one?
First,
check out the instructor's credentials, both publishing
and teaching experience. Ask for a bibliography of the instructor’s
work and try to read some of it before signing up for the
class. If the instructor is a published author, has had
at least some teaching experience, and you like what you
read, then it's time to take the next step.
Meet
with the instructor if you can, or speak with him or her
on the phone. Ask to see a sample syllabus for the course
and the textbooks, if any. Find out what sort of methods
the instructor uses to teach creative writing and what sort
of goals the instructor has set for the course. Find out
what you should get out of the course -- what sort of knowledge
and skills -- by the time it's over. During this conversation,
ask about the instructor's writing and teaching philosophy,
and try to get a sense of your prospective teacher as a
person. Is this someone who you think you could work with
and learn from? Someone you can see apprenticing yourself
to for the next several weeks?
And
if you're a working writer yourself, find out whether the
instructor is going to feel threatened by having you in
the class. Some teachers -- especially if they've had little
training or limited experience -- might not be able to handle
what they see as a challenge to their expertise and authority.
And you definitely don't want to spend a semester locking
horns with your instructor in order to determine who's the
alpha-writer. As with anything in life, there are no
guarantees. The creative writing course you sign up for
might turn out to be a frustrating waste of time or it could
be one of the best educational experiences of your life.
But if you take care in selecting the right course and instructor,
you’ll have done a great deal to ensure that the creative
writing class you take will be the best one for you.
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