You might think there's an obvious answer to that question. Of course they're not made; you can write or you can't - end of story. Or is it? Almost two years ago I decided to apply for an MA course in writing for young people. At that point I was developing a fantasy story for older children which was going well. I was inspired that autumn when I went to a talk given by the lecturer and ex students of the course who said it was an invaluable help to them and led to them being published.
So after some thought I applied and was given an interview for the following April. I went along to the interview and although I was very nervous I enjoyed meeting the lecturers who conducted the interview and hearing more about the course, which sounded fantastic. I felt it went well and was cautiously optimistic, especially as the interviewers told me I had done well to get to the interview stage as many applicants did not.
I was hugely disappointed when I found out a short while after that I had not been accepted onto the course. At first I thought about reapplying, but then I realised I didn't really have the funds for it anyway. The fantasy story I had been writing became less and less enjoyable for me to write. As I mentioned earlier in this blog, I found that because of the advice I'd been given by the lecturers at the interview and from others, I was confused about what changes to make to what I'd already written - which was a lot - and how to go forward plot-wise. The story has been abandoned at least for now. I may resurrect it at some point.
This may all seem a bit irrelevant to the title of this blog entry. Actually it isn't. Whilst the course intially sounded wonderful, a chance to review your own and others' work, to hone your craft with the support of other writers (students and teachers) and to be studying in a truly beautiful setting, after a while I began to wonder if actually it's better in some ways as an author to forge your own path. You have more autonomy over your own work, you're not under pressure to constantly edit your work to suit others' suggestions and you can work at your own pace which can be a lot less stressful.
I feel that writing courses, whilst they can be hugely beneficial, also have drawbacks. Can you train someone to write well? Or is it more a case that writers really are born, not made? Do authors have to be born with the skill of being able to communicate artistically through the medium of literature? Or can you take anyone of average intelligence and with a lot of training turn them into a writer? Maybe that's a bit of an extreme proposition, but ultimately how do you teach someone to write? Perhaps it really is a case that writers are born not made.
Of course writers can improve their talent but most published authors - I'm guessing - haven't been on expensive writing courses. They've simply honed their craft over the years and found out what works and what doesn't. A friend told me that they were convinced after reading one novel that it had been written by a someone who'd done a qualification in writing, an MA or suchlike. This interested me a great deal; the notion that it's possible to differentiate between a writer who has been 'trained' and one who hasn't.
Personally I feel that a true writer is born not made. They can be encouraged and helped along the way to improve their style, but ultimately the talent comes from them. So overall maybe it was for the best that I didn't get on to that MA course. I can forge my own path with my writing and be a free agent!
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