The Power Of Knowledge

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When I finished my Faber course back in April one of the last things our tutor said was, don’t enrol on anymore writing classes, just get on with it now, and WRITE!

Initially I thought, yeah, great advice….like Nike says “Just Do It!

But then a couple of weeks ago I heard an interview on the radio with Tracy Chevalier (who wrote Girl With A Pearl Earring) where the interviewer asked her why she had decided to go down the Creative Writing MA route rather than just write. She responded by saying that she felt she needed the structure and instruction that a course like that gave her.

I was already thinking what the hell was I was going to do after Faber and Tracy’s words really struck home. I think I’m quite a lazy writer, no, perhaps not lazy, oh what’s the word? I’m the type of writer who needs a push. When it comes to a choice between the carrot and the stick I probably respond better to the stick, that’s for sure. I suffer from huge motivation issues.

Sooooo, after hearing what Tracy said I went straight online and looked up writing courses. I still have so much to learn (I feel) and as I’m a member of 2 writing groups I don’t feel that I’m lacking in contact with fellow writers, so I was looking for something I could do at my own pace, at home.

I’d seen adverts for The Writers Bureau in all the writing magazines. I know people who have done the course, and I even know a couple of writers who tutor for them. So I signed up for the Comprehensive Writing Course and my pack arrived last week 🙂

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I’m a big believer in learning as much as I can about writing, but I know at some stage my Faber tutor is right, but I don’t feel I’m ready to let go of learning, just yet….So when will I know I am?

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32 thoughts on “The Power Of Knowledge”

  2. The learning never ends. You just write and keep writing. Next year you’ll look at what you did this year and maybe be horrified, but that only means that you’ve learned so much. All of us keep learning (if we’re serious about writing) but it need not always be in a formal situation. We pick up little tidbits from other writers, from books, from other bloggers, from writing groups and critiquing groups. But the important thing is to keep writing and don’t hide the writing. Get it out there so you can get feedback on it. You go, Girl!

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  3. Can’t answer the question but from my experience every time I take a writing course I learn much and receive a shot of motivation. After one of the online classes I took with Savvy I said, hmm not sure what I learned. Then sat down and wrote a good part of my now dead story. My screen writing class taught me how to plot. So now I’m writing my new story and following the guideline from class for plotting. I guess I’m not ready to let go of the learning either because I always get so much out of the classes

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  4. I’m looking forward to seeing how you go with this course, Vikki. I think we need to ‘oil the wheels’ a bit to keep ourselves motivated so we can get stuck into the WIPs. Best of luck! 😀

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  5. Good Luck Vikki. I agree that the learning never ends and that courses do give structure. To a certain extent assignments make you write what they want you to write though. Not a bad thing, just make sure you have the time to write the stuff you want to write toox.

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    • Whoops! I hit the thumbs down button by mistake *mutter grumble* 😦

      Thanks Debbie 🙂

      Yeah, I have found that on courses before with time constraints, I ended up writing what they wanted me to write all the time and then I had no time left to write what I wanted. But the thing I like about this course is you can take as long as you want, so I can still fit it in around my own writing 🙂

      Xx

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  6. I have looked at writing courses before and completed one with the London School of Journalism, my tutor was a very experienced and successful author herself. I really enjoyed it. Good luck with your course.

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      • It really depends what you are looking for. I was after something that would hone my romantic novel writing skills – it worked for me. I would say it is probably less formal than say an OU course or an academic writing course, but I liked that as it seemed more personal, less pressure and very enjoyable.
        Hope that helps.
        x

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  7. Your post really resonated with me. I have also just finished a creative writing course; our last class was last week. I’m also feeling around in the dark trying to work out what to do next and am facing the scary prospect of having to just write! I seem to have spent a week writing about not knowing what to write about so far. I look forward to hearing about how the Writers Bureau course goes. I too live learning and am not sure I’m ready to give that up, or to go it alone!

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  9. I think that doing the writing course is a great idea. After I finished my first online creative writing course with http://www.writingclasses.co.uk, I was bereft so I then took a another class with them. When that finished, I was so used to writing one piece a week that I continued doing it and that’s how I started writing for magazines.

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  10. This is a great course – I have done some of it, just the fiction part, although I haven’t finished it. I am sure it was what helped me to get published and it gives you lots of know-how in a form you can easily refer back to. Enjoy!

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    • Thanks Linda 🙂

      I did consider doing just the fiction one, but I thought, no, lets stretch some boundaries, and lets face it, my blog is non fiction, just about lol

      Thanks honey xx

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  11. I was about to say that I haven’t really taken any structured courses when I realized that I just finished the massive revision course at Holly Lisle’s. 🙂 Otherwise though, mostly I just write stories and read craft books because I think I might resent having to write things for an assignment when my time is already at a premium. I’ m pretty self-motivated though, so it’s all good.
    I always like to read about what you learn in your classes though, so I hope you keep taking them. 😉

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    • Ahhhhh, yes, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Holly Lisle course. Was it good?

      Good for you Kirsten! I have hundreds of writing books, but I never really seem motivated to use them. Saying that, I’m reading Natalie Goldberg’s Wild Mind at the moment which is excellent! I love the ‘try this’ bits 🙂

      Thanks honey xx

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      • Have you read Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones? It’s one of my favorites, and I will definitely be checking out Wild Mind sometime.
        The Holly Lisle revision course is really in-depth, and simply amazing. It is challenging though. It took me forever to finish it, although other students zipped right on through. I think how long it takes depends on the level your writing is at when you start in on it.

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  12. You’ll know you’re ready when you run out of money and can’t pay for any more courses 😉 Some people who teach writing, are hopeless writers themselves, so always check out their credentials. Enrolling on one course after another, can be a cop-out. The best way to learn to write, is to read widely. Then just sit down and write. It’s as simple as that. You can do it. Just believe in yourself.

    Are you on facebook? I belong to a closed (invitation only) writing group and a related critiquing group there. We’re a mix of published and unpublished authors, plus a few editors and agents. Email me if you’re interested in joining us. It’s a really supportive and dynamic group. You can find my email address, if you click on my Gravatar.

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    • Ha ha ha, that’s very true Sarah 😉

      Yes, I’ve found that too 😦

      Ahhhhh, yeah, a cop out…I know, but, I’ve only been writing since 2010, so I guess I’m just so aware that I still have so much to learn 😦 Thanks honey.

      Ooooo, yes, I am on FaceBook, wow, yeah, that would be great! I need all the support I can get lol

      Thanks honey, will e mail you xx

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