ABSTRACT
I suppose in other creative disciplines you have to learn how to use all the equipment but [doing creative writing] you don’t really have any equipment apart from a pen. (Student comment)
I can only write when I’m inspired. (Student comment)
The execution belongs to the author alone; it is what is most personal to him, and we measure him by that . . . His manner is his secret, not necessarily a deliberate one. He cannot disclose it, as a general thing, if he would; he would be at a loss to teach it to others . . . the literary artist would be obliged to say to his pupil . . ., ‘Ah, well, you must do it as you can!’ (Henry James, ‘The Art of Fiction’)
One of the questions that may be in your mind when considering or beginning a course is whether creative writing can really be taught. You
might even be wondering whether a course could interfere with your natural creativity, by imposing rigid methodological frameworks on a process that has always been spontaneous for you. This chapter will argue that to get better as a writer you have to practise, that you have to practise the right things, and that it makes sense to get advice about what to practise from someone who understands how to write well.
