Can writing talent/skill be taught?

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I guess Whatnots is the best place for this.

I'm just wondering if you guys think that someone can be taught good creative writing skills, or that true writing talent is something that can't be taught?

I'm thinking of taking a college course in creative writing. I like to write little bits here and there and sometimes get little short story ideas form in my mind. I enjoy it. But as I'm not an especially good writer, I wonder if it would be a complete waste of time, or would help me to be actually be able to become a good writer so I could put ideas on paper in an entertaining way that people would actually want to read?

Has anyone ever taken courses like this? Are they really for people with writing talent, to nurture and help you down the right lines. Or, are they to help people try to realise their writing talent and teach you HOW to write in an entertaining way?

I hope I've made myself clear in what I'm trying to ask!

 

I think it can be nurtured in the right environment...

 

I feel it's an inborn talent. Writing, good writing anyway, isn't so much about proper spelling, punctuation, spacing, grammar, etc., but *how* to get your idea to flow to readers who will see what you see in your mind.

If you're looking at these classes to get better at writing instead of an easy grade, they can only help you.

 

Imagination cannot be taught, but writing skills can certainly be taught and refined in a course. The effectiveness of the course will depend on the professor. A professor who can critique well is much more helpful than one that can write well.

 

I think, by definition, skill is taught/learned and talent is almost entirely natural. Skill is the result of study and practice, talent is natural affinity for said activity. There are thousands of "writers" out there penning books that you've never heard of, who get turned down by publishers all the time. Many of these writers went to top schools with exceptional instruction, yet can't write to save their butts.

 

Well writing skills is just a tool for telling a story.
Now if you are good at making up stories and keep your readers captured by it, they will forgive you for not being the best writer in the world. Get a good flow and keep the tension building steadily and people will want to continue to read your story. As for that, I do belive being a good storyteller is something you are born with. People like that are allways looking to tell a story, and are allways coming up with new ideas. Constantly.
So in answer to your question. Some tricks of the trade and writing skills can be taught, but storytelling is somethig you are born with.

 

I've been pondering this one as well, and suspect that it's a learnable skill. On the other hand I'm not sure if there's any element of inborn talent there as well but think it's equally a possibility.

so in conclusion; no idea

 

IMO, writing is one of the higher forms of expression of creativity. Its a lot more important to have talent with writing that anything similar, such as painting or composing music because your words and their structure, flow etc are directly interpreted by the reader. You create mental pictures in the reader's mind through your style of writing.

For this reason, it is my opinion that learning "creative writing" is a misnomer. I would rather say, that these courses can "refine" your writing style.

So to answer your question, I believe they can help you realise your writing talent, and how to best improve on it, refine it so that you are able to write better than you would otherwise.

 

Well, I don't think you can really teach someone how to write. The person in question can just learn. I couldn't be taught to write a story, but I have learned it by reading loads and loads of books, writing a page after page, observing my own works.

Or, you could teach something from the technical side, like spelling, grammar, spacing, things like that. But you can't teach someone to think of a good story.
You could, however, encourage and inspire someone to express themselves better.

 

Barmy, I'm taking Creative Writing and English literature at uni right now...I'll tell you when I've had a few more seminars, 'kay?

 

Ok mate, cool thanks

 

Of course you can teach someone to write. But the chances of the people who run these courses being any good at teaching said skills are probably low (because if they were any good - they'd be busy writing stuff!)

 

Hey, I just saw this topic. As an aspiring writer, let me add my

Writing, good writing, is a combination of skill and talent. Few, if any, good writers are born, and few, if any, are made. Creative writing classes are not about grammer, spelling, etc. They are about educating the student on how to tell a story (or how to structure a poem). If you take enough (good) classes, you could quite possibly learn how to perfectly craft a story, so that it flows and reads perfectly. On the other hand, however, classes cannot teach you to develop a voice. Each writer has a unique voice, and each writer has certain stories floating around in his or her head. Your voice, or the angle you tell the story from, and the actual story itself, determine whether you simply write a well-crafted, but ultimately unintersting story, or a captivating, rememberable one.

 

As above. There are some things that can be taught and some that can't. And what Tal said is also true. The skills they teach you in such a course are probably going to rely on discovering, managing, tapping your abilities or preexistent potential rather than generic teaching of knowledge and skills, such as teaching you grammar (or writing, in general). Or they can give you some organised and focus practice (practice makes perfect and all), but you will be the one practicing.

 

ditto. as with everything though, practice makes perfect.

 

It can be taught (I hope, or else I'm wasting 3 years and 15 thousand quid...)

I'm learning different styles, genres, and poetry (I'm primarily a prose writer).

It's also good to have a forum for feedback, especially from those who have a background in wriitng.

 

Or a workshop...so long as the director knows what he's doing and the fellow workshopers have enough skill to critique you...

 

Anyone can write, the same as anyone can paint, the same as anyone can make up a simple tune...it is rather a matter of if they can do it well, consistently. So I guess it is something you are born with, but can be enhanced through education.

 

Seems like you're asking nature vs. nurture.

I am sure writing differs in some measure from other conditions (e.g. obesity), but that question is like asking, "does a rectangle have horizontal or vertical dimensions?"

The answer, is of course, that a rectangle has both horizontal and vertical dimensions; the more important issue -- for any skill, or for obesity, or intelligence -- is how much of either dimension you have. It's not as if a class will be useless because you are already a literary supergenius, but it's not like you can be molded into James Joyce if you don't have the talent or motivation or whatever quality that is far more internal.

That being said, English Composition is a required class at my university. I think this is a fantastic thing, since it really seems like a lot of people -- even if they can spell and know grammar -- just can't use words to convey ideas.

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I don't know if you are mainly about creative writing, but this isn't terribly true. Pop-lit writers don't necessarily have a great command of the English language. For example, David Foster Wallace (who I believe is a fairly acclaimed writer) teaches creative writing at Cornell. Along those lines, the presumption that just because don't make it onto the market doesn't mean you can write well. You may be a fantastic writer, but if your story is about an epic adventure where an unlikely band of heroes must destroy an evil artifact... come on, how many publishers are going to look at that?

(Now that I think about it, I'd rather not know.)
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