Having come to the end of a master’s degree in creative writing, I wonder, aloud, on the AustralianReader.com blog, in a four-part series, if ‘learning’ how to write in an academic institution was worth it – and if it’s right.
My hope is that my experiences and what I took from the course will be somewhat informative, helping those considering enrolling in a writing course to make a decision and adding something to the learning to write debate.
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2 Comments
From reading Part 1, it sounds like we had similar experiences. I like your comment about the lack of romance in the modern university. Anyone with bookish notions of dimly lit libraries and tutorials overstuffed with tweed jackets with patches will be sorely disapointed. I think this environment grounds you in the reality of why you are actually there – you don’t “learn” to be creative, for me its all about resources.
As you say, its the exposure to new authors and new techniques within a practical and structured learning environment. To learn to build a house, you actually need to go an build one – the advantage of uni is that you’ve got an expert on site able to offer feedback and advice during construction.
Looking forward to Part 2. By the way, I was going to post this comment over at AustralianReader.com but their fascist commenting system doesn’t allow anyone without a WordPress or Google account to post comments.
Mark – I wholeheartedly agree, you can’t “learn” to be creative. These courses, if they’re worth it, should teach you the framework to work within and direct your creative energies. My course was about discovering how limited and constrained the framework was, something I may never have discovered on my own.
I’m going to look at how much of an influence the tutors have later in the series but your “experts on site” comment is a fine way of looking at it.
And I’ll let the boss at the AustralianReader.com blog know about the commenting system there.
Thanks for stopping by.