Can Creative Writing Be Taught

After reading Alexander McEvoy’s “How Do (I) Write?”, I commented on how the unique journey of a writer’s process cannot necessarily be taught, that it’s something that we must figure out for ourselves on an individual basis. Alexander McEvoy replied that he does not know if creative writing can be taught because it is so individual. This led me to wonder the obvious: Can creative writing be taught? If it cannot, then why do we have so many courses and workshops claiming to do so? Are we just all being duped by some big money-making scheme?

I have a Bachelor’s in English with Emphases in Criticism, Literature, and Theory and Creative Writing, as well as a Master’s in Creative Writing. Since I was in high school, I have attended various courses and workshops on creative writing. Certainly, one would think that if anyone believed that creative writing could be taught, it would be me. However, that is not why I took those courses, and I do not believe that those courses and workshops “taught” me to write creatively.

Does that mean that I regret taking those courses and workshops? Do I think that they were a waste of time? Far from it. They taught me aspects of creative writing that I did not know about before, forced me to think about my writing in new ways, forced me to interact with other writers (something that, as an introvert, I had a very hard time doing until I started taking those courses), got me to write and edit more frequently, got me to read like a writer, and much, much more. I would not have become the writer that I am today without the guidance that these courses and workshops—and the fellow writers that they introduced me to—provided.

How, then, do these courses and workshops not teach creative writing? After all, they seem to provide all the tools necessary to become a better writer. Isn’t that what teaching creative writing is? But that’s the point; these courses and workshops are tools for sharpening the skills that you already have, not a way to learn how to write creatively if you can’t already do it. They won’t be able to give you ideas if you don’t have any. They won’t be able to show you what your voice is if you don’t have one in the first place. If you have nothing to say, they won’t give you something to say. Rather, they will help you to better hone your own style, your way of writing, by providing you with the basic tools that everyone needs to get started.

Creative writing is an individual journey, and not everyone is built for that journey. Yes, anyone can write creatively, but not everyone should write creatively, and it’s not a skill that can be taught. Creative writing comes from unexpected places, from somewhere deep inside of us, and that is something that cannot be duplicated and taught in a classroom. The best that we can do is nurture it, and no, we do not need an official classroom in order to do that. It can be a rec room, a coffee shop, a friend’s living room, anywhere where we can gather, write, read, learn, and give each other feedback. We can do it on our own, or, even better, we can do it with our fellow writers. We can give each other the tools needed to grow our talents, whether it’s a college degree or some feedback on our latest project.

So, no, creative writing cannot be taught, but that does not mean that we should stop “teaching” creative writing. We just need to stop thinking that one form of “teaching” creative writing is better than any other.