Can Writing Be Taught? The Debate Rages On.
After over a decade of teaching, I’d say a better question is, can writing be learned?
Can writing be taught? The debate rages on, even as classes and workshops and MFA programs proliferate. These days, there are almost as many writing teachers as there are writers. Writers can’t usually make a living on writing alone, so teaching what they know seems like the natural choice for (slightly) more gainful employment or supplemental income.
Presumably, if you sign up for a writing course, you’d want to learn from the best. Think about that for a second. What kind of person comes to mind? What does “the best” mean to you?
The best writer?
Or the best teacher?
That’s the catch. Knowing how to write is not the same as knowing how to teach. At all. I know from experience.
By third grade, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I loved to read, and when I learned that I could make up stories of my own, that was it. Early on, the stories mostly had to do with little girls with six or eight middle names who — surprise! — got a horse for their birthday. But as time passed, I learned more, practiced, got more serious, and received major affirmation in my efforts from teachers and parents and friends.
