tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post6227464420885340052..comments2023-05-29T09:14:39.465-04:00Comments on The Novelista: Do Writers Need Formal Training?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post-8566690455900519022015-02-07T12:05:26.996-05:002015-02-07T12:05:26.996-05:00Most definitely. :) I recommend writers give serio...Most definitely. :) I recommend writers give serious thought to not majoring in English. Take the time to make up your mind without going in automatically.Briana Morgannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post-5232035300289873882015-02-07T12:04:35.210-05:002015-02-07T12:04:35.210-05:00So glad you agree! I majored in English in school ...So glad you agree! I majored in English in school and wasn't too happy that we could only write literary fiction. Any kind of genre writing was strongly discouraged, which I feel stifled some creativity.Briana Morgannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post-38675520182534064322015-02-07T12:03:38.197-05:002015-02-07T12:03:38.197-05:00I didn't know about Benjamin Franklin! Thanks ...I didn't know about Benjamin Franklin! Thanks for sharing. :)Briana Morgannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post-22678814263389444772015-02-06T16:35:46.321-05:002015-02-06T16:35:46.321-05:00Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at age 10....Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at age 10. Mark Twain didn't go to high school or university. Charles Dickens attended school only from ages 12 to 15.<br /><br />The list could go on.<br /><br />What makes a writer good, as Briana points out, is reading the upstanding works preceding you and lots, LOTS, of practice. <br /><br />Nothing else. No amount of education can make up for a lack of guts or practice.Victor Salinashttp://www.grauwelt.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post-57385951241073975242015-02-06T13:33:21.214-05:002015-02-06T13:33:21.214-05:00I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a double ...I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English and Psychology, and if anything, I recommend people DON'T study writing formally. The creative writing class I took was stifling, and killed my creativity for a number of years because the only way to 'write well' accordingly to the lecturer was to do it the way he wanted - genre, style, etc. And it was not a style I enjoyed. I literally had to write stories the way I knew he would want them in order to pass, because anything else would have got me a fail. I know that there is great potential for these classes to go well, but I also think there is great potential for those classes to put writers into boxes that will not be helpful in the long term, and in fact might slow them down in finding their own voice - which is so important. A much better tactic is to write lots, to read lots, and find a group of writers who will give you honest, insightful critique into your writing, like you said :-)jchartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7897977885330968630.post-9182685746162888902015-02-06T13:07:21.023-05:002015-02-06T13:07:21.023-05:00While I agree with the benefits of an English degr...While I agree with the benefits of an English degree for writers, I think there's a heck of a lot of value in studying another subject that can later apply to your writing. I majored in Biology and while I don't use it as a scientist, I feel like I can write about the topic with some authority. I have an "in" into that mindset and can apply it to a range of descriptions and characters.<br /><br />The most important thing (in my opinion) is for writers to expand their knowledge base far and wide so that their creativity is stretched and exposed to all types of stories!A.E.noreply@blogger.com