Anonymous asked: Do you think creative writing courses are any good and which courses are the best?
I haven’t taken a creative writing course since university, as part of my degree. I enjoyed and appreciated the workshop structure very much and often think it would be great to start an informal workshop with other writers who are at the same stage as me…but that’s never materialised. (You know, email me if you’re interested.)
The people who I know who’ve taken creative writing courses in the UK - particularly masters’ programmes - cite the time, space, and focus that they provide as the key benefits. They can also help writers to build valuable networks.
What they do not provide is any guarantee of publication, which for me makes it difficult to justify the cost — both in terms of the cash money and the opportunity cost. I do think some courses are banking on the fact that some people will pay a lot to be turned in to novelists…and it may become exploitative if the courses aren’t rigorous and selective.
For more on the debate, here is an interesting article by Leo Benedictus.
