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<blockquote data-quote="wbmcdermott" data-source="post: 222228" data-attributes="member: 2419"><p>I am a published author who has taken exactly two creative writing classes (one in high school and one in college). I also took a slew of other writing classes (including advertising copywriting, journalism, and various editing seminars), but only two of what I would call "writing" courses for the sake of the topic of this thread.</p><p></p><p>I agree with most of what Radiating Gnome said, except for his inference that the NYT Best-Seller list is populated by literary works. Let's face it, the top selling novels are all genre books of one sort or another (mystery, thriller, horror, even the odd fantasy or science fiction book).</p><p></p><p>But as far as my 2 cents are worth on this subject, the best teacher of writing is the act of writing itself. Now, you do need critique or you'll never get better. But the best critique you can get is a constant paycheck for your writing. That and reading -- a lot!</p><p></p><p>My path to publication went through the editing field, so I learned how to write by rewriting the work of others on a daily basis. Everything I have learned about plot, character development, structure, and dialogue, I have picked up by reading the work of authors I admire. And if you want to write in the genre, I say read in the genre to learn the craft. Lord of the Rings (the movie) would not have worked as an art film. Just as Memento (sorry, I haven't seen Ghost Dog) would not have worked if the writer and director had followed the rules of a conventional thriller.</p><p></p><p>I guess, what I am saying is that you have to write to and for your audience. Now, that's not to say that your genre story can be formulaic and stale. You have to engage the reader, but you have to do it in a way the reader can relate to.</p><p></p><p>Yes, genre novels (even NYT Best-selling genre novels), are plot- and character-driven. So you need to make your plot compelling and yet believable. You have to make your characters real, yet interesting. And, for your main character, there has to be more than just conflict, he or she must face the conflict and be changed in the end by that conflict. One without the other will not work. If the character faces the conflict and does not grow, your readers will view him or her as egotistical, or whiny, or dull. If the character does not face the conflict (or has it resolve around him or her through some action other than his or her own), your character will look weak and ineffectual, even if the conflict changes the character completely.</p><p></p><p>These are things I have learned from writing (a lot), from reading (often), and from talking to other writers (whenever I can), not from writing classes. The two positive points I will give to writing classes, though, is that they force you to write and you get worthwhile feedback about your writing. Never shrug it off as "the professor doesn't understand the genre" (although I'm sure I did the same thing in my college writing class). But, if I wanted to become a genre writer, I would not stay in a class where the professor said "you may not write that genre in this class." That's just lazy teaching. Find a class where you can learn how to write in the genre you are interested in, so you can learn how to write better in that genre.</p><p></p><p>Sabre</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="wbmcdermott, post: 222228, member: 2419"] I am a published author who has taken exactly two creative writing classes (one in high school and one in college). I also took a slew of other writing classes (including advertising copywriting, journalism, and various editing seminars), but only two of what I would call "writing" courses for the sake of the topic of this thread. I agree with most of what Radiating Gnome said, except for his inference that the NYT Best-Seller list is populated by literary works. Let's face it, the top selling novels are all genre books of one sort or another (mystery, thriller, horror, even the odd fantasy or science fiction book). But as far as my 2 cents are worth on this subject, the best teacher of writing is the act of writing itself. Now, you do need critique or you'll never get better. But the best critique you can get is a constant paycheck for your writing. That and reading -- a lot! My path to publication went through the editing field, so I learned how to write by rewriting the work of others on a daily basis. Everything I have learned about plot, character development, structure, and dialogue, I have picked up by reading the work of authors I admire. And if you want to write in the genre, I say read in the genre to learn the craft. Lord of the Rings (the movie) would not have worked as an art film. Just as Memento (sorry, I haven't seen Ghost Dog) would not have worked if the writer and director had followed the rules of a conventional thriller. I guess, what I am saying is that you have to write to and for your audience. Now, that's not to say that your genre story can be formulaic and stale. You have to engage the reader, but you have to do it in a way the reader can relate to. Yes, genre novels (even NYT Best-selling genre novels), are plot- and character-driven. So you need to make your plot compelling and yet believable. You have to make your characters real, yet interesting. And, for your main character, there has to be more than just conflict, he or she must face the conflict and be changed in the end by that conflict. One without the other will not work. If the character faces the conflict and does not grow, your readers will view him or her as egotistical, or whiny, or dull. If the character does not face the conflict (or has it resolve around him or her through some action other than his or her own), your character will look weak and ineffectual, even if the conflict changes the character completely. These are things I have learned from writing (a lot), from reading (often), and from talking to other writers (whenever I can), not from writing classes. The two positive points I will give to writing classes, though, is that they force you to write and you get worthwhile feedback about your writing. Never shrug it off as "the professor doesn't understand the genre" (although I'm sure I did the same thing in my college writing class). But, if I wanted to become a genre writer, I would not stay in a class where the professor said "you may not write that genre in this class." That's just lazy teaching. Find a class where you can learn how to write in the genre you are interested in, so you can learn how to write better in that genre. Sabre [/QUOTE]
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