People always ask that, which is only natural. And I always reply: "Of course it can; of course, it can’t". Let me explain…
Creative writing seminars - or, better, workshops - can help new writers get their bearings more easily. They can give them wings, faith and direction as well as raising their awareness of technical matters they would have discovered for themselves, sooner or later, as they got into their writing. They can save new writers time and help them get to grips with their material and discover their voice sooner, with less pain. And I don’t use ‘pain’ lightly. Writing is like giving birth: the road to completing your first literary work is an intense, difficult and sometimes terrifying experience; having a teacher, mentor or support group there to hold your hand can help with that pain. And while it can’t implant a seed that wasn’t there in the first place, it can help writers nurture that seed and bring it to fruition to the best of their abilities. Given, of course, that the workshops are led by someone with the sensitivity and respect, the empathy and the cultivation, to nurture a group atmosphere conducive to the new writers finding their way without indirectly imposing their own literary preferences on them.
(to be continued …)
Your comments and questions are most welcome, as is the dialogue they give rise to.
