Take a Course, or Just Write?
As a chess master, I sometimes give exhibitions at shopping malls, playing numerous passersby at once. One twentyish opponent at an upstate New York mall gave me a decent fight before succumbing, then asked if chessplayers could make decent money, because he knew he was good.
Poor deluded fellow – he thought he was ready to challenge all comers. He’d had no exposure to the world of organized chess, and he didn’t know that a huge body of knowledge about the game had been built up over centuries, published, and constantly refined. In serious competition against a typical tournament veteran, this guy’s chances would be zero.
Since I subscribe to Writer’s Digest (a fine magazine that I don’t read as closely as I ought), I often receive emailed ads for their writing courses. Part of me thinks, “I should take one of these courses, to get inspiration, feedback, a sense of community, and hard-won knowledge from genuine writing pros.” Another part responds, “You already know how to put words together; don’t spend hundreds of bucks on yet another delaying tactic!” (The remaining part of my brain is pondering the eternal question: “What shall I eat next?”)
Every time I’ve received those ads, I’ve opted to forego formal instruction. Yet I wonder: am I being as ignorant and bullheaded as the mall shopper who thought he knew enough to be a chess champion? Should I admit that I’m a novice at novel-writing and actually try to learn something?
Comments
2 Comments on Take a Course, or Just Write?
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Andrea on
Tue, 6th Apr 2010 3:39 pm
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Admin on
Sun, 11th Apr 2010 11:32 pm
Thanks for posting the thoughts of a writer to inspire all the rest of us to get going too….that is the issue always, how to get out of our own way to create or simply out of the way to let the creative flow through us.
Re: should you spend money for a writing course….would it make sense to add up the dollars spent on your college tuition and translate that to 2010 figures and then…maybe you already spent a fair bit on preparing to be a writer…..?
Thanks for your perspective – certainly thought-provoking! Yes, I’ve already invested in areas related to writing, so instead of pondering courses, maybe I should focus more on just getting out of my own way. (Or, more likely, I should write enough to figure out which barriers are hardest for me to overcome, _then_ pursue solutions to them.)
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