Some say that writing can’t be taught. If you have the talent, you have it, and if you don’t you don’t. So what’s the point of going to school anyway? Why don’t you just sit at home and write!?!
But school is good for lots of stuff in my opinion. The thought that creativity springs magically from an inner well of talent is misguided and comes from a romantic prejudice (that art is about “un-learning” culture). You can learn many things by taking courses (the workshop form is the best), and among them are:
1. Critique and feedback. It is often hard to judge your own work. In class you quickly learn to accept critique and take it in the right spirit. If somebody doesn’t understand what your script is about, it’s not their fault – it’s yours.
2. Reading your script out loud. If you write for the movies, you need to hear your own lines and see people’s reactions. Laughs, tears, toe-curling?
3. Getting assignments you didn’t think of yourself. Writing from the gut tends to be producing the same stuff over and over again. If you write “dark” why not force yourself to write something funny? Why not draw index-cards with character descriptions on them and write a story from that?
4. Getting rid of your self-importance. Writers can sometimes choke on their own high estimation of themselves and the importance of their work. But if you are forced to write a comedy scene in two hours and read it aloud in class you will quickly loose your Proustian self-image and get over it. It might not be art, but it’s finished!
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