Get Ready, Get Set, Go! The 2011 NaNoWriMo Begins

It's that magical time of year again.

Yes, that time.

The time when writers, their faces full of palour and want, can go forth and let their imaginations frolic in the warm sun.

When would-be novelists, can become real novelists!

When daises sing and unicorns...

Oh never-mind.

It's NaNoWriMo! National Novel Writing Month -- when writers from all around the world converge in the ethers of cyberspace to join in the frivolity and festivity that is known as novel writing. For 30 days and 30 nights we write, and write, and write, with the hopes of gallantly reaching that finishing line carrying a hefty 50k-word novel in our pockets.

Will we succeed? Maybe. Will our respective spouses and pets leave us forever out of festering bitterness over being ignored for an entire month? Probably. Will we have fun? You bet.

It's Day One of the challenge and the excitement is palpable... and if you have only just heard about it, well, it's not too late! If you have a novel you have been dreaming to write one day, or have one stored away, awaiting a dust-off, the time is now.

Because if now is not the time, when will be? 

Can Creative Writing Be Taught?

Recently the blog DIY MFA posted a question "Can Creative Writing be Taught?" in response to an article written in The Guardian tackling the same question. It's interesting how many people get wrapped into all sorts of knots over this issue.

To Degree or not to Degree.
To Dare to Dream, or Not.

As if answering this age old question in the world of creative writing and publishing would put a lot of people out of their misery, and usher up the chosen few to the front of the line.

You know.
Those guys.
The ones with 'talent'.

I suppose my official (and short) response to "Can Creative Writing Be Taught?" would be: Yes.Yes it can.

The considerably longer response: I myself have learned creative writing. And I still am learning. Not just through tertiary learning institutions though, but from all sorts of places and people. I read essays, writer's magazines, blogs, online articles, newsletters and take workshops. And, most importantly, I read books. I read lots, and lots, of books. Especially those in the genres in which I am interested in writing. Show me an urban fantasy book and the transformation will amaze you. If urban fantasy was a cookie, I'd be cookie monster - but without the blue fur. Just normal man fur.

I also read a lot of non-fiction books on the art and craft of writing. The local library is full of books published by known and unknown authors on how to write, how to unlock creativity, how to structure the next big Dan Brown-esque novel, etc. Some of the best and most useful books I've found include "Booklife" by Jeff Vandermeer and "Artist in the Office" by Summer Pierre.

Learning creative writing is not about reaching a destination. Joyce Carol-Oates is not going to magically appear in a puff of literary smoke and hand you a laminated card with the words "REAL CREATIVE WRITER" written on it in big, bold, black letters. To learn writing - to learn any art - is an ongoing process on which you embark. It does not happen right away. You've got to be passionate, you've got to have determination, you've got to have the spirit and guts and balls to say "Yes, I can learn."

And the moment you think to yourself "I have arrived!" - you have failed. Just because you have a degree, it doesn't mean you can write, or get published. And just because you're published, doesn't mean that people like you. And if people do like you, and you've got a New York Times Bestselling Novel, you might still kind of suck.

Keep walking, keep journeying, keeping writing, and your craft and skills will grow with you. Every time I get a new issue of Writer's Digest, every time I sit down and write a poem on my napkin, every time I read a book, I learn something new about writing. It never stops. It's crazy.

Ever played Pokemon? That game where you run around catching monsters, and raise them slowly so they gain magical powers?
If you have not, I recommend you try. The analogy helps.

A Declaration of War

The Naysayer

Recently I had the experience of an unfortunate friend saying to me, "You can't really teach creative writing, it's just something you're born with."

Now, this was not the first time I have been faced with this sort of pessimism from friends, family or strangers. Most writers and artists will, at some stage, have comments like this thrown at them. 

The comment was made even more ridiculous by the fact that, I have learned creative writing. At school I was never particularly good at english, nor did I enjoy it. The rules around language skills were boring, if not disabling and mystifying . It wasn't till many years later when I attended creative writing courses at university that I (re)learnt rules around spelling, grammar and sentence structure that had mutated in my mind over time. 

Now many (if not most) of my bills are paid through freelance writing. I have made several professional sales of poetry. I've published articles on health, alternative medicine, relationships, pets, creative writing and book reviews.

Now, I am not the most famous writer in the world. I am learning new things all the time. There is so much to learn. Libraries are filled with books on writing techniques and craft. The internet is bursting with web sites and communities ripe with knowledge. Bookshops are made possible by writers who did not give up, did not listen, and decided to learn to write. 

I have learned, am learning, and this alone is proof that the societal myth around creative writing simply is that - mythology. 

The Myth

So why is it that so many people assume that writing is an innate, sacred gift, bestowed to the chosen few?

Well, for starters, there are stories of writers who became rich, famous and powerful after publishing their first ever novel. Stephanie Meyer is a good recent example of someone who had never written anything before publishing "Twilight", and hit the big time. 

Try this on for size: 30 famous authors whose works were rejected (repeatedly, and sometimes rudely) by publishers.

This whole experience of talking to my friend has gotten me so fired up, so incensed, so burning-hot-mad, I have decided to officially declare War.  

War on the naysayers.

War on the puny pessimists.

War on the creatively-crippled. 

Writing can be learned. Writing can be developed. Writing can be honed and crafted. 

The Plan

I am planning to post a series of articles and blogs on the process of writing, sharing exercises, tips and wisdom that I come across in the journey.I am going to share my own journey of learning to write (for the journey never, ever ends!) and in doing so, leave a trail of bread crumbs for others to follow. I am not proclaiming to be a guru, or an expert. Just a guy too stubborn to give up, or give in. 

Rather scribbling down an exact and formulated plan of action, this blog is going to be an organic and natural creative process. What needs to be written here come through inspiration, through conversation, through books, through projects I work on, through characters I invent or channel.

If there is a need for the knowledge to be communicated, I trust that it will find a way to come through. 

This blog is only one of many, many sources of information and help for those wanting to learn to write, or improve in their writing. 

Its a long, hard road. 
But nothing worth doing is easy.