Writing Can't Be Taught

Last Wednesday's Washington Post had an article titled "A Guide to Prose, Fully Punctuated." It's an interview with Francine Prose, novelist and former teacher of creative writing.

She argues that writing can't be taught (despite the fact that she spent twenty years trying to do so).

The article is sprinkled with advice to writers. My favorite was: "You don't need to know much when you begin."

In context, the comment refers to the fact that you don't need to know everything about your characters or your plot when you start a novel--not that you don't need to know the basics of writing.

I liked this, of course, because it mirrors my approach to writing [grin].

You can read the entire article here.