Did you find that creative writing workshops/classes actually improved your writing/helped you understand the process...

Did you find that creative writing workshops/classes actually improved your writing/helped you understand the process of writing better, or were they just a waste of time?

Other urls found in this thread:

amazon.com/Scribner-Anthology-Contemporary-Short-Fiction/dp/1416532277
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

asking b/c I hate sharing my writing with anyone but am wondering if maybe I need to go to one of these things to improve

They helped me realize that I am too smart and talented to require the criticism of those intellectually and creatively beneath me

If you're not at an elite artistic level then perhaps they can help you craft commercially viable prose, but I found that my peers only held me back from realizing my true genius

when I share my writing with Veeky Forums, I'm actually just making stuff up just for you guys

I know it takes longer than sharing anything "serious", but it also hurts less when people critique it

I find that they're only semi helpful. The only thing that matters is having your writing reviewed by someone who has writing that you respect. In every workshop that I've ever been in, I've gotten extremely mixed feedback. (i.e. some people love a certain character while other people hate that character). The trick is deciding whose opinion you want to respect.

I took an academic writing course (as well as actually writing essays) which helped a little, but I think I really came to understand writing after learning another language and reading the bible (it has a strange way of using words)

dude, you just blew my mind right now!

Criticism/feedback isn't about knowing if you're good or shit. It's about filtering your audience.

If I show my aristocratic short story to a cute, shy christian girl and she starts throwing up; I know I've hit some sort of arbitrary mark

If edgy teens are into it, I might need to tweak some things.

Seriously, you just blew my mind!

Everyone in my workshop was worthless, either self-publishing awful fantasy or AB rhymed poetry. One poet once told me that a character in my screenplay having asthma is a cliché, the same guy who when I passed on spending 20 minutes writing to the prompt "a magic trunk" looked at me sympathetically and said, "We understand." I went and got a coke and stopped attending meetings after that.

maybe your screenplay just sucked

he sounds like a fag
but so do you

bump

Those writting classes are only usefull when you are playing The Sims, and even then would be easier to do it by yourself at home.

Depends on the teacher.

The bad Creative Writing courses are the ones where "hurr durr art is subjective" and everyone gets an A just for trying. But if the teacher tries to actually impart some knowledge on you regarding style, it can be really eye-opening.

Plus, having other people editing your work is invaluable. If you always edit your own work, it's sure to have some heavy biases in it.

Yes, back in high school having other people read my work definitely made me a better writer. Mostly fixed problems I had with dialogue. Though everyone else in the class was writing fanfiction or some really dark stuff.

I laughed

You improve your writing by reading and writing A LOT. Creative writing classes may be helpful to some but they are not a substitute for doing the heavy lifting of reading and writing.

So you guys are saying I sohuldn't do this?

I'm thinking on a story and maybe want to make writing a passion of mine later.

How do I up my writing game then?

If you need them or they would be useful to you, you probably shouldn't be writing in the first place. Or at least not trying to publish

FFS read and write a lot! Throw fanfic-tier fantasy in the trash and read real literature

trips of truth I guess. I already put away my warhammer books a few months back, though I really enjoyed them. For a while, I alternated between a serious proper literary work and some fantasy but I gave up on that.

I started doing pic related, plan on expanding my knowledge of the philosophers and the ancient times in general. Any recommendations for more modern stuff?

This

This is worth checking out:

amazon.com/Scribner-Anthology-Contemporary-Short-Fiction/dp/1416532277

You'll find lots of literary genres and techniques in this anthology. A cheap 2nd hand copy is a good investment.

faggot

Not to sound like a conceited dick but they only helped me to realize how much worse my peers were compared to me.

The profs would always dote over me and all the other students would resent me. I felt that it was almost harmful to go to these courses because I think of all my favorite authors who were self-trained, which is most authors worth mentioning.

I think it can provide structure for the weak-willed however, which can be good if you need a support system. Classes can also be helpful to provide a pool of amateur editors to look over your stuff, and can provide examples of what not to do.

How do you enjoy thinly veiled (or entirely without veils) escapism? Even when I try, there's this constant voice telling me I ought to stop.

It's so easy when you are a lazy faggot who has no self-respect.