Stephen King: Creative Writing Cannot Be Taught

Stephen King on creative writing classes….I have to agree. Some of the most tedious hours of my life have been in creative writing classes.

Not every writer is good and not everything written by good writers is great.

That’s true, and the idea that someone can tell you how to create is ridiculous. Certainly you can learn structure, format, discipline and tricks of the trade, but even my grandfather–who had more than 30 of his books published–could never give me the secret of how to make a good, solid story.

The idea of teaching a fledgling writer how to be the next Hemingway–or Stephen King– is like teaching a tone-deaf person to sing. You can’t do it.

Either they can create or they can’t.

To keep this from being a complete downer, I will say this: you can write if you work your butt off. You may be like me, terribly average with an occasional “good one” that comes from that hard work (and reading this helps). And if that “good one” is satisfying, then keep writing. But if it’s all frustration and “where’s my book deal?” then you might want to try singing.