Should I Take Writing Courses?
*** This is my 100th post! Wanted to celebrate with you! ***
Ah, to be BORN a good writer. No matter how much raw talent you have, nobody is BORN a good writer. Writing is like anything else all the raw talent in the world doesn’t do any good if you don’t invest the time to learn what to do with it.
Trust me, I’ve had plenty of writing training:
- Bachelors Degree in Creative Writing from University of Arizona
- Attended writer’s conferences all over the world
- I have SHELF of “How To Write ____” books
There is value in all this knowledge. But at the end of the day, do taking classes make you a writer?
Does buying paint and an easel and canvas make you a painter? Hmm…
Here are seven questions to ask yourself before you invest in any writing class:
1. Will this class teach me something I don’t already know?
This is my Number One filter I use before I invest in another class (or book). There’s no right or wrong answer here! But I do apply this additional knowledge as well:
If yes: take the class.
If no: Is it because I am already familiar with the material or is it arrogance on my part?
2. Does this class advance my career?
Sometimes you need to take a class because while the material is familiar to you, the credential you get from completing the class is something that is really valuable.
Other times, the class itself has the knowledge you need.
Here’s an example from my experience: taking a class on how to create an index for a book. Did you know that you can get a certification as an indexer? I had no idea until I was researching how to create an index for my cookbook! So then the question was: Would this class (certification) set me apart from my book-publishing-competition in the markets that I work in?