The rise and rise of creative writing courses

Ross Bradshaw asks if creative writing courses give their students an advantage in becoming published.
The excellent Tindal Street Press from Birmingham is a well known publisher of fiction from Birmingham, whose modest output has a singularly strong record in being shortlisted or winning various literary prizes. They have just published Roads Ahead, short stories by 22 newish voices, some from the West Midlands, some from further afield. The book is edited by Catherine O’Flynn, one of their earlier big success stories. As the title suggests, the book is a marker for the future with most of the contributors being at a fairly early stage in their writing career.

Of the 22 writers, five mention that they have completed or are attending creative writing courses at university level. I know two of the others, both of whom used to live in the East Midlands and both of whom completed creative writing courses but did not mention doing so in their authors’ notes. It may be that some of the others have also completed such courses, but at least seven have certainly done so. Of the others, four currently teach creative writing at university level.. Thus at least half of the line up is involved in that world.

It takes a few seconds on google to find that there are many creative writing courses. Locally you can find them at Nottingham University, Nottingham Trent University, Derby University, University of Lincoln, De Montfort University, Loughborough University. Apologies if I have missed any. The number may well have increased since starting this article.

Creative writing courses may well have replaced the old style writing groups. They have, however, been subject to some criticism. Nottingham writer Jon McGregor, for example, as part of a most interesting article on making a living as a writer, comments “Some will find patronage within the great pyramid schemes of creative-writing courses…” as an alternative to his dressing up as a bear, handing out leaflets outside the pound shop in Barnsley, as a way of getting by as a struggling writer. (You can find the full article in Pen Pusher 12, orderable via www.penpushermagazine.co.uk.)

I don’t think Jon was suggesting his ursine habit was a better option. Nor here am I criticising M.A.s in Creative Writing. Some of my best friends etc. And some of the authors I have published or have signed up have done such courses and some teach them.

But I don’t think it would be a good idea if the road ahead for any small publisher had the equivalent of a bus lane for people on creative writing courses.

Supported by Writing East Midlands.

Ross Bradshaw runs Five Leaves Publications, the region’s “biggest small press” and jointly organises Lowdham Book Festival. For ten years he was Nottinghamshire’s Literature Development Officer, and, earlier, spent seventeen years working in a radical independent bookshop. fiveleavespublications.blogspot.com

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Tags: creative writing courses, Jon McGregor, Pen Pusher, Tindal Street Press

November 30, 2009 by ross bradshaw
Filed under Bloggers, Ross Bradshaw

Comments

siobsi

It's not unusual for practising artists in various media to have done some kind of training in their field. Actors might have done a course at RADA or some other such place. Fine Artists might have done a degree course somewhere. I would have thought one reason editors and agents might look seriously at graduates of writing courses is because they have put in some time into learning their craft AND learning about the industry they hope to work in. It's no guarantee of anything but it's a start.

I'll put my hand up and say that the on-line course I did at Manchester Metropolitan was not a lot of use. But then again, I've spent nearly 10 years in Leicester Writers Club learning the sort of things a good writing course might have taught me. Hearing industry professionals like Ross give us the low-down, for instance. That helps. I hope small publishers DO look elsewhere too because not all new writers are going to have the funds/ time or social contacts to get on those kind of courses. But that takes us back to the wider question of access to the arts.
http://twitter.com/damiengwalter/status/6199418624 Damien G Walter

Ross Bradshaw on the rise and rise of creative writing courses. http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1743
orbific

Hi Ross –

There's definitely some correlation between people being published in the magazines I read and attending creative writing courses. As siobsi points out, people who've completed a creative writing course have put significant work into their writing, and are likely to have improved during the course. In that sense, it might act as a 'bus lane', helping people reach their destination faster.

Why is it a problem that increasing attendances by writers at creative writing courses is producing increased success by such writers? And do you think people are being ignored by small publishers for not completing creative writing courses?

Thanks,

James
rossbradshaw

James – I am not sure if I have a firm view on what you say. I guess my greatest concern is the pyramid-selling aspect of creative writing. You do the course, can't make a living writing (few can), so you start teaching creative writing, and your graduates.,. Though the benefits of going on a CW course may be substantial in any career you choose, I'd imagine people would want a direct return on their personal investment of time and money. They want to be published. If all of the graduates from CW courses in the East Midlands were published, publishers would have no room for their existing writers, and there will be another batch next year and the year after.
Meanwhile, Borders has gone down the tubes, book sales are falling, advances are collapsing. Maybe we need more readers rather than more writers?
danielribot

At the moment, the Guadalajara Book Fair is taking place in Mexico. It is estimated that over 600 000 people have already visited the event. That's right, well over half a million, many of them young people, students etc. So the readers are there. The trick is, to write in a language other than English. Two tricks actually, first: write in Spanish, second: write as well as Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes, Carlos Monsivais, Elena Poniatowska or Juan Villoro (all of whom attended the event and couldn't believe the enthusiasm of the crowds or their passion for the written word). Sorry to have to go so far in order to find good news, Ross, but it is there if you care to look. Should we be asking what these countries are doing right that we could imitate, or would that go against the grain?
alanmahar

Ross, Tindal Street Press sent out an open call for submissions by email to as many universities, agents, publishers, writers groups as we could think of; we encouraged writers to pass on the message to story writers they knew. The mailout generated over a hundred story submissions of a surprisingly high standard which we sifted through very carefully. There was some evidence of Creative Writing techniques – some showing off, some obscurity for its own sake, some Angela Carter cloning: typical faults of younger writers trying too hard. But what we ended up with was a varied, lively selection of fresh new writing from across England, not especially weighted in favour of Creative Writing students. The Roads Ahead will be populated with younger writers, mostly graduates, as you'd expect, but not all of them products of Creative Writing courses. Alan Mahar, Publishing Director, Tindal Street Press
orbific

Ross –

Are you suggesting that publishers might take on creative writing graduates regardless of the quality of their work? Surely such publishers would sell very few copies?

Also, amidst all the gloom about publishing there are some very bright signs, one of which is the growth in creative writing courses. The web is a medium which thrives on new content and fills me with optimism about writing in general. New media and opportunities are arising as the old ones fade.

James
rennie parker

Yes, the writing courses are turning into a 'bus lane' for perceived fast-trackers and those with more money; and it is a 'pyramid' scheme in its worse incarnations too. Unfortunately it's a win-win situation for all concerned, which is why it's a booming business. Editors don't have to sort through the slush piles any more, colleges don't have to waste money on unprofitable literature courses, and writers get jobs in these places. And is it easy to get a job in this system? You bet. I'm qualified to teach 300 years of literature, but what do the colleges want me for? Creative writing. I'd be a fool not to say yes, wouldn't I? Once people stop believing they will be published or placed ahead of others in the race as a result of such courses, the pyramid will collapse. But at the moment, it pushes all the right buttons; feeding people's hunger for publication and providing a certificate to seal the bargain.
rennie parker

Yes, the writing courses are turning into a 'bus lane' for perceived fast-trackers and those with more money; and it is a 'pyramid' scheme in its worse incarnations too. Unfortunately it's a win-win situation for all concerned, which is why it's a booming business. Editors don't have to sort through the slush piles any more, colleges don't have to waste money on unprofitable literature courses, and writers get jobs in these places. And is it easy to get a job in this system? You bet. I'm qualified to teach 300 years of literature, but what do the colleges want me for? Creative writing. I'd be a fool not to say yes, wouldn't I? Once people stop believing they will be published or placed ahead of others in the race as a result of such courses, the pyramid will collapse. But at the moment, it pushes all the right buttons; feeding people's hunger for publication and providing a certificate to seal the bargain.