In acting school, I heard it posited that learning is divided into three stages. Learning the thing for the first time, gaining some facility, and finally assimilation. Stage one is self-conscious. We lurch around trying out the newness, trying to make it work as well for us as it did for whoever taught it to us. In stage two, we've worn in the skill a little and it no longer pinches. We're still aware of it and we use it like a tool, but maybe now, we're not hurting ourselves with it. Once we move into assimilation, we lose conscious awareness of the skill. It becomes a part of us and we can't remember not having had the skill in the first place.
I wonder, Jeffe, if that isn't the basis for those professors you mention wondering if writing can be taught. They're using skills they can no longer dissect into teachable tidbits.
I fully recognize that I am one of those people who has to always be learning something. I also need to mix it up - it can't always just be writing. But it needs to be a lot of writing. Honestly, I look for the classes and instructors I ran across as a beginner that I *knew* I wasn't ready for. The concepts and classes they were teaching were far beyond what I was able to process. Now that I have a few books out and I feel like I don't like how my writing is developing, I've searched out those classes and teachers. I can offer up a list of a few, but I feel like a caveat is in order first.
One of the prerequisites for being an -- I don't know -- advanced? intermediate? not beginner? writer is a firm commitment to go into a class, workshop, or instructional book you paid money for and question the premises that are presented to you. I'm reading a great book right now that promises to boost my productivity! Make it so I'm never lost in a book again! And so far, the information has been super useful. But we just got to a blanket statement made by the author. "Story comes first. Then character." This is me. Making that face Chris Hemsworth makes in Thor Love and Thunder. "Story comes first. Then character." Does it though?? (The correct answer is yes - it does. For her. The correct answer for me is no - it does not. Character comes first and story flows naturally from character for me. Does this mean that what is being taught is invalid? No. I can still glean new ways of doing, thinking, and writing from this book. I'm trying to say that once you've got game, when you're trying to tweak your game to get more out of it, you must be more critical of the instruction you're given. Try things! Just don't swallow all the things hook, line, and sinker. If the mixed metaphors in this paragraph gives you a migraine, welcome to my day, and my apologies.
So the list of advanced for Marcella craft training ops:
Margie Lawson's writer's training - in my opinion you need a block of salt here. It's potent, great stuff, but it's also dated and little old fashioned in the market these days. Great skill sets. Deploy with caution.
Lisa Cron - Lisa produces craft books oriented around how narrative structure comes together. Fascinating stuff. Chewy. Also needs a critical eye when being read.
Mary Buckham - Mary has several different craft classes. Break into Fiction is the one that changed my life for the better.
I'm interested in what Jeffe comes up with, too! Listen. Learning new skills is never wasted. If you feel like a class is a waste it is either because it's too remedial - you already know the material, or it's too far ahead and you don't yet have the context for it yet.
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