Creative writing: the frequently asked question

The FAQ of the title is scarcely an original question – can you teach creative writing? While creative writing graduates dominate award shortlists and every one of the writers from whom this year’s Costa First Novel award were chosen has tutored at The Arvon Foundation, a number of vocal writers and industry professionals continue to maintain that the discipline is virtually fraudulent. This paper argues the case for creative writing teaching from the perspective of education in other artistic fields, citing the studio system of Renaissance Italy and the conservatoire model of music teaching as examples of established, mainstream arts educational systems. Additionally the paper cites the examples collaborative associations of writers such as The Inklings or the group including Byron, Shelley and Mary Shelley and demonstrates that these groups functioned as writing workshops before the term was coined.

The paper incorporates findings from the most recent research into Creative Writing at university, considering student experience and employment destinations as well as the processes of creative education.