On Writing Advice

A few weeks ago, I wrote an essay on the pros and cons of having a specialized vs holistic education and how no one method is superior to the other but rather the best choice depends on our learning pattern. Rebecca Arcega has an essay on Creative Writing Courses and How They Probably Won't Help You Write Better and here's one reason why you should or should not follow (as the case may be) that advice.

Sarah Monette over at Storytellers Unplugged has an entry entitled (Thinking about) Thinking About Writing and here's an excerpt of what she has to say:

One of the first things I learned when I began reading books about creative writing (and even more so when I began hanging out with other writers) is that no two people understand their creativity in the same way. (This goes for other endeavors, too, not just writing; I'm sticking with what I know, but I'm not meaning to imply that writers have a corner on this particular market.) And the second thing I learned was that not all ways of thinking about creativity work for all people.

One person's muse, in other words, is another person's poison.