Why We Teach

RHYS BOWEN: As you are reading this I'm sitting outside an old farmhouse in Tuscany, amid the olive groves and vineyards and I am teaching a writing workshop I've called Novel In A Week. No, I don't expect them to write a novel in a week. The aim is to take an idea they have for a novel, an idea they haven't dared to tackle, or to take a stalled novel and give them the tools to structure it, to give them the bones to build upon so that they can go home and say "Now I see where I have to go."

Too often a beginning novelist has a brilliant idea but gets bogged down  in the middle of exposition and gives up in despair. So I'm looking forward to helping a group of writers turn their dreams into reality.

Someone at Malice asked me why I teach. Aren't my books now bestsellers? The answer is yes. I don't need the money, and in fact a lot the teaching I do hardly pays for my transportation. I teach because I enjoy sharing what I've learned. I guess it must be in the blood. I had a great aunt who was a teacher, my mother became a school principal, my aunt was a teacher and two of my children have been teachers. I have also run a pre-school and taught college--the broadest spectrum of teaching.
Of these I found the college writing classes I taught were challenging, stimulating and really beneficial to me. When I had to stop and think why a particular aspect of a story worked or did not work it gave me insights into my own writing.

Now I find that every time I teach a course I learn something. I am energized and can approach my own writing with enthusiasm. And I find it exciting when I see a new writer who has great potential. I've been on the faculty at the Book Passage writers conference for several years and at least two of my protegees have been published. One is my now good friend Susan Shea! I read her first three chapters and told her that her book actually began on page 19! She sold it!

So, dear Reds and Readers, how about you? I know Hallie and Hank teach all the time. How about the rest of you? Do you teach and if so why? Any experiences to share?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I taught for several semesters at the University of Southern Maine's creative writing MFA program, called the Stonecoast Program (after a spectacular Victorian-era stone house that has sadly been sold off.) And I've taught a number of quick two-hour seminars. I very much enjoy it, for much the same reason as you describe, Rhys - it helps me focus on the underpinnings of my own work when I have to dissect it (and other fiction) for my students.

There's also a great joy in helping someone find his or her voice and seeing them become a better writer. I believe there are some aspects to fiction writing that can't be taught, per se - for instance, you either have a writer's imagination, or you don't. But there is an enormous amount of technique and clarification that can be passed down, and we're all the better for participating in that process.

LUCY BURDETTE: Darn, I wish I was going to Tuscany! I have 2 books that are stalled, and that sounds like heaven. I don't teach as much as some of you others, but I agree, it always helps me see things in a new way. And it's so much fun to watch someone take a leap forward after getting feedback on their work. I have some very clear memories of classes and workshops I took as I was learning to write. Some of them nearly discouraged me completely, while others provided just the fuel and excitement I needed to forge ahead. I try to do the latter, always!

HALLIE EPHRON: As I write this I'm teaching at Pennwriters. There are two writers here whom Lucy and I taught at our own writing retreat (Ramona Defelice Long and Kimberly Kurth Gray. And other writers I've met at Crime Bake and Writers Digest conferences. And it's always a thrill to hear about their success. Teaching is FUN. And I never get teacher's block.

INGRID THOFT: I love teaching and find that it is a wonderful counterpoint to my own writing.  I think it’s essential for writers to, every so often, get up from their desks and interact with other readers and writers.  My goal when teaching is to get people reengaged with their work if the spark is gone and to also give them practical tools to get the story onto the page.  In December, I volunteered with a second/third grade class to help them write bedtime stories—in my pajamas!  It was a hoot and so gratifying to see kids excited about stories and language.  I’m inspired by the passion and enthusiasm of my students, whether they’re in elementary school or retired or somewhere in between.

JENN McKINLAY: I've taught workshops, mostly, at libraries and senior centers, and a few conferences. Usually, I am trying to kick start the people who want to write a book but don't know where to start. I find I'm mostly teaching them how to get out of their own way. Don't get hung up on selling the book before you write the book, don't sweat the font size. I like to say, "'I love your Fifty Shades of Girl with a Twilight Tattoo, but I'm passing on it because you used the wrong font,' said no editor ever." LOL. The hardest thing about deciding to be a writer is that you have to actually get your butt in the chair and write the book. It's always very rewarding to see students who get it. It reaffirms my own work ethic every time.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It is the joy of my life. And yes, I do it often, and with much delight.  When I think of how much I had to learn, and keep learning every day, and how many things I wish someone had told me..ah. And sometimes you see it, you know? That spark of recognition of the bit of advice or guidance that connects, and maybe changes a life--or a book at least. It is incredibly gratifying. Paula Munier and I just taught an intense, intensive and totally immersive weekend seminar on Cape Cod for WritersDigest. It was exhausting and exhilarating, and none of our lives will ever be the same. My goal is to have a "student" be at their computer, one day after the class--and say to themself: "Oh! That's what Hank meant!" And I always learn something when I teach.  SO rewarding.

DEBORAH CROMBIE:: I don't teach as much as some of you. I do enjoy it, but I enjoy being a student even more. My favorite part of going to writers conferences is the opportunity to listen to other writers and absorb their insights. I always come back full of ideas that I want to apply to my own books. I would absolutely LOVE to be in Rhys's class in Tuscany right now. I'm sure I would work out all my plot problems while eating delicious Italian food--and that it would be cooler than Texas.  Rhys, your students are so lucky!


RHYS: I was always told Those who can do, those who can't teach..Clearly this is not the case. Here we are.. eight well known, well respected writers and teaching is something we enjoy and look forward to. So do share your experiences: for the writers among us, do you enjoy teaching or have you taken workshops that have been an inspiration, changed the way you think about your writing?

Who teaches other subjects? What does it mean to you?