Tuesday 5 July 2011

Giving and receiving

Writing is about long, lonely hours. It's about sitting at your desk and getting on with the job. There's also the delight of discovering each novel; unveiling its unique voice, exploring, unravelling, unpacking the story. There are the highs of completion and the lows of - well, there are lows. There's also the 'business' stuff - does anyone enjoy that? I doubt it.
Alongside writing and the business of writing, for some writers, there is teaching. It would be wrong to assume that because someone can do something they will be able - or will want - to teach it. I never expected I'd want to. The first workshop I ran came about as an accident - I'd agreed to talk for half an hour about being a writer and I ended up running a full day creative writing workshop for forty 10-13 year olds. No warning, no preparation, no experience. Cold turkey in reverse - maybe that makes it hot turkey. It certainly made it a challenge. It was full-on and exhausting, and I loved it. There is a special joy in seeing a kid get something - pick it up and understand it and make it their own, so that you know they have it, from there on, and can take it to new places of their own. And there's also the delight of hearing or reading the amazing pieces of work that come out of intensive workshops.
There's something particularly special about teaching teenagers. Writing is intently personal and brazenly public. There's a generosity to good writing that young writers have naturally - they haven't unlearned that skill yet. Being able to share in that is a gift.
A few days ago I ran a day-long writing workshop and it confirmed my gratitude that I somehow stumbled into running that first workshop - it was a challenge that goes on giving me rewards.