Educational Philosophy Writing fiction or poetry isn't that different from making a mud pie. First you slap some earth and water together and mix up a big nasty mess, then you start trying to shape it, squash it all flat, and so forth. If it dribbles and drips, so much the better. What gets dirty gets cleaned.
Chances are, the answer to both questions is no.
Any student who takes creative writing seriously has to throw these cultural judgments in the garbage. This sort of writing has its own rules and responsibilities. It isn't neat. But it can teach you things you never planned to learn, things you might not be able to explain. Prose Fellowship, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 1994.