At various sessions I can learn how other writers work, what their philosophy is, what techniques they use successfully. Choose conferences carefully because travel and tuition can be expensive. I think it is possible to overdo the socializing, but I think most writers know their limits, and I believe the value of friendships formed with other writers cannot be measured. I teach writing at Phoenix College and literature at Ottawa University, both in Phoenix. I'm not happy with having to make a choice, but as a wife and mother, I'm familiar with making choices.
Teaching also hinders because it concentrates on literary analysis.
But teaching helps because it hones my critical skills and compels me to keep current on publishing as well as continue to explore children's literature of the past. Teaching writing, rather than literature, brings me closer to writing as process and forces me to examine my own methods. I did, and it helped. To be a writer, you must write. No matter how many courses you take, how many conferences you attend, how many rejections you garner, if you want to be a writer, you have to write.