Shocking! ;-)

Well, it's a pity that those students have so little confidence in their own ability to create, isn't it? Not to mention so little joy in the actual process OF creation itself.

Most people can write decently...they just have to believe they can. Reminds me of a conversation that Bob Dylan and Joan Baez had, according to her, back in the mid-60's, over a cup of coffee. He said to her (I paraphrase from memory as best I can from her book), "Why don'tcha write some of your own songs?" She looked at him quite seriously and said, "Bob...because I can't write songs." "That's bullshit," he replied. "Anyone can write songs. Just do it. It doesn't mean you're gonna write great songs right off or nothin', but you can write songs. You just gotta do it. They'll get better after awhile."

He was dead right about that, and she did eventually do just what he had advised, and her songs got darned good after awhile. She's written a few truly great songs.

People need to believe they can do it. I was amazed when I was in University by the students who didn't really believe they could write anything good enough to hand in, and they ran around trying to get someone else to do it for them. That's a sad thing to believe about yourself, and it just is not true as far as I'm concerned.

If a person believes he's brave, he will be. If he believes he can write, he can.

* (Of course, then there's William MacGonagall who DID believe he was a GREAT poet! Ouch!) ;-) Oh, well....he had fun believing it anyway, even if he did write the most dreadful stuff.