[sillysod]

I think that workshops and self-help books can only help you to a certain extent. They can make you a competent writer, but not more than that. I think they are simply for guidance, and not much more.

That said, Stephen King's On Writing helped me a lot when I was blocked. It consists basically of tips which you can assimilate into your own style. And I believe that The Elements of Style is a book all writers should have. This book is almost necessary because it helps you stay away from frivolity. But still, you shouldn't totally depend on these, and you should try to see what comes from within.

Sometimes it also happens that workshops can prove detrimental. For example, I recently read a book called Betrayals by Charles Palliser, who himself conducts/conducted a creative writing course. I found the book so much of an exercise in mannered creative writing, that I failed to get any enjoyment out of it. So I feel that the use of these courses might be limited.

[glendalarke]

"an exercise in mannered creative writing"....yes, I've heard an editor say they could pick an MS that started in creative writing class a mile off...

But then, maybe it's often just as easy to pick one that didn't!

I think this is one of those questions to which there is no easy answer. Different people have different ways of reaching the same goals.