Theory and Application

When it comes to writing theory, I have come across some people with very extreme views against it. Some of my classmates hated theory. They said that the things we were being taught didn't help them become better writers. They said that the theory had nothing to do with the reality of writing; it was a theory that sounded good but was never applied, even by its creator.

Though I never completely agreed with those classmates, they did raise some points that I still consider. You could fill a small library just with books on writing theory. Everybody has their own opinions, some of which are in direct opposition to each other. So how do we figure out what is useful and what is bunk?

The simple answer is to try it out. Apply a theory to a piece of writing. If it works, keep it as a tool. If it fails, throw it away. Remember that we can write things just to experiment. Writing isn't just the creation of a final product; it can also be a laboratory where we figure out what works.

If I knew then what I know now, I would tell my classmates that they ought to try out the lessons they were being taught before dismissing them. Somebody who argues against a theory without having tried it themselves is just as foolish as somebody who creates a theory and never tests it out.