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I'm sorry, one more thought. I think a class or workshop is crucial to immerging writers. Writing and reading are not sufficient, (which is not to say that they are not crucial they are. Non-readers will never be great writers. Those who do not practice will never be great writers.) I tremble at the thought of disagreeing with Threshold who may come after me and flame me into a small hard charcoal brickette, but I do disagree. Here is why:
Writing is a craft. Not all aspects of the craft are intuitive (if they were there would be fewer lousy writers.) Think of it as painting. Let's say as a child someone gave you a box of watercolors. In time you might become a great painter of watercolor paintings, but where would you learn about oils? Tempura? Various artistic periods? How would you grow as a painter?
Learning the craft teaches you what tools are available to you. Maybe in time you choose to go back to your watercolors, but then it is a choice, not the only thing you know.
Finally, the reason why reading alone is not enough to make great writers, is because you have to understand what you are looking for to read as a writer, instead of a reader. When you read only for enjoyment, it's easier to be saited if we do not read critically, if we just let got and let the story happen. When reading as a writer, or reading critically, we do not surrender to the story, but evaluate the choices the writer made. We ask ourselves, how did this writer apply his craft. To ask that question, we need to know what the elements of craft are.
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