Unloreful

In creative writing courses, authors who are neophytes are customarily taught by authors who are published and therefore literally authorised. The word ‘author’ stems from the Latin root ‘auctor’, meaning ‘producer, promoter, progenitor’ (usually with a strong masculine connotation of paternity). So it is no surprise that a kind of atavism tends to hum in the loop where aspiring authors get taught by inspiring authors. A myth pervades and persuades inside the loop: to be an author is to be a special, fecund self. It’s a natural fact, isn’t it? Accordingly, although it may not take an author to know an author, it must take one to teach one. Specialness whelps specialness. This is ancient common sense, surely? This is lore, surely?