On imitation and literature

In English class the other day, the teacher said that unless you're a genius, you learn how to write by copying other writers. Now, I don't think I'm a genius (if only, right?), but the few attempts I have made at copying other, talented writers have gone miserably south. I would demonstrate just how far south, but I don't think you would appreciate it. Also I'm not sure I could stand the humiliation.

So here's the question of the day: can a regular person really not learn to write on their own?

Personally, I'd think that good writing comes from reading, and reading alone. You don't have to directly imitate one writer or another; rather if you have a library of sorts in your head you can take your favorite writing styles from various authors and put your own twist on them. It's really damn hard to make yourself write exactly like someone else, and in my opinion it's because you SHOULDN'T be trying to write in a single author's style. Kind of seems like plagiarism, you know? And honestly, it's not anything groundbreaking if someone's done it first-- aren't you limiting yourself by sticking to a preordained style?

Anyways, something to mull over. Also, on a somewhat unrelated note, people (in general) need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that just because a piece of writing isn't "great literature" doesn't mean it has no value. I used to make this argument and say that the point of a novel was to be both interesting and entertaining. I feel like I should add that I've found a few novels that fit those qualifications and are also astoundingly well-written. And I don't mean, "Oh, they're better than most of the other novels that I think are fun." I mean, "Holy shit, I think I like this better than anything else I've ever read EVER." And that's saying something--I know I don't read tons of "literature", but I am still fairly well-read, and a lot of the classics actually just can't compare to the novels I'm thinking about.

Eventually, I'll brainwash you all into not being the least bit skeptical about my taste in music or books. Really. It will happen.