At first sight, it is surprising that dust nucleation and growth can occur in the harsh environment of a Wolf-Rayet star wind. However, we know that episodic formation occurs in several different types of astrophysical source. Of particular relevance to our efforts to gain a fuller understanding of the process in WC stars is the extensive work that has been performed on classical novae. Thus, although episodic dust formation in other types of object is briefly described, this review concentrates on a comparison with this process as observed in novae in particular. It is argued that for efficient grain growth, clumping of ejecta (perhaps following shock-interactions) is essential.
