Is getting a degree a good idea?

[Rinima]

I've being toying with the idea of doing a degree in 'Creative Writing' recently and was wondering if this is a good idea or not.

See, I do want to improve my writing skills as it's one of my few natural creative talents (despite the dyslexia), but is it a good profession to get into? What sort of job opportunities are there ect?

Aka, if you have your degree in English/something writing orientated, could you tell me if it's worth it?

Or even if you don't, what are your thoughts on going to university to learn to write professionally?

Sorry, this post is a little scrambled XD

[kitsubasa]

I've just been finishing a degree in media studies, but I've taken a fair few English/creative writing papers on the side. While the creative writing papers were interesting, they were mostly about writing a piece and then sharing it amongst a small group to get feedback. The information given by the instructors on writing techniques, while useful, was not the focus. I found the papers mostly good as a method of getting used to going through a feedback/editing process with my work, rather than learning new information to improve my writing across the board.

Much more useful to my creative work was my major, media studies. This subject varies a lot from university to university, but where I was, it was about deconstructing different genres/formats of media, learning what makes them work, and discussing the techniques involved in creating for them.

For example, I did a paper on sci-fi media where we studied ten different sci-fi movies, each one with a different theme or aesthetic, and discussed important aspects of the genre and how it's defined. What makes it different from fantasy? How have the aesthetics of sci-fi evolved? What were some important turning points in the genre? What is the value of sci-fi to humanity, and how do we make it applicable to our lives? I've also done similar papers in gothic media, historical/nostalgia media, action media, and then medium study papers in things like video-games, social media, and comics.

Media has been really great in that it's taught me something more valuable than how to improve my prose-- it's taught me how to organise a project so that I make full use of my genre and my medium, and how to critically engage with other works to learn from them. While it sounds like you're more interested in improving prose and general writing technique, media studies is worth a shot if you like knowing how to put together a project from a directorial standpoint rather than a writing one. I thought I'd chip in with the suggestion because when I started university my intent was to do English/creative writing, but as I went I realised media was more useful to me and... well, here I am, one paper off a degree. : )

(note: I think some countries use different terminology, so for clarification, 'paper' in New Zealand means 'course')

[Rinima]

I've actually been advised against doing a media course by a close friend. She said most of it was dragging camera's around ect (though this is a course based in England so that's probably why I've been advised against it.

[SundownKid]

Personally, I am rather skeptical of a degree in "writing" or "film", etc. It doesn't seem to have much of an impact on how much of a successful writer or filmmaker you are. And you can probably learn it better by going to some more concentrated in-depth program. If you're gonna spend 4 years and a lot of money on something, it should be something professionally viable, that an employer will salivate over. Which is to say, one of the "hard" objective subjects and not something that is extremely subjective depending on who is looking at it. Basically, these days you should look at university as a type of job training where you make a monetary investment with the intent to make back the money in a future job. And I'm not confident a degree in writing would be worth the investment compared to some smaller, cheaper class.

I haven't had much luck with job opportunities in creative writing, in fact I've never seen one that was a full time job. You will probably have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you do try to make a living from it. In which case, a college degree is probably less help than being able to demonstrate quality in your work.

[Lesleigh63]

Do you belong to a writing group already? Otherwise you may want to get involved in one of those to help improve your writing rather than go through a degree. Writing Groups are good for moral support and to keep you writing (you're dealing with like minded people).

Next step a place like 'Critters Writers Workshop' - www.critters.org - they're a critiquing place. You can send your finished short story or novel through and get critiques back on it, but to remain a member you need to critique a certain number of other peoples submitted pieces each month or something like that (check the website for exact details as its been quite some time since I was a member). This is useful because their indepth critiques (use to be they had to be at least 400 words long and not just 'I love your story'). Also with a number of critiques coming through (think I use to get somewhere between 26 - 40 critiques on stories I sent in) you get a good sense of what doesn't work in your story (if 13 critiques tell you they can't relate to the main character then you can assume it's not just personal taste of the reviewer but maybe you've made the character too unlikeable or something like that).

Next step - I'm going to assume there are still on-line magazines you can submit your work to. There use to be engines that would list all the mags and what their payrates and requirements were like. Try having a look around. This can give you something to aim for - publication!.

[Akai85]

I've never believed that university/college can teach you how to write. Honestly I think everything you need to learn you can learn online, though a good teacher can challenge you in ways you didn't know existed. For a while I considered doing a course in writing but I came to the conclusion that it wasn't something I felt I should spend money on.

Considering I've never done a writing course my advice is pretty limited, sorry.

[OokamiKasumi]

I've being toying with the idea of doing a degree in 'Creative Writing' recently and was wondering if this is a good idea or not?

If you want to write professionally, don't waste your money on Creative Writing courses. In fact, what they teach you in those courses (how to break rules,) may ruin the instincts for storytelling you currently possess, and destroy your ability to write publishable fiction. Instead, take a few cheap writing courses on COPYWRITING because That is how published fiction (and non-fiction) is actually written.

As an author of over 30 published titles, I can tell you from years of experience that:

1) You don't need a degree of any kind to write fiction successfully.
-- What you need are Life Experiences to write from. You can't describe what you don't Know, so pack your back-pack and Go places, See things, and Do things. Join a Living History group or three. Learn how to; shoot a black-powder musket, ride a horse, belly-dance, wield a sword while wearing armor, spin wool, weave cloth, play a musical instrument, train dogs, speak a foreign language...etc. (I've done all of these.)

2) ANY fiction-writing course that isn't taught by a multi-published Fiction Author is a waste of your time and money.
-- You need to learn from those who actually DO IT, not from those who wish they could.

3) Realize and Accept that there is absolutely Nothing CREATIVE about writing for money.
-- The Writing Guidelines posted by publishing houses are NOT Guidelines, they're absolute and unbreakable Rules. If you don't write what they want in the way they want it you WILL be Rejected --no matter how brilliant it is-- simply because it's Not what they asked for in their Guidelines.

Is it a good profession to get into?

Not really. The pay sucks ass, especially if you are writing for a New York publisher. If you work for an ePublishing house the pay is better and far more frequent, but it's still not impressive -- unless you're writing Erotic Romance (Women's Adult Pulp Fiction.)
-- Details: http://darkerotica.blogspot.com/2004/12 ... print.html

What sort of job opportunities are there etc?

Lots of people (read: Businesses,) are looking for good writers, but none of them are willing to pay a writer what they're actually worth because they all think it's EASY. (Since we all learned it in grammar school, it must be easy, right?)

If you have your degree in English/something writing orientated, could you tell me if it's worth it?

It's NOT. In fact a degree in English will only teach you how to TEACH English -- not use it, and critique books in ways even the authors don't get. Unless you intend to make a living writing essays, teaching school, or as an editor correcting other people's fiction manuscripts, an English degree is a waste of your time, and money.

What are your thoughts on going to university to learn to write professionally?

If you want a degree Get One. However...!
-- Universities prepare you for Teaching, Research, and Business -- NOT fiction writing.

If you're bound and determined to take classes on writing, go to Fiction Writing Workshops. Those are usually hosted by published authors and you'll actually learn things that are Useful, like plotting, character design, pacing, narrative tricks, and the grammar authors use. (Hint: It's Not anything like what they taught you in school.)

If you want to write professionally then simply WRITE and post where your work can be found. Hang out where the authors hang out and Pay Attention when they give advice. Read as many books on writing as you can get your hands on; but only those written by published AUTHORS. Most importantly, Keep Writing until a publisher (Not an Agent!) spots your work and offers you a contract.

[Rinima]

Thank you all very much for the advice! I've joined the Critters Writers Workshop now and opted to see if I can find any small classes in my area

[Shaples]

Lots of people (read: Businesses,) are looking for good writers, but none of them are willing to pay a writer what they're actually worth because they all think it's EASY.

This is painfully true. Writers and the ability to write in general are steeply undervalued, not just because employers think writing is easy, but because there are a LOT of people who want to write for a living. All too often, employers aren't saying "we need to hire the best writer," they're saying "we need to find someone who will do this job for the least amount of money," so having a degree winds up not counting for much. I have dual degrees in Creative Writing and English Literature, and I'm one of the only people I know from my program that's writing professionally - most of my fellow writing students are still stuck in crappy retail jobs several years after graduation, and even my writing job is, well, nothing to write home about.

As for the experience of being in a writing program, what you'll get out of it depends a lot on the program - both the profs and the people in your workshop classes. If you end up with a group of people who challenge you and help you see your work in a new light, that's great - but it's certainly no guarantee, and other than looking for a program with really well-known authors and a strict portfolio requirement, there's really not a lot you can do to control the group you get put in. I had great professors all through college, but my workshops were very hit-and-miss. Also be aware that writing programs in higher ed tend to be a little hostile toward anything that isn't contemporary literary fiction. If you plan on writing SF/F, mystery, romance, horror, etc, be aware that you might not get the support or feedback you're looking for.