When I was a kid, college was what happened after high school. The only question about college was where you wanted to go and what you wanted to study. When I hit high school, I was stunned by friends who told me they didn't know what they wanted to do after graduation. How could you not know? I grew up believing you didn't get the cool, fun jobs without the proper education, and in my house, only school relayed that knowledge.
As an adult, I can say that there are plenty of jobs that are probably a ton of fun (barrista, anyone?), and they don't require much or any formal education. Even so, systems change, trends change, businesses evolve or die, and that means more training. I can't even think of a job that doesn't require some type of continuing education even for long-time employees.
As professional writers, it's our job to stay up on the market. After we've managed to acquire an agent, and after an editor has fallen in deep lurve with our books, we still have to know what will sell. The human population is in constant flux. What's cool this year will be so ten years ago in just five years. If we want to keep readers interested in what we're writing, we have to entice them with the ideas, characters, plots, themes, styles, and subjects that appeal to them. Sure, we should write something we want to read first, but if we're only writing for ourselves, we're not likely to be successful professionals.
Beyond the craft of writing, we also need to stay up on effective marketing, new technology, literary trends, trends in other genres, etc. The world continues to evolve around us, and we have to remember that or else suffer the consequences. So where can we go to get the education we need? What are the best places to learn the various locks in hapkido? How do we get insight into the life of a midwife? Who provides the best craft lessons in creative writing? Where can we go to learn about developing, maintaining, and growing an audience?
Since my personal thang is higher education, I'm going to list the programs I considered in my college search.
Writing Popular Fiction MA from Seton Hill University
StoneCoast MFA from the University of Maine
University of New Orleans MFA
Warren Wilson MFA
San Diego State University MFA
Of this list, only SDSU is a full-residency program. The others require just a few weeks on campus each year. (SDSU is local to me.)
Now it's your turn. Where do you go to learn about writing, whether it's your RWA chapter's online workshops, conferences, community college classes, websites, etc? Or do you have a different opinion about the value of education for writers?
10 comments:
I love to go to conferences and take workshops, but it's probably cheaper to go the university route! I also try to take one or two online writing courses a year. I keep drooling over the community college brochures, too, so one of these days I'm going to sign up.
Then there are the writers' organizations and listserves I belong to. Mostly, though, I hang out as much as possible with published writers and pick their brains.
KL, I do several on line workshops a year, and tomorrow, I'm going to Denver to see Allison Brennan in Her No Plotter's Allowed and right now I'm taking a freelance writing class offered by Diana Rowe. I've always got my pulse in something writing related, but nothing like you have going on. I just skimmed the links you provided, and I can't imagine receiving a finer writer's education. A writing exchange program. Have you ever considered doing something like this? What an opportunity!
Hey KL!
Aside from also being in WPF program at Seton Hill, I've started to go back to conventions, especially those that focus on writing. I'll be taking some workshops at Context 21 and am looking at other conventions in my area.
I'm also looking at the World Fantasy Convention, but that's more of a pipe dream for this year, I'm afraid.
Hi Annette, Donnell, and Ann!
I think there's a value in conferences/conventions that you won't necessarily get anywhere else. The networking opportunities are huge, but you also have the chance to find out where the market is *right now* from industry pros who know what's what.
Donnell - I haven't considered a writing exchange program. With two small kids at home, it would really be difficult to swing.
I attended college for two years (Secondary Ed with a major in English) but it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life.
So I left and learned the writing ropes from others who have 'been there, done that'.
I took a workshop taught by a Society of Professional Journalists Award winner and got started writing and selling nonfiction articles, essays, short stories that way.
I won contests, sold to newspapers and magazines etc.
A successful writer I know said that it was not her college degree that helped her become a best selling novelist.
It was her hard work and learning the ropes in the world that led her where she is now.
I have a friend (a young man) who started a company years ago. His home is completely paid off and he's debt free. He never went to college and says the same thing I do. College is not always the answer.
Sonya
Sonya, you make a very good point. There are writers/authors out there who never continued their education, some I venture to say who even made the best seller list. Still, I salute any person who has the wherewithal to pursue an advanced writing degree, or any degree for that matter. Education is something no one can take away from you -- unlike money, position and more.
Sonya - you're right. College isn't for everyone. My grandfather started an engineering program in college and left after two years. Before he died, he was a very successful engineer, even without a degree.
But the point is he learned how to be an engineer from training, experience, and certification courses.
Where can writers go to get this kind of education? A writer can be born with the desire to tell stories but not know how to create a marketable novel. So what are our options?
Hi KL,
I have a mentor, multi-produced and he's a huge help, but as I've said before, I'm somewhat ham strung by not living in LA.
So I research like crazy and enter contests to make connections, AND I WATCH movies. We all know the finished product be it film or book has been in the pipeline for a while to LONG while, and we know that by the time our masterpiece is done, the trend may have passed, but watching/reading still shows me what seems to be the direction. Heavy on dialogue? Action is fast, plot is light? Etc......
I'm pleased you're doing this and can't wait to hear about your latest residency there.
Hugs
LA
This is a very interesting topic.
A college degree is something you don't always use. I know college grads who are working office jobs because after they spent four years getting the degree, decided they didn't want to do with their lives what they'd trained to do.
And how many professors teach writing and have never sold a novel? Never even completed a manuscript but are qualified because they have the degree?
Teaching/learning in a classroom setting is a completely different ballgame from actually doing the job.
"A writer can be born with the desire to tell stories but not know how to create a marketable novel. So what are our options?"
It doesn't take four years and thousands of dollars to learn how to create a marketable novel.
How many bestselling authors studied that in college?
I think many people forget that some of the greatest men and women in history never had a college degree....writers, artists, composers, inventors.
Ashley Qualls started her own company when she was 14. She dropped out of high school to run the business. She's a millionaire today.
One of my daughters wants to attend college and become a pediatrician. I'm 100% behind her choice.
Another daughter started a successful business when she was only sixteen. I'm 100% behind her choice.
I believe if someone wants something enough, they'll make it happen with or without college.
I'm for anyone who chases a dream whether it's with education or without.
Sonya
i attend conferences and workshops, as others of you do. I grew as a reader and a storyteller. I'm still an avid reader, though not as much as I'd like to be. I judge contests to remind me of the things I need to do. Reading good writing helps me grow as a writer.
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