Do we really need to go and study how to write? Is it something you have or you don't?
Replies
Writing is an art as well as a craft if you wish to be a great writer you must read the classics,to master the art and craft in writing you must learn it from past and present masters.
Writing is also a gift an inspiration given to poets and authors by the muses;you will write words you yourself are unable to express intellectually beyond the normal University Graduate.William Shakespeare never attended University among many other literary greats;this is not to say that a University education is not important,the more qualified the writer the more recognition he can gained,many publishers are interested in the writer qualifications.
Even if a writer is gifted he/she should proceed to receive some formal creative writing training to hone their craft more elegantly.
I started to write,stories,novella,then poetry & criticism without academic degrees but I proceed to University to Earn B.A & M.A Degrees and Degrees in Journalism.I realized in this modern era, publishers,editors and readers are also interested in the authors academic qualifications.
As a writer one should always bear in mind that the educated writer will be more successful;so he/she can even be given a teaching,lecturing or editing job because of their qualifications it's a job of international recognition and profound excellence.
Gideon Cecil (Poet/Journalist and fiction writer) Please email me at:
I am in this dilemma myself - applying to university isn't right around the corner just yet, but I like to plan in advance! There is absolutely no option for me but to study either creative writing or English literature, but I'm trying to work out which would be best. There are such wonderful creative writing courses out there by all accounts - the one at UEA is widely held to be fantastic, and after all, Ian McEwan did it and is one of the best contemporary writers out there! The course is a combination of English lit and writing, which I think sounds really great - but the English course I'm also hoping to apply for strongly encourages its student in their creative writing, and you can in fact submit some as a part of your degree if you so choose.
I don't believe any writer needs a qualification in writing - and it sounds as though, for you, it was absolutely right for you to choose not to, if it would endanger your natural creativity. But I'd imagine that some people find it helpful, and I certainly don't want to take a three year break from serious writing while my time is taken up by something completely different. However, perhaps people would find more inspiration whilst not studying writing; reading fuels writing anyway (and vice versa, I think) so studying English has got to be inspirational, even if you don't study creative writing with it. As you say, personal experience, natural talent and dedication are far more important - so many authors didn't study writing and might perhaps have written totally differently if they had. People who judge your ability at writing by the qualifications you have or don't have, rather than your work itself, are silly - I intend (as much as anyone can 'intend'!) to become a writer whether or not I do a creative writing course.
Writing is an art as well as a craft if you wish to be a great writer you must read the classics,to master the art and craft in writing you must learn it from past and present masters.
Writing is also a gift an inspiration given to poets and authors by the muses;you will write words you yourself are unable to express intellectually beyond the normal University Graduate.William Shakespeare never attended University among many other literary greats;this is not to say that a University education is not important,the more qualified the writer the more recognition he can gained,many publishers are interested in the writer qualifications.
Even if a writer is gifted he/she should proceed to receive some formal creative writing training to hone their craft more elegantly.
I started to write,stories,novella,then poetry & criticism without academic degrees but I proceed to University to Earn B.A & M.A Degrees and Degrees in Journalism.I realized in this modern era, publishers,editors and readers are also interested in the authors academic qualifications.
As a writer one should always bear in mind that the educated writer will be more successful;so he/she can even be given a teaching,lecturing or editing job because of their qualifications it's a job of international recognition and profound excellence.
Gideon Cecil (Poet/Journalist and fiction writer) Please email me at:
[email protected]
I should have asked this in the first place...
Which colleges/universities did the Bronte sisters, Mary Shelley, Dickens, and similar go to?
(Note to self - Don't mention Tolkien).
:-)
I am in this dilemma myself - applying to university isn't right around the corner just yet, but I like to plan in advance! There is absolutely no option for me but to study either creative writing or English literature, but I'm trying to work out which would be best. There are such wonderful creative writing courses out there by all accounts - the one at UEA is widely held to be fantastic, and after all, Ian McEwan did it and is one of the best contemporary writers out there! The course is a combination of English lit and writing, which I think sounds really great - but the English course I'm also hoping to apply for strongly encourages its student in their creative writing, and you can in fact submit some as a part of your degree if you so choose.
I don't believe any writer needs a qualification in writing - and it sounds as though, for you, it was absolutely right for you to choose not to, if it would endanger your natural creativity. But I'd imagine that some people find it helpful, and I certainly don't want to take a three year break from serious writing while my time is taken up by something completely different. However, perhaps people would find more inspiration whilst not studying writing; reading fuels writing anyway (and vice versa, I think) so studying English has got to be inspirational, even if you don't study creative writing with it. As you say, personal experience, natural talent and dedication are far more important - so many authors didn't study writing and might perhaps have written totally differently if they had. People who judge your ability at writing by the qualifications you have or don't have, rather than your work itself, are silly - I intend (as much as anyone can 'intend'!) to become a writer whether or not I do a creative writing course.