Why do a Creative Writing degree? by Vanessa Harbour

Unusually, I am going to start this blog post with a caveat for clarity and openness. I need to declare that I am a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Winchester. My English degree had

creative writing modules embedded within it. My Masters is an MA in Writing for Children and I have a practice-led doctorate which included writing a novel, in my case a piece of young adult fiction. As you can imagine this piece is coming from a certain perspective and the views voiced are very much my own.

University of Winchester Campus

We all know that you don’t need a degree to become a writer. There is no argument about that. You can pick up a pen and a piece of paper then write. With a whole load of tenacity and potentially a good dollop of luck, you could get published.

Doing a Creative Writing degree should not be about getting published. No course I know of will make any promises about getting published at the end of it. What a Creative Writing degree is about is finding out who you are as a writer. It gives you a chance to experiment – something you won’t necessarily do at home on your own. It challenges you and allows you to hone your craft. 

When I first started studying I had a very set idea as to what sort of writer I thought I was. It very definitely wasn’t a children’s writer. That idea had never entered my head, don’t ask me why not as I had children, but it hadn’t. During my undergraduate degree, I had some modules with Judy Waite

and Andrew Melrose. They both encouraged me to have a go at writing for children and young adults. When I did, it felt like coming home. My voice felt natural and the stories flowed. I never looked back. That is what a Creative Writing degree can do, it can challenge you to try different things. Take you outside of your comfort zone. Allowing you to find a new voice.

PhD graduation with Prof Andrew Melrose

Those that teach on Creative Writing degrees are well aware of the reality of being a writer. Most are writers too. They ensure the students are aware of this reality and prepare them for it. A Creative Writing degree is not all about writing the next bestseller. It is about showing them what can be done with writing. The different careers and opportunities that have writing embedded within. It is about employability as much as being a writer. Some students go onto to have very successful careers as writers. 

For example, our students go on to work in the following areas, not limited to but including publishing (all areas); teaching (primary, secondary, further and higher); PR and Advertising; all aspects of Media e.g. TV Script editor, documentary maker, video game writer, web design and content creators; the charity sector and so on... There is so much more. People often ask me 'aren't you limited by doing a Creative Writing degree?' So far I don't believe my students have experienced that. I have heard of organisations who target CW students because they think outside the box, forgive the cliche. My students will often hear me say, you are only limited by your imagination.

A CW degree is all about what you do with it.

I should add, there is no point doing a Creative Writing degree unless you are passionate about writing and reading. It is not a soft option, but then those of us that are writers know that that is the life of a writer. To be a writer of any sort you need passion and tenacity, you need to read – a lot - and you need resilience.

I have written this blog post because I find myself defending Creative Writing degrees regularly so I thought I would just put my point of view in a blog post. I am sure many of you will disagree and you are welcome to. As I said, this is purely my perspective. I would just ask that if someone you care about says they want to do a Creative Writing degree think twice before dismissing it.   

Dr Vanessa Harbour

@VanessaHarbour

www.vanessaharbour.co.uk

http://chaosmos-outofchaoscomesorder.blogspot.com

Writing the future by Vanessa Harbour

I was very lucky this week as my novel Flight was picked by EmpathyLabUK to be included in their Reading for Empathy Guide 2020 in the lead up to #EmpathyDay on June 9^th. Empathy is a skill that can be learned and a vital one as it is part of emotional intelligence. Reading as we know can encourage empathy as it is a chance to walk in someone else’s shoes, for example.

We all also know that the past week or so has been very difficult for other reasons which we are all well aware of and should continue to be at the forefront of our thoughts. I am doing my best to educate myself better all the time on anti-racism. We can say we understand, but we can never understand. We have to do things better and this includes as writers.

I want to tell you a story that someone was telling me the other day. They told me how shocked they were when discussing the situation in an appropriate way with their child, who is 6 plus, and they announced ‘But all black people are baddies!’. They didn’t understand this response as though they are white, they have friends, relatives and neighbours who are BAME.  Confused they questioned the child, pointing out all the people they knew who were BAME and certainly weren’t baddies. The child countered ‘But on the tv, they are always baddies.’ Out of the mouths of babes...

This made me think. I started to watch programmes differently rather than just having them on in the background as I normally do. I began to realise quite often how negatively BAME characters are portrayed. Rarely are they the ones who save the day. Don’t get me wrong, I know this is not a new argument and it has been discussed over and over again including on this blog. This is part of me trying to educate myself better. You see these scenarios played out in life too. In recent interviews time and again we hear about PoC being stopped by the police because they happen to fit a profile. There is an automatic assumption because their face might fit then obviously... It made me wonder if part of that ‘their face fits’ is because of the media representation which reinforces this systemic racism. But I am not here to debate that. It is a subject far too big for my blog post but something we must keep considering and working on. 

Muhammad Khan

I am here to think about the areas we spoke about leading up to and during Empathy Day. How important it is to think about the characters you are creating when writing. It is all too easy, and to a certain extent can be a sign of lazy writing showing a lack of research, to slip into writing stereotypical characters. Be respectful and do your research. Now is the time to challenge them and work hard to fight against those stereotypes. We need to write stories that all children can empathise with giving them windows on other lives or mirrors on their own. Muhammad Khan, so brilliantly put it as sliding doors as well. Where the reader can walk through the doors and experience lives. We have to keep writing stories that provide hope and look to the future. 

As an author who happens to be disabled, I have a pie in the sky dream that we create a world where we no longer need the word 'diverse' with reference to books/tv/film etc as there is equal representation for all without question in all mediums. We can all dream, can't we?

Dr Vanessa Harbour

@VanessaHarbour

www.vanessaharbour.co.uk

http://chaosmos-outofchaoscomesorder.blogspot.com

Latent Processing by Vanessa Harbour

Forgive me this is going to be a brief post. It’s been a struggle. I am feeling positively discombobulated. I am currently overwhelmed by marking but also last night’s ‘statement’ seemed to throw the world off-kilter as we know it. I am not going into the politics of it as this is not the place but it seems to have created a lot of confusion and upset today.

Feeling Discombobulated

The glorious author Kathryn Evans posed the question the other day ‘Is thinking part of writing?’

It made me stop and think (excuse the pun). I had literally just finished writing the first draft of a novel, so had been emersed in the process. It seemed an ideal time to consider her question.

I realised how much thinking I do when writing.  

When I am developing an idea, I make notes and I mull over the concept for quite a while before I start putting pen to narrative.

While I am in the process of writing, I am constantly thinking about it. Even when I am not writing. In the shower, doing the ironing, going for a walk. I will be contemplating the scenes I am currently writing or the chapter I am about to start. It is often during these moments that I will get inspiration for an exciting new element or it will be as simple as I will realise that if I add something into an earlier scene it’ll make the next chapter even more exciting or just make more sense.

Now I have finished that first draft, I am thinking again. Thinking about the areas I know I need to develop. I have set the manuscript aside while I finish the marking, but it is still there at the back of my mind. Niggling away.

Imogen Cooper always calls it latent processing. And it never stops.

So in answer to your question my dear friend Kathy, thinking is definitely part of writing. I agree.

Candy Gourlay, Kathy Evans and me! Happy Times

Do you all do lots of thinking too when writing?

Dr Vanessa Harbour

@VanessaHarbour

www.vanessaharbour.co.uk

http://chaosmos-outofchaoscomesorder.blogspot.com

Go to books by Vanessa Harbour

If you celebrate Happy Easter, if not, I’d say enjoy the day but it seems a little inappropriate considering the current circumstances. We should all be at home unless we are keyworkers. If you are a keyworker, I’d like to say thank you for all you are doing.

This is going to be a short post this month as it is a holiday weekend. I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about books that you go to when you feel the need to be cheered up, your comfort blanket books. Or am I the only one who has those? As a family we have them, we also have our go-to films and tv programmes. They used to be Shrek, Friends and Ally McBeal, particularly for my daughter. Recently she had surgery and I found her watching Friends again as she was too ill to read.

I have some go-to books for when I am feeling overwhelmed and I need to escape I will often reread one of the following.

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. I have loved this book since I was a child. My mother introduced me to it. It was a book I’d often read when things were difficult at school.

Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell. I was introduced to this book by my sister Jacky. It is such an evocative story and of course, it is about horses.

Then there is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG by Roald Dahl, I know these might be contentious, but they are still stories I love.

Elizabeth Goudge’s The Little White Horse, again another very evocative story. I love her descriptions of food.

Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, such a powerful book based in World War 2. Something I can easily get lost in.

Finally, is the first Harry Potter story, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling, I read this with my children. I also studied it at university. It has fond memories, so for me, it is like being wrapped in a big hug.

I have only really looked at the MG and YA books that I use. I do have some adult books that I reach for occasionally but I must be honest most of the time I reach for one of the above if I am feeling anxious or I need to escape from the real world for a bit. Judge me if you want, but they are in the main beautifully written.

What are your go-to books if you have them when you need to escape?

Dr Vanessa Harbour

@VanessaHarbour

www.vanessaharbour.co.uk

http://chaosmos-outofchaoscomesorder.blogspot.com