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.
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| 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
