creative writing masters

creative writing masters

Pursuing a Creative Writing Masters

1. The Importance of a Creative Writing Masters

Creative writing programs are the way to improving your writing skill and discussing a career in writing. Shore earned spots in creative writing programs, and contributes what he thinks such a course will do for a writer. Shore were of the opinion that writing can be taught; and write my dissertation for me if it can, creative writing programs are a lot of help. First, they push you outside of your comfort zone, and into writing in other genres. Whether writers are trying to improve their craft or learn new skills, creative writing courses are varied. In workshop, Shore was forced to write poetry – he claims with grimace – but in the end, poets commented that his effort was better than expected. Beyond cross-genre work, there are also a wide variety of courses available, from an array of fiction and poetry classes to screenwriting and memoir courses. Such program requirements thus force writers to try new things, and potentially expose them to a new favorite style or genre.

2. Choosing the Right Program

To make a wise choice, students should investigate many potential graduate programs in writing. This means work. A search in Google will often give the student a basic understanding of the programs available; a perusal of associated writing magazines such as Poets & Writers or The Writers Chronicle will provide an even more comprehensive understanding. These magazines often contain advertisements from programs in addition to articles regarding the state of the art in many areas of creative writing, from the use of new technologies (hypertext and visual media), to the study of contemporary poetics, to the connections between creative writing and healing. High-ranking programs almost always have an association with such organizations as the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, the New Writing Center at the University of Arizona, The English Department at Ohio University and Columbia University have sponsored reading series in New York City, wherein students can interact with agents and editors. With such a wide array of programs available, students should consider whether they want to live in an urban or rural environment, and remember that they will likely find themselves teaching; visiting the schools is often a good idea. Writers considering a Master’s in Fine Arts should expect heavy interaction with poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and very little focus on genre writing. While the Master’s in English will offer an M.A. and on the way to a PhD provide the student with an M.Phil, the MFA is a terminal degree, offering graduates opportunities to teach at the college level or find a respectable position in the publishing world. More information regarding the debate of MFA vs. MA can be found here. A student may also want to consider a Master’s degree in journalism, as it can provide solid research and writing experience, and open many doors into the professional world of writing. Measures such as contacting directors of programs, visiting schools, and contacting alumni can be most helpful in making an informed decision.

3. Curriculum and Course Offerings

The low-residency format is composed of twelve credits of writing, four graduate writing workshops and one forms workshop, four graduate literature courses (which may include a directed study), and one thesis tutorial. In the first year, it is recommended that students take two graduate writing workshops and two graduate literature courses. The following schedule is intended as a guide. Each student will be assigned an academic advisor each semester to help plan their schedules. The program is designed so that a student can complete the thesis tutorial while taking the last course toward the degree. In the first year, the Thesis Tutorial is taken as a separate course (1 credit) beginning in the second semester. During the third semester for full-time students (second year for part-time students), the student will enroll in the Thesis Tutorial and receive 6 credits for it, which includes 18-20 hours of thesis work. In the final semester, the student will register for the last course toward the degree and continue work on the thesis. Note that the student will not be allowed to register for the last course until the Director of the Graduate Creative Writing Program or the fiction or poetry faculty member overseeing the thesis has approved a thesis project.

4. Faculty and Mentorship Opportunities

In addition to faculty mentorship, the program offers a variety of student services. I came across an interview with the program’s Director where he discussed his ambitions for the program. He talked about building a community of writers and this starts with communication between the students and faculty. There is mention of having faculty read and respond to student manuscripts and through my research, I found that this has been implemented through a Manuscript Mentorship Program. I find this to be a very useful tool and it is another aspect of the program that reflects the ambitions of the student. With a strong belief that writing is a never-ending learning process, author and program director Chris Abani has also expressed interest in creating a Learning Community website designed to facilitate ongoing discussions about literature. These services are all excellent resources that students can take advantage of and they are perfect for distance learners.

Throughout the program, students will be required to work very closely with a faculty mentor each semester and in the final semester work with a mentor from the student’s specific genre. This mentorship engagement is what I believe sets this program apart from others. The faculty have a good blend of academic and traditional publishing experience and seem to be quite accomplished in their respected fields. This is the exact resource a striving writer needs, someone who has experience in the direction the student wishes to take with their own writing. From what I’ve gathered from the faculty profiles, they are a passionate group of authors who are in the business for the love of the art, not just doing a job at a university.

During my search for a Creative Writing Master’s program, I’ve encountered a unique offering from Antioch University in Los Angeles. The program’s faculty members are not only prominent published authors, but the school has managed to bring together a great blend of traditional writers from a variety of writing mediums including poetry, fiction, playwriting, screenwriting, and a number of other nontraditional writing styles. Upon reviewing the faculty profile, I was pleased to see such a diverse group of authors as it will allow students the opportunity to work with multiple faculty members towards publishing manuscripts.

5. Career Prospects and Advantages

Academic life is not the only way to a writing career, and a writer has many paths from which to choose. Some people do it through journalism, business writing, or writing non-fiction and then have works published. However, the basic route for the vast majority of successful writers lies in learning how to write creatively and getting published. The Creative Writing MA can help with this and also to start a career in teaching Creative Writing. However, that is not the only route for those who have studied creative writing, as is demonstrated in the Career Prospects of the English and Creative Writing department. A Creative Writing MA can also help to prepare a writer for work in any form of freelance writing and can aid those who have already begun such work to further their career through a better understanding of their own writing and its market. An MA can also help prepare a writer for work in scriptwriting, whether for the screen or the stage, and with the growing success of film, media, and the web, this is a more viable career option than it was in the past. Finally, typically those who have taken an MA in a field of writing will have a greater opportunity of securing a writing or editing job in the future. This is truly the goal of the writer who wants to support themselves solely through their craft.