masters in creative writing online

masters in creative writing online

The Benefits of Pursuing a Master’s in Creative Writing Online

1. Flexibility and Convenience

Candidates for an online master’s in creative writing have many options available to them. Online programs are a great way to stay in your creative writing space while earning your degree. No residency is required; all work is submitted online and residency MFA focuses on writing. You will probably choose from workshops, craft classes, genre studies, as well as one-on-one tutorials with your advisor. The journey towards receiving your master’s in creative writing or an MFA can feel lengthy, especially if you are returning to school with a full-time job and family commitments. The beauty of low residency programs is that the schedules allow time for full or part-time work and are geared toward the working professional. If you have always wanted to get an advanced degree, but were hesitant to fully commit to a great extent of time and money, now is your chance.

2. Access to Diverse Perspectives and Resources

Mature students will also find that online study is more conducive to their personal and/or academic interests. Because online students are not limited to programs within driving distance or living on-campus, they are able to choose from a greater variety of programs. This is particularly important for those with specific sub-genre interests. Online students also have the option to take individual classes to meet professional or personal writing needs. This can also allow academic writing to serve a dual purpose in terms of personal practice or profession.

For these students, the flexibility of online study is one of its greatest assets. With the ability to access course materials at any time and from any computer, an online MA/MFA is an attractive option for those who cannot put their professional and/or familial obligations on hold for the traditional full-time program. Those with a graduate degree will also increase their chances of promotion or transfer into a job that allows more time for writing. A recent survey by Watson found that between 2003 and 2008 the number of creative writing faculty with a PhD increased by 12%.

Another key benefit of an online degree in creative writing is that students and working writers often seek academic study as a means to improve their practice. Online study is perfect for this as it allows one to maintain balance and often adds to the types of perspectives and resources that a student can gain. All sorts of professionals (teachers, engineers, lawyers) have found that studying the creative writing field at the graduate level proves to be a means to improve their practice in their profession.

3. Interactive Learning Environment

Will your writing time be effective in a modern online course? It is very possible, and plenty of the students in our online Creative Writing MFA have had work published from the time they’ve enrolled, or perhaps before. The key is our focus on the writing life. Because the course is designed to be taken over three years (part-time), and because our tutors don’t just teach but also work in a professional capacity as writers and editors, we look at what makes a writing life sustainable. This may involve balancing the various elements which contribute to writing against other responsibilities or opportunities; structuring a writing week; nurturing a substantial critical practice; and developing ways to increase the time you spend on what you really want to be writing. The interaction between students and tutors is at the heart of the course, but the MFA is much more than just a web-based ‘chat room’. Tutorials cover a range of activities designed to facilitate progress in the writing of the student’s own work. In the first year, the schedule is structured around a mixture of creative and critical assignments, balancing the solitary and the social aspects of writing. In the first semester, these will be individual exercises on the elements of poetry and prose, leading in the second semester to the composition of one longer piece in either genre.

4. Networking Opportunities

Instructors guide students in the construction of polished fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, and may direct genre studies or literature courses. A great strength of the online MFA is the level of communication between students and instructors, which is typically one-on-one. Students receive encouragement and detailed feedback as they work on polishing their writing and critical thinking skills. Additionally, online students may find that their course schedules or syllabi deliberately integrate instruction on basic Internet and computer skills because of the nature of learning online. This is an excellent opportunity to develop and expand skills, and to lay the groundwork for a career in an increasingly computer-dependent world.

Students of an online master’s in creative writing can expect to engage in a series of rigorous writing workshops, often designed and led by the instructional staff. Unlike the brief residencies offered by some traditional low-residency programs, these pre-scheduled online workshops allow students to log in and participate from anywhere in the world. This means that students can expect to have asynchronous (i.e. not real-time) scheduling requirements, but should also anticipate working more intensively with their peers and instructors.

5. Development of Writing Skills and Techniques

This benefit, as outlined in the first paragraph, helps to improve a writer’s technique. Since undergraduates have to date been focusing mainly on the content of their writing, they are introduced to the more subtle ‘craft of writing’. This can be defined as the technique a writer uses to convey his ideas. An example to illustrate this is that an undergraduate will be set to write a 3000 word essay, whereas previously an MA student will have done this, so the task itself is not designed to develop their skills. It is ironic however that many students face pressure on the course with the volume of work and ‘catch up’ they feel they have to play, but this is simply down to leaving things late or poor time management, which should not be the case if a student plans their work and sticks to it throughout. This however is a huge lesson in itself for MA students; they are asked to devote time to a particular piece or project, planning it carefully and not rushing it, which vastly improves the outcome. Many students on the MA course are asked to be a ‘writer in residence’ at a particular institution which involves stating their ideas and or themes, pitching them and working on the piece at that location. This is an invaluable experience that is again designed to help students work on specific projects and have a clear plan from the outset. Lastly there are usually sessions on editing and re-drafting, something that a writer will have done very little of at undergraduate level. Most feel that their first draft is final, but are taught invaluable lessons in scrutinizing their own work and seeing how it can be improved. In the second paragraph we move onto probably the most fulfilling skill, in which a student can completely rewrite their current self or cultural identity. Eagleton draws a distinction between ‘first and second order signs’ claiming that one works with and on the signs that have already been constructed around them. This varies with people’s cultural identities but for many there is a dissatisfaction with the current signs and an attempt to forge something new. By working in this way we feel more authentic and autonomous. At this point there are various choices: people can simply re-discover and write about their own heritage and identity or work with other ethnicities and identities, it’s important in the multi-cultural world to have an understanding of other cultures and avoid essentializing them. Other writers may simply be looking for adventure and change and working with some ‘second order signs’ can provide interesting and enjoyable work. The next rung in the ladder is deconstruction, something that many writers will have unconsciously tried and given up with frustration. Many post-grads get the concept while studying critical theory and for a writer; deconstruction of signs can be a complex and morose, yet invaluable set of lessons.