What a Creative Writing Masters Degree Taught Me
And it wasn’t how to write.
We all know someone that has said, ‘You don’t need a degree in writing to write.’
And it’s true, you don’t. You can create a blog, write stories, and pitch to magazines and newspapers without spending a single minute inside a classroom. Look at some author bios and you’ll probably find many say a wide range of things from taking a break from working in law to pursue their lifelong passion for writing, or they studied engineering at college and now want to pursue their lifelong passion. Ask a freelance writer what their qualifications are in and often it is nothing to do with writing. And yet, these people are still successful in writing and are fantastic at their craft.
That said, as I come to the end of my one-year master’s degree, I am so glad I made the decision to do one. I already had a joint degree in Journalism & Creative Writing and English. I already had a blog. I already wrote in my free time and had done it for as long as I can remember. But what I didn’t have was any confidence in the words I was writing.
I’ve always been plagued with thoughts that there are so many brilliant writers out there that I can never live up to. I read a book and I wonder why none of my stories ever turn out like that and how on earth they crafted such…
