pervy_potluck and Creative Writing mussings

[misanagi]

pervy_potluck Event!
Saturday, August 26th :D THAT'S TOMORROW!!
12pm Pacific, 1pm Mountain, 2pm Central, 3pm Eastern, here is a time converter

The chat will be announced in pervy_potluck, so be sure to look there! :D A few geeks pervs will probably be waiting there already before the time it starts XD

Hope to see a lot of you there. I'm sure it'll be lots of fun.
_____

I have a question, kind of. I know thejennabides and sintari are heading over to school for a Creative Writing program (Masters, right?), anyone else has been, plans to, or would like to enter a creative writing program?

And no, that's not the question, the question is what type of advantages, if any, a degree in Creative Writing would bring if you are looking for a job? Does it help at all? Do you think it'll help you get contacts in the publishing industry or stuff? Okay, that's way more than one question.

The thing is I've been thinking of applying for a Masters in a Creative Writing program here but I don't know if maybe I shouldn't do what I want and try something more practical like in teaching or journalism. I've been reading the syllabus of many different grad programs, and yeah, I feel capable of doing a lot of those but I keep thinking it's not what I really want. And then I read the Creative Writing one and oh yes, I want that… but maybe I should stop indulging in what I want (like studying Literature) and start thinking practically.

And there's the other thing about me actually getting in, which I don't know if I will…

So yeah, probably this wasn't a question but more the need to put these thoughts out there, see what you think…

I guess that's it for now. Have a wonderful Friday, everyone.

Comments

[thejennabides.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this will help you at all, but the program Sin and I are doing is called a Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW). There are three concentrations to choose from: Creative Writing, Composition & Rhetoric (mostly geared for teachers), and Applied Writing (technical writing, journalism, web design/publishing, etc.). I'm aiming to do both Creating and Applied. The things I think I'll get out of the degree are (1) experience and skills in different kinds of writing, leading to (2) the building of a portfolio I can use when applying for jobs; and separately, (3) experience and contacts from doing internships.

Of the friends and other people I know who do something with writing for a living, I would say that most of them do not have creative writing degrees. But personally, I think I need the external discipline of something like classes and a degree program to get me started on writing seriously. And I definitely like the opportunities afforded by internships to get my foot in the door with publishers, for example; not with an eye towards passing them my work necessarily, but in case I want to pursue a career in editing/publishing rather than as a writer myself.

Eep eep!

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Your program is way more versatile than mine. The one here has prose, scripts and theory. And I'm not sure there are internships here, which I would love. But yeah, I want the experience, try to write different thing and this type of program would make me write. I lack discipline too so I'm thinking this could be great. I keep hoping maybe I could get contacts there to get into the publishing industry too, but who knows?

I guess I keep thinking what if I invest time and money in this and in the end I don't make it? I don't think there's anything I want to do but write, but is that even possible? Probably not.

And I'm not even mentioning how scared I am that I apply and they say no.

*hides* Yep, maybe I'm just scared.

[thejennabides.livejournal.com]

*pulls you out of hiding and cuddles you*

But what if you get to the end of your life, or even just half-way through, wondering what might have been if you had made the investment of time and money, no longer able to even try? Not to mention that you could make an investment in other things you aren't as interested in or excited about, just to have those not work out either. See, for example, Muskrit's life. ;p

Seriously, I think you should go for it. Life is just too short not to. I don't know how competitive your program is, but I do know your writing and I think they'd be crazy to turn you away. If you want an opinion on any original stuff or converted fic you're thinking of including in an application portfolio, I would be more than happy to offer comments.

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

*cuddles in close*

I really want to do something that makes me happy. And you are right that there are no guarantees that if I do something more "practical" it'll help.

The university is the National University, which is one of the best and also, it's the only really good one which isn't that expensive, which means a lot of people try to get in. However, I don't know how many people are interested in a Creative Writing masters. *wibbles*

I'm not sure what would they require for the admission procedure... I would love to get your comments but anything I submit would have to be in Spanish. So yeah, even more scary because I can't ask you guys for help.

*hugs you* Thanks for commenting, and letting me ramble at you. I still have some time to think this over, so we'll see...

[thejennabides.livejournal.com]

*smacks forehead* I forgot about the Spanish language aspect.

I'm not going to push you into something you're not ready for, so I'll just leave it with one last nudge:

There are things far worse than rejection.

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(is that symbol for a four leaf clover? if it's not, can we pretend it is?)