Weighing the Value of Advanced Degrees
Screen-writing. A relatively new pursuit for me, and yet an obvious one given my tendency to think visually. The idea (nothing more than that till six months ago) has penetrated my soul and tangled deep roots around my Muse’s heart.
Writing tends to be a solitary activity, at least until revisions and marketing appear. Even then, most choices remain at the discretion of the writer. Screen-writing provides more opportunity–nay, more necessity for collaboration and teamwork. Visual writers must consider at all times how something will look on the screen, whether scenes are physically/financially possible to create. Scripts rely on actors, direction, music, costumes, and special effects to culminate with writing to deliver a product to audiences.
A cooperative-dependent burden, larger than providing words to encourage a reader’s individual imagination.
I’ve spent a lot of time pondering possible graduate school options, but appealing as most subjects are, writing is my main career objective. One thought often crossed my mind as I sat through my English classes: why study something that can be learnt alone? dedicate time and finances on a subject that ripens through practice and subtle improvements? Why sit in a classroom writing and analysing when the same can be done on a comfortable couch? Sure, attaching “creative writing” to an educational degree is a golden opportunity for undergraduate circumstances. Higher education + time to work on craft = understandable. But graduation formally presents students to the adult world, where labour occurs, bills must be paid, and for most of us, independent life essentially begins. The sensible step next step is an active role in your field, continuing your craft through experience and relentless pursuits of payable gigs.
So how do you justify graduate school for writers? Jael McHenry advises that the question isn’t “Do you need one [an MFA]?” but “Can you benefit from one?”
If you’d asked me last summer, my answer would probably be no. I’ve been a writer my entire life and I’ve grown accustomed to doing things myself, learning through experience and branching out my networks.
But like I said, screen-writing only became a concrete option six months ago. Since then, I’ve already learnt a lot through solo screen studies. I have a rough draft script that feels further along in the process than most of my novels from the past several years. The best part is that working with screen-writing has solidified a connexion to the rest of my creative processes.
The heightened collaboration for screen-writing over novel-writing argues for the benefit graduate school offers. My innate desires for travel, meeting new people and erudition suggest I follow this idea for graduate studies. Any advice on what schools to consider?
Rewind, Hold Up! Start Again?
Learning never ends. A concept I’ve grown fond of over the years. Regardless, my career in an academic setting is finally at an end (unless I pursue graduate school). So much time and money invested in a collegiate education, yet it’s only now as graduation looms that I catch a glimpse of where I want to go.
Is that right?
Idealistically, the “Big Revelation” should’ve happened when I was a freshman. In need of a clear head and eager to pursue classes suited to my needs.
Too late, time’s up, trod on.
As freshmen, my peers and I had a “welcome to college” class requirement. One assignment asked for a self-description of our lives in X-years. Even though I didn’t have specifics, there were vague ideas that had developed over the years. College was my ticket to the world, the step between branch and sky. A home, a job, and hopefully a family. Realistic enough, I suppose. Except four years later, I sit in a fog denser than I ever imagined.
What happened to my childhood certainty of being a veterinarian? Doing something I loved by working with animals. (okay: that dream left when I realised I’m too emotionally sensitive for such a field)
In Disney’s The Kid, Bruce Willis’s character holds a conversation with Jean Smart’s about childhood dreams. They talk about how people grow up and dreams evolve into a more realistic sense of what must get done in order to make a living. The astronaut, the prima ballerina–they get stuffed in a closet to collect dust and be forgotten. But why should dreams suffer for the sake of an income?
Chase it! Make it work!
That’s how you evaluate success. Fight for what matters, and enjoy the journey. It’ll be rough–depressing at times. But it beats falling into a routine and rotting with dissatisfaction.
Before college, I was full of certainty. Now I don’t even know where I’ll be in a couple of weeks. I don’t know what’s in store for my future, but I’m open to whatever comes my way. Ideas stampede toward me, and I continue writing.
Always writing.
Goodbye November, Hello Stress
2009 has been a fantastic year, especially for NaNoWriMo: I passed last year’s count by 10k! With all the pressure of a 30-day deadline, juggling school and writing, losing sleep for the extra time needed to handle everything, I’m not sad to see November hand over its baton.
Alas, with December comes even more stress.
(Is that even possible?)
Homework. Bills. Job hunt. All put on hold for the sake of writing only to return with frightening speeds. Two weeks left of school! That’s it. Then I’m done. Finished forever. Tossed out on the street to see if my skills are strong enough to help me make it on my own.
…okay, so I won’t be on the streets quite yet.
I actually realised on the drive home today that my life resembles that of the MC in my latest novel draft. Dani’s story begins and ends in an airport. In my case, my current story ends with living in this house again. Not my top option (really the only option), but when you’re broke and out of work, you take what you can get.
My goal for December is to survive finals keep up with my writing. This comes up every year, resulting in epic failure. But the rough drafts keep piling on my flash-drive, awaiting revision. It needs to get done so I can get myself out there.
(watch Twitter for updates about that, by the way)
If I dig up something fun, I’ll post an excerpt here. Till then, I’m off to hibernate beneath the collected layers of homework–my only shelter from the impending cold.
Next week should be better. Less work, more sleep.
Evolution Of A Niche
Being somewhat new to the concept of blogs, I’ve spent time researching the benefits they bring to writers. Results concur that successful blog management is difficult and time-consuming, but the potential it donates to a writer’s career may be worth the effort.
So hi!
My biggest concern is choosing a focus–a niche with enough influence to fuel motivation. True to the writing process, the most important thing is to get start. Let things flow; the niche will evolve with time.
Still, I struggle with how best to start, bogged down by the stress of everything going on right now.
That’s when it hit me: I’m a 20+ want-to-be-published writer who is graduating university in approximately two months. Years of loan debts await repayment. I join the ranks of homeless graduates seeking any and every way to save money. My focus is writing, but my responsibility is winning a job. In this economy, that spells stress-overdose.
The unknown fills me with anxiety. The world holds many opportunities, however, and I’m going to do what I can to handle the stress in a positive way. After all, freedom from the classroom = freedom to fill the days with writing. Résumés, cover letters, general fiction. At least writing removes some stress from my life.
