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None at all, frankly. O and A level English and a really short (two days, I think) creative writing course somewhere on the south coast about twenty years ago. The former taught me about spelling and grammar, the latter didn't really help at all.
James
My O-levels included Eng.Lit and Eng.Language. I did start a Writers Bureau course but came to a stop after assignment 6. The course was very helpful, as I hadn't done any writing since school. I'm slowly working through a grammar book, but I'm confident with spelling. I have books on structure/characterisation etc. On good days I have a vivid imagination but need confidence to go ahead and write, as I usually assume my ideas are rubbish.
I was good at writing at school and did the usual olevels. In my late twenties amid babies and general chaos, I decided it was all rubbish and threw out great wads of hand written stuff.
I took an HND in software engineering and forgot about writing. As part of my work I wrote and published (internal to the firm) over 50 technical documents.
I never lost my love of books and reading has been a constant for me.
When life threw a few nasty little surprises at me I rediscovered my love of writing. Initially as a way of expressing my grief and despair, I started to explore creative fiction.
I look forward to the day when I feel able to submit work for publication. In the meantime I am on a journey of learning.
Apart from O-levels in Lit and Lang, nothing. I'm doing the WN Fiction writers course to start me off. I read widely to give me understanding of styles. However, I think it's all going to be down to comprehension of the general rules, respect for those who have gone before me, imagination, discipline and tenacity.
No, I have no formal qualifications. Like you Soobdoo I've always read books, can't remember not being able to in fact. I wrote when I was younger, didn't do much while I was married. A couple of years ago I did one of the WN home study courses, which was helpful (though I don't think I finished it) but it's only recently that I've had the time and motivation to try and take it more seriously.
No creative writing education, but 'O' Levels, 'A' Levels in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Pure Maths. After a career in business circles, I obtained my Cert Ed and ADB (Ed), Drama Teachers' qualification. I have been writing poetry since I was thirteen in Croatian and later in English, with some success. The same applies to non-fiction articles. Love words and spelling in several languages.
No qualifications. Have just learnt as I've gone along. Spelling has never been a problem for me, but I don't think my grammar is always 100%, but I get along with the help of Word.
I'll say this in case I didn't before (it's on my Profile) - I've been published with short stories in women's mags, both short stories (1000 to 1200 words) to long (2500 words).
Otherwise, have had an extremely full and rich life. Full of experiences.
TP, I agree with you. The number of times it highlights something in my writing as being incorrect, and I look at it, and what it says is the correct way is totally wrong.
No degree, went into the army from school. Went back to college at 34 for my Master's Diploma in Sports Therapy then did my Cert. Ed. to lecture in the subject. Have been writing for as long as I can remember but am currently struggling to finish my first book.
No degree here either, alhtough I did get O'Levels in both English Language (B) and Literature (C) respectively. I also got 2nd prize in a creative writing competition at school. I have though been writing all my life in one form or another - my personal diary, my own website and blog, on various other websites and e-zines, in the newsletter that I edit, and of course in my book. Hoepfully I will find the time soon to start a second one ....
I haven't got a degree in creative writing...i felt that since the percentage of people that do well from writing was so low, i'd rather pursue something for a main career, and also i felt that studying creative writing might put me off enjoying it. Writing qualifications...does an A in english literature and a B in english language count when it came to gcses? :-p
As for interesting life...yes...i've been dragged down a road on my back hanging by one foot from a horse's stirrup, i've watched a barbecue almost become a forest fire, i've had my seatbelt come undone during Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, a couple of cases of knowing when my pets were dying through my dreams, broken my leg in a game of tag, travelled to Netherlands, USA and France. And imagination, yep, i feel pretty imaginative :-p
Yep, I definitely feel confident with spelling and grammar...i used to tutor fellow students on that matter. I feel i've grown a bit rusty at writing though. As for reading...I did get locked in a library one time overnight because i was reading so long that i didn't hear the librarian calling out that it was closing time. My dad used to drop me off at the library every Saturday while he did the shopping, so i've grown up reading. As long as i read enough and widely enough, i feel i can avoid plagiarising anyone's work.
hehe i was lucky. I finished reading....Fool's Fate, by Robin Hobb, just as the lights turned off, then ran downstairs (it was a three floor library, absolutely gorgeous, like the library in Disney Beauty and the Beast) as the security guard was locking up, he stared at me, flirted with me then let me out and i walked home to read some more.
Apart from standard English language and Lit. GCSEs (to which I got A's for creative writing assignments but B's for every other assignment), I have no other qualifications in writing. All my other qualifications are in languages, science and Art/Photography - A Levels in both art and photography and a BTEC in Sports Science.
My teachers were a bit crap in that they often thought I copied things due to the language/vocabulary that I used when writing - as opposed to the vocabulary I used when I spoke - which always bugged me.
I started reading at 1 and when I was in primary school, I read all the books straight through to year 6, by the time I was in year 3. At one point, my teacher brought in other books that weren't on the reading curriculium because I was bored when everyone else was reading (one of them being LOTR). I loved (and still love) reading.
That is silly of your teachers to be that critical of intelligence. Did you prove them wrong so that they knew the truth by the end?
:-o that's great for your teacher to encourage you so well on reading!
I did English Language and Lit at A Level. Very nearly went to Lancaster University and studied English Language with Creative Writing but as I mentioned on the Uni or not Uni thread I opted against this. I have a good career (not in writing) but I do want to progress to one day being a full-time writer!
Unfortunately, as yet, I have no published work. I'm working on a novel so poems and short stories have took a HUGE backstep.
English spelling and grammar have always been my strong point. The usual English O and A levels, a journalism correspondence course years ago, then just trial and error. Write and write till you get it right! I joined an Adult Education creative writing class ten years ago, realised how much I loved it (and was quite good at it!) and went on to help form a writers group after the course ended. I now teach those courses myself. And, yes, I agree that reading is essential, and I don't believe it makes you copy, just learn what does and doesn't work.
Yeah I proved them wrong. The only problem was, everytime I got a new teacher I had to go through the same thing over and over. I was in sixth form before they finally got it.
I got Higher English and Latin as well as three science subjects, and looking back, I can't understand why I never considered going into the arts instead of a science-based career. The English and Latin were the things I really loved. Some sort of Catholic work ethic, I think - I felt I had do something 'worthwhile' ie some sort of healthcare. It wasn't until a couple of years ago when my nephew stunned all the family by deciding (and succeeding)to make his living writing songs with his band that I realised what a daft assumption that was. So no creative writing qualifications (although I have a WN Home Study certificate of which I'm very proud), but plenty life experience mainly gained through working with clients/patients from all walks of life. I have a proofreading certificate which should mean my spelling and grammar are reasonable but of course doesn't mean I can type the letters in the right order!
It's good to hear what a variety of experience everyone here has.
I have no qualifications at all apart from my O level English which I decided to do at the same time as my daughter di hers. Any writing I have done since has been self taught and I appreciate all the help I have been given from lke minded people here and on other sites. To be honest I feel that I learn something new everyday from someone.
I'm currently doing a diploma course to become a teaching assistant - a job I didn't even know existed until last year, despite having three kids (none still at school) - and if what I am learning on the course is true, I am amazed that at long last teachers are being taught to realise that all kids are different, learn differently, and have different educational needs.
I know it's not always possible to treat everyone as an individual, but I would like to think that my own experience of being a fluent reader by the time I started primary school, but still being made to begin again with everyone else, resulting in tears (mine) and tantrums (mine again!), plus my eldest son's similar experience (now 22, but almost destroyed at age 4 when refusing to learn the alphabet - he could already read the Rover SD1 repair manual cover to cover) - is now an attitude of the past!
I truly hope that, now teachers don't have to stand alone to try and cope with all from the dyslexic to the future Einsteins (who was also dyslexic, funnily enough), less kids will slip through the educational net. I do regret not taking my A levels to teacher training college when I had the chance of a free degree education, plus grant, though - I deferred my place for a year to make some money, only to find I liked the money more than the prospect of 4 years of poverty! Still, you certainly don't need a degree to write, as many successful writers will no doubt attest.
The thing about Einstein being dyslexic is wrong. He worked as a patent clerk before he developed his threory of relativity. Someone dealing with letters and numbers can hardly be dyslexic.
Ah, but he left school with no qualifications and was considered to be thick - dyslexia is a modern diagnosis and there are many people who suffer from it that you would not have thought did - Cher, Tom Cruise, and, also dealing with letters and numbers - Bill Gates. Being dyslexic is not totally debilitating, it simply means that these people have to find a different way of learning to those in the mainstream.
Mcb, I had to 're-learn' to read at primary, as well. The teacher got frustrated when I refused to do anything, but my parents did say that I could already read and had done it all before.
Hmm -interesting isn't it? I didn't do A levels, I was too ill, I went to art college and then got a job, but it made me iller, (is that a word?) so then I stopped and had 2 children... I was always creative, had to be doing something creative, knitting, doing art with the kids, writing scripts, drawing, taking photos etc etc - then started writing poems at a writing course and realised this was what I was meant to be doing. And so luckily, I can do it from home. I started writing in 1999, got published in 2001, and am now published in over 45 anthologies. but it's so hard to get poetry published, and less and less is getting published so I did an MA in writing last year. Which proved something to me if nothing else!
I did learn things I didn't know. It did bring up my standards. It did make me more aware of the markets and how to use them and how to cope when published, ie with contracts etc. It's a wonderful way to get feedback immediately on your work, it's a fantastic supportive atmosphere, you gain a whole load of friends very quickly who you have to bare your soul to every week by reading out what you have written and being critiqued -but it's so positive. You learn extremely quickly this way. And now I have left, I have a supportive and loving writer group. Who continue to meet. On a course like this you also get introduced to agents and publishers and get a lot of contacts. I would recommend it. But I don't think it's vital. If you have the talent and the drive I think you'll make it. Making it big is down to the luck of having the right idea at the right time, and being able to do it well.
I think going to The University of Stirling to study English Studies was the best thing I could have done to help my degree. Its given me a hell of a lot more confidence, and teaching me some valuable lessons about sticking to deadlines! It has also taught me that yes, you can do this or that in books. It has also pointed out my problems with grammar etc.
And I will always be in their debt for pointing me towards the Gothic genre.
Qualifications ? An MA in palaeography and a diploma in copywriting - needless to say I'm earning my bread and butter thanks to the diploma - I'd be starving with the MA but, at the time, it seemed a good idea ...
Sorry, what was that JM ? I hope I didn't offend you or something ?
No ! I never got a chance ! Thanks for bringing it up to the top (I'll bookmark it) - I'll have a look during my lunch break or tonight at the latest - I've got a difficult client "at me" all morning and I just hope the afternoon will be quieter ...
Trying to get through my first summer at Uni, and I literally have to pay out more in bills than is coming in. I can only thank God that I have a new student loan payment coming my way in 12 weeks.
English degree from Oxford, father who co-wrote standard textbook on Middle English lit, though this stuff has just about disappeared now from degree courses I think.
I always thought reading was the best way to learn the mechanics of language; as for the rest, you have to have something interesting to relate, and that comes only from living your life, whatever it may be....
Well, I always read, then I decided writing was what I wanted to do, so I wrote, shaky at the start but I persisted and now I'm selling. No academic qualifications unless GCS in English (because it was the subject I liked) counts. No Summer Schools, or creative holidays. I sit down, I write, so I guess there must be some inner creativity there. Not into making it too fanciful - painters paint, bakers bake, writers write. Easy equation. For anyone starting out - just do it. Don't agonise over it. And don't think it's easy. Hard work, but worth it when you complete something.
Genre fiction. Started many years ago with Westerns . Have done Horror/thrillers. Sci-Fi and currently action/adventure for the US market. Been actively writing since 1960s. Somewhere in the region of 70 books and around 25 short stories. Even managed three articles for writing mags in the last couple of years which have usually upset a few folk. Oh well, can't please everyone!!!
Comments
James
James
I took an HND in software engineering and forgot about writing. As part of my work I wrote and published (internal to the firm) over 50 technical documents.
I never lost my love of books and reading has been a constant for me.
When life threw a few nasty little surprises at me I rediscovered my love of writing. Initially as a way of expressing my grief and despair, I started to explore creative fiction.
I look forward to the day when I feel able to submit work for publication. In the meantime I am on a journey of learning.
Otherwise, have had an extremely full and rich life. Full of experiences.
As for interesting life...yes...i've been dragged down a road on my back hanging by one foot from a horse's stirrup, i've watched a barbecue almost become a forest fire, i've had my seatbelt come undone during Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, a couple of cases of knowing when my pets were dying through my dreams, broken my leg in a game of tag, travelled to Netherlands, USA and France. And imagination, yep, i feel pretty imaginative :-p
Yep, I definitely feel confident with spelling and grammar...i used to tutor fellow students on that matter. I feel i've grown a bit rusty at writing though. As for reading...I did get locked in a library one time overnight because i was reading so long that i didn't hear the librarian calling out that it was closing time. My dad used to drop me off at the library every Saturday while he did the shopping, so i've grown up reading. As long as i read enough and widely enough, i feel i can avoid plagiarising anyone's work.
My teachers were a bit crap in that they often thought I copied things due to the language/vocabulary that I used when writing - as opposed to the vocabulary I used when I spoke - which always bugged me.
I started reading at 1 and when I was in primary school, I read all the books straight through to year 6, by the time I was in year 3. At one point, my teacher brought in other books that weren't on the reading curriculium because I was bored when everyone else was reading (one of them being LOTR). I loved (and still love) reading.
:-o that's great for your teacher to encourage you so well on reading!
Unfortunately, as yet, I have no published work. I'm working on a novel so poems and short stories have took a HUGE backstep.
It's good to hear what a variety of experience everyone here has.
I know it's not always possible to treat everyone as an individual, but I would like to think that my own experience of being a fluent reader by the time I started primary school, but still being made to begin again with everyone else, resulting in tears (mine) and tantrums (mine again!), plus my eldest son's similar experience (now 22, but almost destroyed at age 4 when refusing to learn the alphabet - he could already read the Rover SD1 repair manual cover to cover) - is now an attitude of the past!
I truly hope that, now teachers don't have to stand alone to try and cope with all from the dyslexic to the future Einsteins (who was also dyslexic, funnily enough), less kids will slip through the educational net. I do regret not taking my A levels to teacher training college when I had the chance of a free degree education, plus grant, though - I deferred my place for a year to make some money, only to find I liked the money more than the prospect of 4 years of poverty! Still, you certainly don't need a degree to write, as many successful writers will no doubt attest.
What did you think of the Writer's Bureau course? I've just sent off for a prospectus.
I did learn things I didn't know. It did bring up my standards. It did make me more aware of the markets and how to use them and how to cope when published, ie with contracts etc. It's a wonderful way to get feedback immediately on your work, it's a fantastic supportive atmosphere, you gain a whole load of friends very quickly who you have to bare your soul to every week by reading out what you have written and being critiqued -but it's so positive. You learn extremely quickly this way. And now I have left, I have a supportive and loving writer group. Who continue to meet. On a course like this you also get introduced to agents and publishers and get a lot of contacts. I would recommend it. But I don't think it's vital. If you have the talent and the drive I think you'll make it. Making it big is down to the luck of having the right idea at the right time, and being able to do it well.
And I will always be in their debt for pointing me towards the Gothic genre.
Sorry, what was that JM ? I hope I didn't offend you or something ?
Trying to get through my first summer at Uni, and I literally have to pay out more in bills than is coming in. I can only thank God that I have a new student loan payment coming my way in 12 weeks.
I always thought reading was the best way to learn the mechanics of language; as for the rest, you have to have something interesting to relate, and that comes only from living your life, whatever it may be....
Classic Candy - always there to make me laugh.
What sort of thing do you write?