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My friend's wife is thinking of going back to Uni to study creative writing as this what she'd like to do full time (she's currently a drama teacher).
She's had a little minor publishing success magazines etc but she wants to write novels and thinks she needs formal training. I'm not sure if writers are born or made what does everyone else think? ?
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How they go about learning their craft varies. Some study their craft formally, others are self-taught, so I would say that formal training isn't mandatory.
The thing is that honing a craft takes an awfully long time - and a course is a fabulous way to speed up that process. Not only are you writing constantly, with expert advice on hand, everything you write is also scrutinised to within an inch of its conjuring as to whether it makes sense, is well-expressed, is interesting, jumps from the page into your mind, fills you with the intended emotion, whether the writing is liquid and flows so that it doesn't hold up your reading, whether the whole of what you are writing has suspense and highs and lows in the right places, etc. etc.
And you get contacts and a host of comrades who remain friends for life and you learn a lot about yourself.
You can do it on your own - but it's so much better having all the above.
However, I would put in the proviso that the course has to be a good one.
nless you have a well-paid partner.
However, she might find that the course leads to another path, one she hasn't even considered. She's in a very lucky position – embarking on something new and exciting.
Has she researched the course and checked how many have turned it into a full-time job?
The year I did (it was an MA, I wouldn't have had the time for a BA) was the best year of my life.
Like Liz says, I imagine they're useful in many ways but they are no guarantee of a writing career, or of having a book published, or even writing a good book if you don't have it in you to start with.
If I had my time over I'd have done a drama/creative degree rather than the general business one I did and will make sure my girls when they're time comes follow their hearts not heads!!