WRiters?

[VoidLivesOn]

I was wondering if there is any experianced writers out there who know what their doing and could give me some advice, you know regarding to careers or colleges and such.

What would be a good college, or an interesting (not boring) career pertaining to writing. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm near the end of my senior year and I really need to get my shit straight and it seems as though the only thing I've ever been half good at is writing.

[Acouwaila]

I took AP literature in high school (lots of essays)

but I love writing ...i havnt perfected it...but...im not an english major so.....


what exactly xo u need help with?

[Kid Dynamite]

im not be a smart arse, but it really depends what writing you want to do. Journalism is a very interesting career to do with writing, but if you want to write novels or whatever your probably better off just taking english then sending your work to publishers. Writing is a very rewarding career, but much like acting, its often basically the same as being unemployed.

[VoidLivesOn]

I don't know anything I guess.

[birdgirl73]

Hey, Void. I've been a writer for many years, at least until this fall, when I returned to school to study medicine. I got my undergrad degree with a double major in English and journalism, and that sorta covered both bases, creative writing and publication writing. I started out after college by teaching, then worked as a reporter on a newspaper, then went back to school, then went to work for a corporation, where I wrote everything from brochures, ads and video scripts to executive speeches. I was working as a speechwriter when I left that job to return to school.

You can do all sorts of things as a writer. And the good thing is you can pretty much call your own shots. You can work for someone else like a news agency or a corporation, or you can build a freelance business and be your own boss. There are lots of good schools at which to study writing, depending on the type that interests you. If you know which type of writing interests you, let me know and I'll tell you what I know about good schools. The truth is you can get good training at almost any college or university. The real key to being a good writer is practice, practice, practice. I'd probably recommend journalistic training simply because it's a practical way to earn money professionally, and you can do creative writing like novels or poetry in your spare time if that interests you, too. Good luck!

[Its a Plant]

Well I don't know where you're located at in the U.S., but the University of Missouri has a great English and writing deptartment. I would definitely be there if I could afford it. So check out Mizzou if you get the chance! ~

[birdgirl73]

University of Missouri also has one of the best journalism programs in the country. It's ranked right alongside Columbia University as one of the two top-ranked journalism schools in the United States. That's where I wanted to go to graduate school. Then I fell in love with someone in Texas and stayed here instead.

[VoidLivesOn]

Thanks for the input, yeah I'm here in Texas. I'm pretty much down for any college as long as its in a big city far away from an army base, but whats really on my mind is what exactly am I going to major in.

Journalism has crossed my mind but I would definatley have to pay more attention to ethnics, and politics and such. However, even though I'm 17 those 2 sound a little intimidating.

Bird do you do any creative writing?

[TheSmokingMonkey]

Don't do journalism. You may need to sell your soul to make a living and if you do that, then you won't have any creativity and energy left for things that you are passionate about.

The better bet, in my book, is this:
1. Research undergraduate writing programs carefully.
2. Choose one that you can get into, and do well in it, even if it isn't always fun.
3. Work on your portfolio very, very hard while you are in school.
4. Get an MFA in Creative Writing (University of Iowa is excellent; I am sure there are plenty of others too)
5. Try to get a job as a teacher or professor (obviously a prestigious one would be nice, but you can also teach community college or high school - the whole idea is to get a job that allows you to think about your writing all day at get paid for it)
6. Write, write, write and try to publish - either thru a commercial publisher or on your own ("self-publishing").

I wish I had gone that route instead of trying to get a "day job" and "write on the side". It is so hard to save up your passion for writing all day while you are getting shit on at some mundane job you hate. My advice is to get a job that rewards independent thinking.

[birdgirl73]

Well, heck, Void, if you're here in Texas, you should go to UT-Austin where I went. Excellent school. Good writing programs of all kinds. But there are plenty of good ones in other areas, too. The University of North Texas in Denton has a great journalism program and a good creative writing program in its English department, too. U of Houston is good. UT-Arlington. As a Texas Ex, I can't in good conscience recommend anyone go to Texas A & M, but there are people who believe it's a good school. (It's better for sciences than liberal arts.)

As far as ethics and politics go, sure, they cover that stuff when you're studying journalism. But so many reporters and magazine or Web journalists cover general news, features and human-interest stories that political reporting/writing is just one comparatively small area. There's much more to journalism than political news, which is a good thing, if you ask me. I never was interested in covering politics. Take some writing classes and see what you think. And don't be surprised if your initial impression is that writing's not your "thing" after all. The truth is, the fun lies in having written, not in the actual writing process itself, which can be a brain-draining hassle. But once you've finished something and published it or seen it in print, that's a cool feeling.

Above all, if you want to be a writer, the best thing in the world you can do is read, read, read, which you may already do. Reading helps shape your style and stoke your verbal furnace. Helps you see the difference between good writers and bad ones. Helps you generate ideas for your own stories. OK, I'll shut up now.

[VoidLivesOn]

Yeah I live an hour away from Austin I'll probably look into that.

Smokeymonkey did you ever get anything published and what is exactly "undergraduate writing programs"?

[Dutch Masta]

If your signature is any indication of your creative abilities, then I would say to look into another field. Seriously though, its a tough thing to do since lets face it, most people don't want to read anything unless it interests them.

[fikusroot]

well, I write for my school newspaper and have had a few of my short stories published in the school lit magazine. I'm working on a "novel" right now but it's taken me about 3 weeks working an average of 2 hours a day to get 20 pages done. But I like where it's going even though it will probably be a little to bizzare for most.

[VoidLivesOn]

If your signature is any indication of your creative abilities, then I would say to look into another field. Seriously though, its a tough thing to do since lets face it, most people don't want to read anything unless it interests them.

Nope sorry thats just an old quote I heard back in 8th grade that I thought was interestingly true. Has nothing to do with me except for how much I like it.

Nonetheless you made a good point about writing being tough since people only read things that interests them. However, thank whatever not everyone is the same and each person holds a different sense of what interests them. I'll try and entertain my portion. Plus I like to do it.

[fikusroot]

That's a good point and I try to keep the mindset that if you I make people stop, hold what they're reading a few inces farther from them and go "What the fuck?" then I've done my job. Although I'm quickly learning that many people are somewhat repulsed by the bizzare.

[4gan2ja0]

this is a cool thread, considering i too am thinking about going to university for journalism courses, everything people have said helps a lot, thanks!