I got fired last week, which was a drag, but I hated my job and I have a little money banked so in the end it was probably lucky. Or maybe I’m going to starve and die, who knows, but in the meantime I’d like to do all that writing I keep meaning to get around to “when I have the time”.
What I don’t know is if I should just try to do this in the vacuum of my recently fired and therefore solitary life, and hope I figure out what to do with the stuff once it’s written, or if I should make the effort to try for an MFA program and hope that structure and networking pay off better in the end.
Anyone here done an MFA in creative writing? Are you glad you did? Did it help you get published or find an agent? Was it worth the money? Was it worth the time? Did you finish the book?
Can’t speak to creative writing directly. My best friend has hers and she works in HR for a telepsychic company rather than a publishing deal. She doesn’t regret it though. I do regret not getting my mfa in theater when I had the chance. My life worked out pretty well anyway but I ran into a situation a while back where having any kind of postgraduate degree was the only thing between me and the job I wanted.
If you want it, do it. Don’t expect it to lead directly to anything though.
Can you tell us what you expect from it? That is what will determine if it is useful or not. As a paper qualification, it’s not worth much. As an experience, it can be valuable but awfully pricey.
Good question. Authenticity maybe? Something to differentiate me from people who call themselves writers but never get anywhere with it. Though I imagine that’s true for a lot of MFAs as well. Certainly the experience of it, the chance to focus just on that, for a specific and structured length of time. I’m not sure I’d fit in to a cohort of 20 somethings though, since I’m older by a long mile.
I guess I’m just wondering what it’s like to go through that process, and if it might be a chance I’ll regret not taking down the road.
I would consider that an MFA is not going to give you anything you don’t already have. If you aren’t the kind of person who wakes up at 5 every morning to write, or who spends summers in an isolated cabin, or who sits in cafes all day (or whatever your writer fantasy is), it won’t make you that. You are who you are, and if you aren’t that person right now, it’s not going to be something you can buy your way into being.
As for how others see you, unless the program is a household name, it doesn’t matter. Fine Arts degree are not things one takes for the qualification. They are strictly enrichment (which isn’t a bad thing)
What it can give you is a strong cohort and network (assuming you go to a good program) and professional feedback on your work. That’s more or less it. It won’t make you a “real writer” or get you a job or give you better writing habits. It can, however, help you refine what you are already doing and plug you into a professional network.
I would think hard about what the real block is between where you are now and where you want to be. With the money spent on an MFA, you could do any number of things- travel the world, take time off work just to write, etc. Think hard and think creatively.
I think taking writing courses and workshops are extremely helpful. The discipline of the act of writing, of working with others, of taking criticism and learning, those things are all helpful. The degree won’t get you published.
If what you what is to be a writer, a published author, I would not recommend the degree.
Do you feel comfortable sharing what type of writing you aspire to?
ETA: I just wanted to clarify that classes and workshops are an option without the degree. They can be very helpful.
I got an M.A. in creative writing (where I went, there wasn’t an MFA, but rather a Doctor of Arts degree). I did learn some useful things, but it had next to no effect on my writing career.
OTOH, having the M.A. got me the job I have in computer support; they were looking for someone to also teach, and the M.A. was required.