One of the bonuses of studying Creative Writing at university – aside from the intellectual rigour and support of the academic environment – is the number of ‘professional activities’ that students can engage in. A quick glance at some of the MA courses in the UK shows there are plenty of practical and vocational opportunities that go beyond a dedication to the craft of writing. The most common ones include:
- editing an anthology of student work
- readings and public presentation of work (e.g. festivals, book launches, open mic events)
- collaborating with experts in other media, like video producers or illustrators
- teaching and mentoring young writers
I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much advantage I’ve taken of all the opportunities on offer on my Graduate Diploma course at BCU. Along with fellow students I’ve done public readings galore (including the Birmingham Book Festival, End of Year shows, and Anthology launch events) and had the chance to run workshops and teach Creative Writing sessions in schools. I’ve loved it all, even if I do sometimes feel as if I’ve got my hand permanently in the sweetie jar.
Why get involved?
For me, they’re a chance to collaborate with friends who share your passion and an opportunity to notch up professional credits on your Writer’s CV. Also, these activities can build a curious kind of momentum and lead to other engagements – invitations to teach, to speak publicly, writing commissions and so on.
But best of all it’s fun. You get to play at being a writer, doing trial runs of the stuff that real writers do.
When I was a little girl my mum kept a pair of gold shoes under her bed. They were her special ‘dancing shoes’. And my greatest treat was to be allowed to try them on, wobbling precariously as I strutted around the bedroom in them, with a silk scarf draped over my shoulders for added sophistication. And that’s how doing these professional activities makes me feel sometimes – like trying to walk in grown-up shoes, practising for becoming a proper writer.
Staying faithful
The danger of course is turning into a person who doesn’t put writing first. While these professional activities are great to do, you (I) need to beware of them becoming a gigantic displacement activity. The question (and I guess it applies to writers at any stage of their career) is how to do the professional stuff while still maintaining fidelity to the writing. Because there are always temptations to pull us away from the desk and the sheer hard graft of getting the writing down.
As I approach the final stage of my Diploma course it’s time to take a deep breath and to ask of every new professional opportunity that comes my way, ‘how do you serve my writing?’ It sounds ruthless but it isn’t really. It’s about honouring my commitment to the thing that I love. And yes – occasionally staying away from the sweetie jar.
If you’re on a university writing course what sorts of professional opportunities have you been able to do? How do you balance the skills learned and the experience gained against the loss of writing time? If you’re an established writer how do you manage the ‘writerly’ stuff? It’d be good to know!
Fiona Joseph
11 Comments
Good stuff, Fiona. There are many distractions – reading your excellent blog being one of them
In November last year I decided I had to finish my novel by the year end and refused every offer during November and December including those which would have paid me. The result? A finished manuscript which I am now hawking around the agents and publishers.
Hello Fiona,
You press a number of buttons in your blog – your best to date, imo.
The truth of the matter is that writing requires dedication and hard work. And certain opportunites and resources. Many failures, little certainty of success. It takes a certain kind of person to do it. Leaving aside questions of talent, you have to be willing, as I think Will Self said in the Guardian recently, to submit yourself to long periods of solitary confinement. Its a lonely job, and if you can’t hack that, don’t apply. It also involves a certain relationship with the world. A distance. Writers should never belong to anything. They should be the grit in the oyster. Difficult. Awkward. Outsiders.
There’s a huge demand for creative writing courses. In our society, writers are like priests. We don’t on the whole belive in organised religion, but we do believe in art, and in particular the word. We also live in a society in which, thanks largely to the internet, everyone can claim attention through the word with the minimum effort. We can all be writers for a few minutes. Result: the triumph of opinion over knowledge. Nobody need submit themselves to the long years of hard work and study needed to master a subject, or to create a work of art.
I wonder how many times I have heard in the course of my time at the NAW students say, I’ve not done much writing lately..? I’ve said it myself. Yet much effort goes into talking about writing, and to chat about this or that opportunity, or just chat. It’s lovely, but its not the real thing.
The thing about a creative writing course is that it doesn’t matter if you succeed or not. Its not like training to be, say, a nurse or a pilot, or a lorry driver. The job of writing for a living does not require you to hold any qualifications (arguably journalism is an exception, but creative writing courses include none of the emphasis on productivity that journalism courses do).
Of course there are some people who come on creative writing courses who do have the stuff that writers are made of, and there are useful things to be gained from the best courses if you are that sort. But these people probably will be writers anyway. Whether what they will write will be as good is a different question.
Meanwhile, the courses attract large numbers of hopeful would-be writers who for a while and a fee can tell themselves they are what they want to be. Some will succeed. Most won’t.
It is clear from the NAW experience that the promised links between the course and The Industry don’t really exist. There are no short cuts. It still depends on talent, hard work, sacrifice, contacts, and luck. Oh, and having something to say. Everything else follows from that.
Yup.
A very good point Fiona. As we all should know by now – writers, write.
Nice blog.
I didn’t sign up for additional activities in the autumn, because I wanted to use the time available to write. But I’ve had fewer family commitments this term so I could volunteer for anthology editing without slowing down my own projects. If there’s a trade off, it’s with my social life, and with everyday chores (the house can get filthy, no one will die).
I’d query whether collaborative work is a distraction from writing per se. Novel writing is a solitary business; but when I’ve scripted animations or comic strips, I’ve written in collaboration with other artists. Not all writing is fiction writing, and not all formats are served well by sitting in a lonely garret.
The internet poses bigger problems for me. A few days without a connection saw my productivity go up quite a bit. It might be time for me to cut the cable, at least on week days.
Balance. Balance. Balance.
As in all things.
Easier (I think) to pull it the way you describe. Some writers are so out of touch with the world and their readers all they write about is writing. And their writer-navels. Knowing you – I doubt you are in danger of that!
Nice upbeat and sociable blog. Keep it up. Hurrah!
Congratulations Rob – I’m sure that hard work was worth it and I wish The Spaniard’s Wife every success. Keep us posted on your submission news.
P.S. When you leave a comment here don’t forget to fill in your website address so people can click over to you and check you out!
Some sobering words, Nick. I wonder, how did you find the experience of editing an anthology? Did it have a positive impact on your writing? It’s the type of project I’ve been tempted to get involved in but have made myself resist, on the grounds that it’s crazy to be involved in everything!
Kate, you sound as if you’ve got a great balance. Just in case you needed consolation about neglected household duties you might enjoy this classic clip from ‘Withnail and I’, embedded on Tom Vowler’s blog post:
http://oldenoughnovel.blogspot.com/2010/02/dont-attempt-anything-without-gloves.html
Ryan, you’re right. As ever.
Federay, thanks for your wise and kind words. Is it true it was your last time in Brum? I’m really sad about that. Good luck with your book – can’t wait to read it. Do you have a working title?
Fiona xx
P.S. Will you bequeath me your yellow gloves?
Haha, yes we have Withnail and I on DVD. Things are not quite that bad… yet!
Hi Fiona,
You ask about the experience of editing. I enjoyed it a lot. I loved working closely with authors, negotiating changes, trying to bring out the best in the piece. I was lucky – I had some good pieces to work with and authors who were a pleasure to communicate with. It was for me a step beyond the workshopping process, in that as an editor I had to take responsibility for my views. I couldn’t just say, I like this / don’t like that and walk away. I had to ask myself why I thought what I thought; and were my views really appropriate to the task in hand. A lot of that gets worked out in the process of negotiation with authors, who in my case were each able to see their work ‘in the round’ as it were. Its important to establish a relationship of trust, and given the feedback I got from the people I worked with I think I did that.
Did it do my own writing any good? Yes, for the reasons above. Editing is a very different skill from writing, but helps to sharpen one’s eye and refine one’s sensibilities. But you have to be willing to take on the process of negotiating with people who may not share your views, at least in the first instance. There’s no hiding!
“If you’re an established writer how do you manage the ‘writerly’ stuff? It’d be good to know!”
Hi Fiona
It was nice meeting you this afternoon at the 3-Act day –
I don’t know if I actually count as an established writer – but whether or not, I certainly don’t know the answer to your question about ‘writerly’ stuff.
I found your post and all these comments very interesting and can identify with lots of what’s been said -especially the balance – balance- balance.
But it is possible to spend months and months on the wrong side of the balancing act, with no new poetry or fiction being produced while the necessary ‘writerly’ stuff takes over for a while, and eventually find yourself back on track as the ‘real’ stuff comes pouring out with renewed energy.
At least, that’s what I’m telling myself right now, while I’m in the middle of my publishing project!
Hi Christine
Great to meet you too this evening and to hear you read so beautifully from your book, The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society. Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts here on this blog. And good luck with your publishing venture, Novel Press!
Oh Fiona – I feel as if you have a direct line to my subsonscious – and it’s telling me off!! Well done on an excellent post. xx