What education should an author have?

Question

I love to write fictional novels and I know that I need knowledge about the things I write about but what about College? Is there a degree I could get for writing?

Answer 1

Some form of Literature.. Some creative writing classes are a bit important :].. And, could get a degree too :D

Answer 2

You can get an English degree but you honestly don't need a degree if you want to write. You just need talent and luck. =] I want to be a writer one day but I also want to teach so I am working on an English degree with a minor in education. Good luck!

Answer 3

You could do a degree in English or Creative Writing, but it doesn't guarantee you a career as an author, the same as not having a degree doesn't hold you back as an author. I'd say, if you have what you think is a good idea, just write. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Answer 4

i would say a major in english or creative writing.

Answer 5

No. You don't need a college degree in Creative Writing or English Lit to write a good novel. You don't need a college degree at all.

You do need to be very, very, very well read, though. Not just in the genre you like, but your scope should be limitless. Non-fiction, lit fiction, genre fiction, children's lit. Pick up a bit of everything.

Read for enjoyment and read to learn. I don't put down many absolutes, but this one I stand by.

You can't be a good writer if you don't read.

Answer 6

There has been good advice offered already in the answers above.

I would just like to add, that whatever qualification you choose to follow, please make sure it has a broad enough spectrum to give you a chance at career other than writing. Whilst writing is a fine 'hobby', very few writers earn sufficient to live by.

Anthony James Barnett - author

Answer 7

All novels are fiction, by definition. I don't mean to be harsh, but calling it a "fiction novel" or "fictional novel" (is it not a real novel?) in a query to an editor or agent is like stamping the word "amateur" across the query in red ink. So it's a good habit to get out of. :-)

Seton Hill University offers a degree in Writing Popular Fiction, which focuses on genre fiction (romance, fantasy, that sort of thing). I think it's a really cool program but it's not necessary. Lots of other colleges offer MFA degrees, or English, or Creative Writing, sure, but none of those courses are necessary and I firmly believe some of them can be harmful for a variety of reasons.

To be a writer you need to read voraciously. You need a decent vocabulary and a love of the written word. You need to be extremely motivated--writing is hard work. You need a thick skin to deal with the inevitable rejections, you need an eye for detail, you need a good grasp of grammar. (Do not believe anyone who tells you grammar and spelling aren't important because "editors will fix that"; they will not. If your work isn't well-written no agent or editor will bother to read it. Why should they, when they have thousands of other submissions in front of them written by people who haven't left the basic work undone?)

But what you do not need is a formal education. I have a GED. I also have seven published novels (with respectable small presses) and a three-book deal with a major NY publisher.

Get a degree because you want to, because you think it would be interesting or fun or to help you get a well-paying day job to support yourself while you write (remember, the majority of writers have a day job; writing doesn't pay that well if you're not a major bestseller, and most of us aren't). But don't get a degree because you think you need it to be a writer. You don't.