Comments on: Do You Need a Writing Degree to Be a Professional Writer?

By: Degree Creative Writing

Degree Creative Writing — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:05:09 +0000

I think getting a degree is always a good idea, of course replaces experience but a good education opens additional doors.

By: jen laceda

jen laceda — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:07:36 +0000

Hi Teresa,
I’m an aspiring travel writer, and I have an additional question. Is it too late for me to start a writing career? I am 36 years old, and have just recently rekindled a passion for the written word that, somehow, I abandoned during my secondary and tertiary school years.
Thanks for sharing with us your opinion on this matter.
-Jen Laceda

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Correction: the Menand piece was in the New Yorker, not the New York TImes.

By: Eva

Eva — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:08:19 +0000

Great post, Teresa.

I’ve always been pretty fascinated by the whole “Can you teach someone to write?” debate. I think the answer is both yes and no. What you can do, in a classroom set-up, is create a structure and discipline and incentives to get students reading a lot, writing a lot, editing a lot, and you can expose them to a lot of different perspectives along the way. So I don’t know that a class (a good class – and they aren’t all good) really teaches students to write, so much as it gives them the tools to make themselves into better writers.

As for how that bears on someone’s ability to be a PROFESSIONAL writer? Well, if you go with the assumption that becoming a better writer increases your chances of making a living from writing… But then, that’s a whole other debate, isn’t it?

By: Colin Wright

Colin Wright — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:09:26 +0000

I always wondered after the logic of degrees that exist only to educate future teachers for that same degree. Seems like a self-enclosed system that doesn’t really allow for a lot of external influence.

Then again there are those fortunate few who do get their degree in Writing and manage to write for a living, so maybe it’s just a numbers game?

By: Jean - OurExplorer Tour Guide

Jean - OurExplorer Tour Guide — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:48:36 +0000

Degrees and training may help with writing skills and techniques, but think passion and sharp minds are more important for a professional writer, expecially that of a travel writer.

By: Carlo

Carlo — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:23:41 +0000

Thanks for this Teresa. It’s a question I’ve been pondering myself as I look down the road and decide what I want to do with my writing and which direction to go in. For now, I will stick with the gameplan of no formal tertiary qualifications, but if/when I see helpful courses or workshops, maybe join in.