Four Benefits to Studying Writing
19:00
Last week, I wrote about some of the benefits to not
studying writing at university/college. And there are some great reasons to
learn how to write by experimentation rather than under the pressure of a
formal course. But there are also some great benefits to studying writing by
taking classes, beyond the obvious reason that someone is actually telling you
what works and what doesn’t. I’ve spent the last three years studying the craft
of writing and publishing at university, and I’ve discovered quite a few other
benefits to studying writing through formal classes. Today I’d like to share
four of them.
You’re Forced to try Unfamiliar Genres
This can be inconvenient sometimes, being forced to studying
forms of writing that you have absolutely no interest in. But at the same time,
having to write in other genres means that you have a chance to discover a new
style of writing that you might actually like. I took a required unit on writing
magazine features, and found a whole new set of skills in that style of
writing. I’ve also discovered a love of writing for children after having to write
the text for a picture book. Both of these are genres I would never have tried
had I not needed them for my degree.
You Have to Finish Stuff
University and college is filled with dreaded deadlines that
seem to sneak up on you with no warning. But there is an upside to this. You
have to finish your pieces of writing to be able to turn them in on time. In
writing, there is often a temptation to work on a piece of writing forever,
until it’s perfect. But the problem is that a book will never be one hundred
percent perfect, and you may get stuck trying to perfect a book instead of
moving on and writing something new. Enforced deadlines are great because they
make you have to finish things and move on.
You Can Learn Practical Publishing Skills
A lot of the units I’ve taken have taught me practical
skills about getting published and how publishing works, even the units that
aren’t about the publishing industry. My unit on magazine writing also taught
me how to write a proposal for a feature article. My unit on writing for
children taught me about the publishing process of a picture book works, and
that’s not even mentioning the units that actually look at the inner workings
of the publishing industry. The unit I’m studying at the moment is currently
looking at the history of publishing in Australia, as well as contemporary
publishing practices, which are both highly useful, and incredibly interesting.
You Can Get Some Awesome Resources
My writing textbooks are amazing resources. I have them
sitting on the shelf by my desk so I can dip into them at random moments. I
have The Editor’s Companion, which
has helped me a lot in editing other people’s work, and Feature Writing: Telling the Story, which is a great resource for
writing articles. I’ve reused these ones a bunch throughout my degree, and they
look like they’ll be useful beyond university too. Plus I just got Making Books and Inside Book Publishing. I’ve only just started using these, but
again, they look to be great resources, and they’re both books I would never
have picked up had I not needed them for a course.
These are just some of the benefits of studying writing in
university or at college. But there are plenty of benefits to learning to write
by experimentation too. If you missed my post on that last week, you can check
that out here.
Do you agree with any
of these? What else would you add to the list? Have you ever thought about
studying writing? Or do you prefer to learn as you go?
10 comments
I can definitely see how these would be awesome, and I'm glad that those benefits are out there. Like, a lot of us do need strict deadlines to get things done, and who couldn't use some experimentation and other learning? But, at the same time, I don't think I want to study classical writing, at least right now, because, as I said on your other post, I don't want my life to be just about writing. Still, I'm glad people who sign up these classes will get something out of it!
ReplyDeleteI guess it's different for different people. But the best thing is that you don't have to choose to study writing if you want to be a writer. There's so much you can learn from experimenting on your own. I don't know many other careers where you can do that.
DeleteI took a Creative Writing course in the Fall semester last year and it was SO good for me. I definitely agree with you on the points of trying new genres and finishing things. I had to had in my final project before I felt like it was 100% ready, but my prof praised it anyways. It helped break down some of that submission anxiety, if you will.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I was thinking that exact thing yesterday actually. Having to hand in assignments and stop working on them and call them 'finished' really does help in some small way, with the fear of submission. I'm still wary of sharing my personal writing, but I don't think it's as bad now as when I started uni, that's for sure.
DeleteThese are all great points, and I'm glad that you've learned a lot of helpful stuff in your courses. It's always fun to discover you have a talent or a passion for something you never knew you had. And the history of publication in Australia sounds fascinating--well, I mean, so does the history of publishing everywhere. I think I'll have to hunt down some of these resources. :)
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about the history of publishing and the way it's developed, but it's actually really, really interesting. If you're interested in finding out about the history of Australian publishing at all, you should definitely check out 'Making Books'. From what I've read so far it's really good.
DeleteEven though I most likely will not study writing in college, I can see how it might really help your writing. I think the deadlines would be especially useful. Like you mentioned, we writers have the tendency to perfect things too much to the point where we never actually finish anything, and deadlines really help. I think another thing they would help with is not stopping a project halfway through. Plot bunnies are very tempting, but if a grade is at stake, you kind of need to finish what you start, and that can be very valuable.
ReplyDeleteExactly right. You really do have to focus and get things done. It's been one of the greatest benefits to me as a writer, having to nail down an idea and run with it to completion, and then actually make a conscious decision to call a piece finished instead of tinkering with it forever, But college certainly isn't required to be an amazing writer. I believe you wanted to go into some sort of Engineering?
DeleteI'm off to university in two short years and have been having a rather embarrassing number of existential crises over the fact that I pretty much have NO IDEA whether or not I want to study writing. (On one hand: of course I adore the craft, and it would give me a notable step-up in an industry largely based around who you know, but on the other: I've found that I tend to learn best when I'm self-motivated. And also, there's that whole ~practicality~ issue.)
ReplyDeleteBut I do think this is a lovely list - and certainly a good place to start when trying to decide whether to study writing in college. Thank you for sharing, Imogen; I think this will help quite a few people. <3
I totally know that feeling of trying to work out what you want to study and whether it's a good idea to dedicate your degree to writing. My biggest advice would be, consider what you would be doing if you didn't study writing. Is there something else that you would like to study as well? Or can you not imagine life without writing? For me, I realised that if I wasn't writing I didn't really know what else I could possibly want to do with myself. Writing wasn't my back-up plan. But writing is one of those amazing occupations where you can do that and have another career as well. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I hope you find the answer to your conundrum soon.
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