I was answering an email today from a WRiting Excuses listener, and halfway through I thought: “This is a great question, and people ask it all the time, so why don’t I just put it up on my site?” So I am, and now when people ask I can just point them here. If any of my readers have advice on the same topic, feel free to add it. I don’t know if this kind of thing will become a regular feature on my blog or not, but for now, enjoy the wonder of From the Mailbag.
Mr. Wells,
First off, I just wanted to say that I loved Serial Killer. After listening to Writing Excuses for months I couldn’t stand the fact that I had never read anything of yours, so I broke down and bought the UK version. It was well worth the extra effort (I never buy books online) and I am looking forward to Mr. Monster.
The reason I am writing is to ask for a brief bit of advice. I will be attending a university this fall and am still undecided as what I should major in. Since elementary school it has been my dream to write, but I am unsure as to how I should pursue that path. Do you think getting an English degree is the best possible choice for a aspiring writer? Would getting one improve my writing skills, or is it valuable just in having time to read and meet other writers? I am reluctant because I fear that I will get an English degree and then end up teaching at a High School somewhere with no other job prospects. As an English major yourself and a successful writer to boot, what would you recommend? English or something more useful in getting a good job?All the best,
Alex Booth
An English degree can be useful to a writer, but in most cases (including mine) it’s not as useful as just writing all the time. You learn more about writing by sitting down and writing than by any other method. That said, I didn’t major in English for the writing, I did it for two major reasons:
1) I love reading. I studied literature, not writing, and I feel that I was introduced to a much wider range of books and poetry and writing styles than I would have gotten otherwise. This wider range of literary experience has, in turn, impacted the way I write.
2) I graduated with an editing emphasis, which helped me get a job as an editor/copywriter. I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I also knew I needed something to pay the bills in the meantime. Since I love words, this was an obvious, early choice.
On the other hand, there are two reasons I kind of wish I hadn’t majored in English:
1) Writing all day at work, and then going home to write all night, is very hard. I got very burned out, and in eight years I only wrote six books–not a very good pace for a professional author. Working on something else all day would have made the nighttime writing easier (I assume).
2) With an English degree and several writing-based jobs, I’ve been immersed in words since 1998, day in and day out. That’s fine in some ways, because I love writing, but it’s also limited my experience; I’m pretty good at writing, but what do I have to write about? This is why most of the “literary” novels published today are about aging college professors who teach writing–because that’s who writes them, and that’s all they know. Obviously I have a life outside of work, and I try to read a wide variety of stuff, but I often wish I’d dropped English and studied history or psychology or something similar. Something to give me a different facet of background to draw on.
I suppose what it all comes down to is: weighing the pros and cons, would I do the same thing again? Yes I would. I’d even take the same horrible Technical Writing class again, just because I think it helped me in the long term even though I never became a technical writer. As much as I wish for a wider base of knowledge, the truth is that I’ve been out of college for ten years this summer, and I’ve never stopped reading and researching and I feel like I’ve filled in those gaps fairly well. I studied literature, and now I create literature, and I absolutely love it.
Thanks to Alex for submitting the question. If anyone has other questions, go ahead and send them in (dan AT fearfulsymmetry DOT com). I always answer all of my email, and if I feel like I have anything valuable to say on the subject, I’ll put it up here on the blog.
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Great question and response. I’d been struggling with this question for years now, and finally I’ve decided to major in English but take all sorts of classes. What made my decision difficult is I’ve always been interested in many things, but not any one in depth enough to major in it – what made the decision for me was that I enjoy reading and writing enough to enjoy the busy work of being an English Major… but I still have the option to take many other classes and learn many things.
I’m a programmer by day, and just wanted to say that it STILL isn’t easy to come home and write. It might be harder to write all day and then try to write more in the evenings, but I’ve found that doing ANY mental work all day leaves me with no desire but to veg. Vej? Vedge? Crap… and I wanna be a writer.
I got the chance to write two young adult novels based on films because of connections I made outside of college. And I have to echo Dan’s sentiment: having a life outside of writing leaves you with more to write about.
Whatever you choose to major in, keep writing when you can. Practice makes published. Something like that.
I took a best of both worlds approach and double-majored in English and Anthropology. The English helped me improve my writing skills and exposed me to a wider variety of literature than I would have sought out on my own. The anthropology exposed me to different cultures, and, more importantly, different ways of looking at and analyzing society and culture. I think, as a fantasy writer, that the study of anthropology certainly gave me a step up when it comes to world-building and culture-building.
Double majoring isn’t for everyone, but if you have time and resources to do a double major or a major with 1 or 2 minors, it can give you a broader range of academic experience to draw on in your writing.
Wow, I was in that same double major for my first year. I eventually decided I’d rather focus on pure English, which meant I could graduate a year early, but I sometimes wish I’d stuck with the program. Sounds like you enjoyed it, so that’s awesome.
I majored in Sociology and Anthropology so I’d know more about society, culture, and people – so then my fantasy and sci-fi worlds would be more believable. Plus I enjoyed the classes more than my English classes.
If you read author bios, most have done everything EXCEPT major in English. Not that it’s bad to major in English if that’s what you love. I’m just amazed by the wide variety of jobs most successful authors have worked. I majored in Geology with a minor in Math Education, after four years of Electronics. All of it plays a part in my writing, but knowing how to write trumps everything else.
I agree with Dan – major in English if that’s what you love doing. Major in something else if you don’t. But keep writing! That’s really the only way to learn to write.
Good post, Dan. I’ve been following Brandon, Howard, and yourself for some time, mostly listening to Writing Excuses. I haven’t read your books yet, but I mean to when they come out here in the U.S.
Thank you so much for getting back to me and giving me an actual writer’s opinion. I have been toiling with that question for a good while and have had difficulty getting any answers beyond the usual “English is a useless degree” response. In case you’re wondering, I’m probably going to go the double major route with English and History, but I’m just going to play it by ear for the time being. Thanks again for the assistance.
I have asked myself recently if I shouldn’t have done something like you have done, Dan. I’m… 25 – yes, 25 – and I have four degrees (I started when I was 16!!!!), which are all barely related. I came to the conclusion that if all I ever studied was writing there was so much else out there that I wasn’t learning about. I’m a terrible, horrible I-want-to-learn-everything kind of person
I’m thinking that I might do a master’s in writing or editing to teach me in broad strokes. It’s just an idea and I’m rambling but I am *very* thankful that you answered this question!!!
Whatever you major in, don’t get a teaching certificate if you don’t want to teach. The schools have enough uninspired teachers. There are other emphases that an English major can embrace. Mr. Holland’s Opus aside, there are few people who fall back on teaching who love it and make a career out of it.
I am 32, one math class away from earning an Associates, and rapidly feeling like the sand is running out of my hour glass. I want to go back to school this fall, and I LOVE to read and write. I’ve always settled on the idea of teaching, but deep within me is a passion for a career in journalism or something related (I’m secretly dying to become an author as well, which for some reason I’m embarassed to admit). I feel ridiculous for still being undecided considering I’m no longer a teenager, so I’m desperate for some advice and guidance… I have read the other responses and I guess the bottom line is; do what I love, and do it well… but am I too old to waste my time being so indecisive??