Creative Writing Degree

Creative Writing: Is it really worth it? Short answer, yes. Creative answer, this:

When choosing a degree to study at university there are a lot of factors to consider, sometimes so many it makes you want to live in a hole under a rock. I had never really thought about what I wanted to study, or what career I wanted in the future, until I visited a University Fair in my final year at college. I didn't know Creative Writing was even a thing and was looking into universities that taught Journalism; although I was a little apprehensive about that. I didn't think I'd have the confidence to be a journalist, not really; especially after I found out you'd potentially have to a screen test in front of cameras and possibly an exam before you'd even be accepted into a university. No thank you. In that respect finding Creative Writing was a life saver. All the creativity and writing without an emphasis on scary public speaking and exams.

Having studied Art, English Literature and Language, and Media Studies at A-Levels I was used to the comments about 'doss subjects', and my work not being very hard. It's true, I never found it hard, not because it was 'doss' though, but because I was good at it. I didn't mind the comments as I would rather do these creative 'easy' subjects that Science or Maths, which just thinking about makes my toes curl and my body shudder.

Choosing Creative Writing for a degree didn't mean the comments stopped. Out of my home friends I was practically the only one doing a creative subject, while most of my friends did some sort of science or humanity. That was fine by me. My first semester, while hard because I was away from home, was thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring, yet when I came home for the Christmas holidays I was bombarded with the 'doss' comments again but in a slightly more condescending and passive aggressive way. My friends said things like, 'I have lectures from 9 to 5,' and then upon hearing that I had a maximum of 12 hours a week they would reply, 'What could they really teach you anyway?'. Or, 'My tuition pays for the chemistry rooms and all the lab equipment, yours only needs to pay for pencils and paper.' (the sore point being that Arts were getting cuts and my university didn't even supply that).

But while they acted like their courses were far superior to mine, I was never jealous, because I enjoyed my course; I was excited to do the work and it was easy for me. I didn't have gruelling exams which required late night revision sessions; my essays were subjective so there were no wrong or right answers as long as I had the evidence, meaning I could express myself happily without (too much) fear. Not only that, my essay subjects were interesting, too, I got to write an essay about Batman, for goodness sakes! To top it off, my set texts were (mainly) enjoyable fiction, something you would voluntarily read, not hefty books of equations and numbers, which make your head spin. While others sat in the pub and complained about the work load, or going home early to revise, or the stress of their dissertation, I would smile a secret smile to myself and think of all the brilliant short stories, poems, screenplays, comic books, first chapters I had written, and how it had been so perfect for me.


I was sad to leave university, although happy to get away from overly harsh and picky markers my lectures had become. But I definitely believe my degree helped to shape me into the person I am now. I was a bit lost before university, being painfully shy and self-doubting, with no idea where my future was heading. Creative Writing opened a world of possibilities while not restricting me at all. It's amazing where a degree like this can lead you.

Considering the current job - money - housing - life crisis our country is currently facing, I was lucky to get a job only a couple of months after leaving university, and in something relevant to my degree. My employer admitted that it was my degree in Creative Writing that caught his eye, and not a day goes by without him saying something like, 'I'll leave this to you, you're the creative one,' or, 'You probably already know this having studied Creative Writing.' He comes to me for advice on many things regarding the company, Litphonix: a brand new audiobook company, and lets my creative energies flow.

A friend who studied Chemistry is still sending out job applications daily, while
sitting at home bored, watching multiple television shows. Another friend with a degree in Engineering is stuck in an administrative job while he searches for something better in his field. A lot of the others will be going on to do Masters, for lack of job opportunities, or for the security that university offers, allowing them to put off the adult world for a little bit longer.

If you ever doubt whether Creative Writing is a suitable subject, stop doubting it right there! It's more than 'making up stories', and I know I won't be the next J.K. like everyone jokes, but it was incredible in helping me find who I was, what I am, and who I can be.

Look at all my favourite pieces of work: here.

Packing...fun

Today is my final day in Winchester and I've nearly finished packing. The worst thing about packing is that I grow bored of it very quickly, and so do other things. Yesterday I watched three chick-flicks instead of packing. Now, I'm blogging instead of packing. But as my mum says, if it wasn't for the last minute nothing would ever get done. So I'll probably finish five minutes before my dad picks me up tomorrow.

This post isn't about packing though, it's about something I'm going to post once I'm home and settled. I've had the idea for this certain surprise post for a couple of days now, but I've been so busy hosting guests and not packing that I haven't got around to doing it yet. I'll give you a little hint; it's about writing description. I hope you'll enjoy it...when I finally write it.

Now, back to packing while listening to Disney songs. It doesn't get better than this. 

Creative Writing at the University of Winchester

Yesterday was the last day of term, but for me my course ended back in April. I can't believe how fast it has gone, I can still remember my enrolment and course talk perfectly, and how my tummy was knotting itself. When you start university everything feels so daunting and big, then you live through it and find it's not all that bad, in fact, it's really fun.

The Student Union -  Many fun times were had here!

Taking Creative Writing was the best choice I ever made. I actually enjoyed doing most of my assignments (not the rationales of course) which is a big deal at university. All the modules were interesting and fun, with only a few dull moments, primarily in Creative Voice, which was a compulsory module. At first the most appealing part of the course was no exams; I get super stressed and freaked out by exams. Whenever I tell someone I don't have exams they're surprised and a little bit jealous, and I secretly laugh at them in my head.
But now I realise that the creative freedom I had for my dissertation was amazing. Others talked of how hard their dissertations was, and how they had to force themselves to write it; but I really loved writing mine, I wanted to write it and I thought about it all the time. It was probably one of the best things I have written (though sometimes I think it was awful - all part of being a writer) and although it was stressful it wasn't nearly as stressful as writing 10,000 words on Shakespeare, Feminism or something as equally mind-numbing.

The Stripe Lecture hall

Creative Writing has, of course, had its highs and lows like anything else. Getting bad marks, not knowing anyone in lectures, having to do presentations, and worst of all 9am starts. Yet there have been many more highs; getting a First on something I worked really hard on, laughing with friends, reading new books I would never have thought of, writing things I would never have dreamt of, and finally getting a degree in something that I enjoy doing. How many people can say they have done that?

Even though I was terrified of workshops and reading my work aloud people were nice about it, will helpful comments and kind smiles. No horrible things were said, well, at least to my face! And, while I may still not be one of the 'popular kids' I made great friends none the less. At university everyone is there because they want to be there and they love the subject, and if they realise it's not for them they drop out pretty early. The people on your course are going through exactly the same things as you are; they find the same lecturers infuriating, the same modules uninspiring, and they probably hate reading Wolf Hall as much as you do. People are right when they say you make some of your best friends at university. For Creative Writing having a group of close friends is even better, because they are willing to read your work and give you constructive criticism  They know all about grammar and sentence structure; they know what your lecturers will like or absolutely hate; and they just love to read anything!

My friends back in first year -  how we've changed! 

Three years seem like a long time, but they're really not. I will remember every minute of my time at university and I'm so sad to leave. I now have to start to writing by myself with no deadlines and no briefs, and that scares me. I don't want to start an adult life where I work 9-5 and then come home too tired to write. I have so many stories in my head and I don't want them to stay there, I want to let them out. So I'm making a promise to myself here, that I shall write, always, and I will never forget my university years. 

Writing with Friends

This is my final week of lectures at the University of Winchester. I don't know where the time has gone. I can still remember my enrolment, my first lectures, and my first (very poor) assignment like they were yesterday.

I hated university at the start and was a nervous wreck when it came to attending lectures; I freaked out about deadlines and the amounts of work we had to do almost instantly; and don't even get me started on workshopping! Yet, now I'm going to miss it all. My lectures are so short, and I only have 3-4 a week that it was hardly worth getting so worked up about them. The assignments were relatively easy and creative, and I never did badly in them (well, mostly). And workshopping is a great invention; ideal for the novice writer and nobody was ever mean about my work.

But the main thing I will always remember from University are the friends I have made. I am not the most social person and I find making friends terribly hard, I'm just so shy! Yet I know these friends will last forever. Kat, Megan and Lauren  have helped me a lot during the last three years; they've kept me positive when I have felt extremely negative, they've encouraged me when I needed it, and they've read nearly all my work and helped to edit it, giving me great advice and tips. My writing wouldn't be the same without them.

Kat, Me, Megan (on her wedding day) and Lauren

Kat is an amazing editor. She picks up on the tiniest of mistakes that I would never even notice. She has a great writing approach and I'm jealous of her literary style, I could never write anything as imaginative or unique as her. Whether she does go on to write professionally, or become an editor, she will be one of the best!

Megan has always been there and is so caring; she always asks if I'm okay and is so positive about my work. Her writing really reflects her personality as it is filled with human emotions and real-life situations. People may look down on chick-lit but with the way she writes it I know she can write a best-seller.

Lauren and I have so much in common, including writing young adult fiction and fantasy (we've also been in all the same modules, except one or two). I admire her ability to mix commercial and literary styles effortlessly and with great success. She may be quiet but her writing expresses so much. I know she isn't planning on being a writer, but she certainly has what it takes.

I'm really sad to be leaving them after three fantastic years. We will all be going our separate ways after University, and I live furthest away in Devon, but we are going to stay in touch, sending out work to each other and possibly starting a blog; we can't decide on a name though! The best bit about our little group is that we will be honest about each other's writing, and won't just say it's lovely, we really get down to the nitty gritty, and that's what friends are for!

Second Draft - Feedback

I hinted in my last post that I wasn't too happy with how my ECP meeting about my Second Draft went. My supervisor is just doing my head in at the moment. The last time we met she said the beginning was great, she agreed with me that boys would be put off my a female protagonist and that having Perry's part first was a good idea just to grab their attention, and she said that this part:

'The whole class groaned as one and glared at Perry as he made his way back to his chair. The only person who didn't seem to mind was Gregory, who was still drawing eyes even though his pen had run out of ink.'

had good imagery and was very effective. However, this time she was confused by this part and told me to change it; and she wasn't too sure with beginning, she thought Perry was the main protagonist and then said having his part first was a bad idea. Huh?  

I left the meeting feeling lost. She didn't say whether the piece was working well, she didn't seem enthralled by the plot and it's almost like she doesn't care at all - just another student. But this is my dissertation and I really do care. She contradicts herself all the time and doesn't seem to understand anything I do. I liked her as a lecturer, even if she was a little ditzy, but she's useless as a supervisor. I have considered asking to change supervisor. Although my friend told me yesterday that someone else tried to change their supervisor and nothing happened for two weeks. That's a long time with no supervisor. And there's no guarantee that the new person will be any better. 

Creative Writing at the University of Winchester was ranked in the top 10 for satisfaction in the National Student Survey and I'm starting to wonder how. Don't get me wrong I love it here, it's just it's my third year and I feel that the lecturers are being disorganised and unhelpful. 

Maybe I'll feel a little better once I get some grades back and realise that I'm still doing a good job. 

Creative Writing Lectures

Four weeks in and lectures are in motion, and now that I've not got the flu and my cough is subsiding (somewhat) I can fully enjoy them. 

Advance Fictional Writing is exactly how it sounds. I feel that it's repeating a lot of the stuff I learnt in first year. While it is handy, it's also boring. I know about character now, with all my character profile sheets, I really know about character. Plot, structure, setting and dialogue are all second nature to me now and it's not interesting to listen to it all again.
Luckily, that's not all that is involved in the lecture. The other part includes a talk about marketing and publishing. This is more interesting as it is about what to do after you have written your masterpiece. It's also interesting because I have considered going into marketing before and part of me wouldn't mind being an editor, either. So that's always something to look into.

BBC's adaptation of Fingersmith

The most annoying this about this lecture is the reading list. They didn't post it until after the summer so I had no idea we even had to read anything. It now means that for the past four weeks I have been struggling to catch up, and finish the books we were meant to have for lecture a week late. For example, we were supposed to have read Fingersmith by Sarah Waters for Tuesday the 9th of October and I only just finished it today. I have another book to read by this Tuesday coming as well. However, this one is a lot shorter so I will probably manage it, for once. That's another thing, these books aren't even short, they're like 500 pages long. Even for me that's rough!
The final part of the lecture involves work shopping our creative pieces. As I missed the first lecture due to flu I was a little behind. Everyone already has ideas and at least 500 words. My mind is so focused on my ECP at the moment that I hadn't given a thought to all the other creative pieces I would have to do. But then it occurred to me, I could use this lecture as an opportunity to start my Margaret Jones novel. So on Tuesday I took the beginnings of the story in and my group seemed to like it. They even laughed and were surprised when I said she would stumble upon a drug lord's stash. Hopefully my lecturers will like it as much.
So overall, out of ten I would give Advanced Fictional Writing a six. Interesting, but not too inspiring.

My second lecture of the week is Writing-History-Fiction. Yes, written like that. Supposedly it means different things to if it was written Writing History Fiction. This is the lecture I look forward to most in the week. Not because of the topic or content but because it is the only lecture in which I have friends. It totally makes up for the fact that it's rather boring. I think the main problem is that I suck at history. I know nothing about it. And honestly, don't really care. Don't get me wrong, I find some parts really fascinating but they're not something I want to write about. Actually, I have no idea what I want to write about. I only chose this module because I thought my boyfriend would finally read something I wrote and like it, as he studies History at the university. Another problem is my lecturer, bless her. She's not technology savvy, like most lecturers, but she insists on using it. She sounds like Professor McGonagall but acts like Professor Trelawney. I think that says it all. And the books! The books are even worse than Advanced Fictional Writing. I've already mentioned Wolf Hall before, but my God, I just cannot read it.
Out of ten, this module receives a seven. All right, but my friends make it much better.

My last module of the week (I only have three this year, as I have my ECP) is Comic Books and Graphic Novels. It sounds like it is going to be lots of fun, and over the summer I really got into comic books. But I actually find it rather tedious. My lecturer is nice enough but he's so airy fairy and laid back. There doesn't seem to be any structure. On Friday we watched the first 20 minutes of the 1960's Batman movie with Adam West, which by the way is totally ridiculous. It is fun, I just wonder about the money I'm spending on tuition fees to watch Batman. That makes me sound like such a spoilsport.
The one style of writing I was glad to give up was scriptwriting, and guess what, comic book writing is pretty much just like scriptwriting. I'm dreading the creative piece. The first assignment was a choice between an essay, Is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a successful novel? or a parody of Batman. Everyone has chosen to do the parody, but I'm so anxious about it that I chose to the essay. That might have also been a bad choice. I worked out that I haven't written an essay since the Textual Intervention II piece back in March. (You remember  I aptly named it the Worst Essay Ever.) Anyway, that was eight months ago! This essay is certainly going to be a challenge.
For this module I give it a seven out of ten. Enjoyable, yet flat.

Overall this term isn't too inspiring. I think I may just knuckle down with my ECP, which reminds me, I have a meeting with my ECP supervisor tomorrow about it. I sent her the first 3,000 words. I really hope she likes it, or at least has something constructive to say. Finger's crossed. 

Third Year Reading List

The bad news: my laptop has decided to randomly break (I'm writing this on my boyfriend's laptop). The good news: I've got my reading list for next year. The modules I'm doing next year are Writing History Fiction, Advanced Fictional Writing, Writing Comic Books and Graphic Novels, Science Fictions, Creative Visions, and finally Creative Voice.

Out of all the books I have only read two so far, and one of them is the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook, so not too fun.

For Creative Voice I have to read the following:

Have a look at How to Write a Novel by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark (Penguin) and The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2012 (A&C Black).

http://www.thebookseller.com/jobs.html
http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.prweekjobs.co.uk/
http://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk/

Hypertext: The Electronic Labyrinth at http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/.
Ebbflux at http://www.ebbflux.com/
The Multiple Perspectives of Jekyll & Hyde at
http://www.calumkerr.co.uk/jekyll/
E-zines: Blankpages at
http://www.blankmediacollective.org/index.php/news/blankpages/
The Recusant at http://www.therecusant.org.uk/
Print-on-demand: CompletelyNovel at http://www.completelynovel.com/.

For Science Fictions I have to read:

H G Wells, The War of the Worlds
Poul Anderson, Three Hearts and Three Lions
P K Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Trudi Canavan, The Magicians’ Guild

I've already read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, you may know it as the film Blade Runner, and started on The War of the Worlds. It's a pretty fun reading list and I'm really looking forward to doing this module. 

For Writing History Fiction I have to read these books over the summer:

Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall (London, Fourth Estate, 2009; paperback 2010)
Taylor, Andrew: The American Boy (London, Harper Perennial, 2004)
Faber, Michel, The Apple and other Crimson Petal stories (Canongate UK, 2011)

Finally, for Comics and Graphic Novels I have to read:

Rene DeLiz, ed., Womanthology 
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman Vol1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Frank Miller, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

I'm really excited for this, Neil Gaiman and Batman? How much more awesome can you get?

As you can see I have a lot to read over the summer, but good things, no more boring things like Wuthering Heights. 

St Catherine's Hill

For my module Writing and the Environment we went on a field trip to St Catherine's Hill in Winchester to be inspired by nature.To be honest, it was just really cold and really muddy, not the two most inspiring things. But I did come up with this poem based on the wildlife of the hill and it's a little bit surreal.

What I Saw on St Catherine's Hill 

Butterflies of marbled white

rock roses down the chalk hill.

Blue skylarks and the rough hawk's bit 

is to drop worts on the 

autumn lady's tresses

while Argus Brown watches

eyes bright

doing the Devil's bit.

Scabious pyramidal cowslip 

disgusts the Shetland sheep 

greater than knapweed or thyme.

Avoiding chaos in the kidney vetch

a small skipper of a frog hugs an orchid 

the shape of a horse's shoe.

Second Year

So I am back at University for my second year and I still can't believe I'm actually at University at all! It makes me feel so old and yet I don't feel old enough, either. The blog entries should become more regular again as I will have lots of writing task and assignments to post. Just so you know the modules I am studying this semester are: Media Writing, The Short Story, The Short Screenplay, and Textual Intervention.

Well, lets get cracking on some blog entries then!

The New Blog

To help with my Creative Writing course at university I have decided to start a blog and showcase to the world what I have to offer. I love to write and I like to think I'm quite good. Of course, family and friends are always full of praise but I want to know about what everybody else thinks too. So, as I write I shall also be posting here and I would like to know what you think. But, please, don't be too harsh!