Writing or English Major

[Jen in NY]

Talk to me, folks.

 

Is there a good resource I can use to help my daughter think about being a writing major in college and what that might mean for her future career options? Or what she might have to produce in order to get into a program?

 

What can one do if she wants to be a playwright/screenwriter these days?? I have absolutely no idea where to begin other than Google... and I'd love it if someone could point me in a constructive direction.

 

If you were an English/Creative Writing major in college what did you do after? Was it a wise choice? Was it versatile? I need information to start thinking about this. :)

[mom2bee]

I have little idea what resources are out there at the highschool level. My advice is more generic: writing competitions, workshops, poetry readings, and read, read, read, read! Read a wide variety of genres, authors and materials. (You'll find tons of examples of horrible journalism in action on Yahoo! news) etc...

 

One of my oldest friends just graduated last summer with a double major--one of which was Creative Writing (w/an Emphasis in Business). But she did really well in the program, graduated with honors and had a great GPA. She went to public school K-12, she took a couple of AP English classes in high school. She says she wishes she'd done more AP and CLEP stuff in high school because she had to put a lot of energy into General Studies classes that she didn't care about. I also recommend getting serious with a foreign language. A writing program can be a great track, you just need to find one that will equip you to do what you want to do. I recommend going to near by colleges and letting your daughter speak to the advisers and students in the English Dept., even if it's not what you're looking for you'll have an idea of what you don't want <- which can also be tremendously valuable knowledge and insight to have.

 

You might also look for some BA/MA combined programs so that she might shave off some time and debt from her college career by doing some Undergrad and Grad simultaneously. Based on my friends experience, I wouldn't recommend the field for someone who isn't passionate and driven to really excel in their field. Your daughter probably has an entirely different view than my friend, but I will admit that my friend is someone who went into the program because she didn't want to do anything hard, wasn't passionate about the program, she chose a track in the program so that she didn't have to write creatively or any fiction of any kind (I still don't know how she managed it, but something about poetry workshops, tricky timing and scheduling advanced seminars...) and now that she's done she's not doing anything really. I know that sounds bad, but she went to college as a formality and for out ward appearances only. My friend joked during that last 2 years of school that she was majoring in "Basket weaving" and wasn't going to do anything with her life. That sort of apathy can be catching, so you want to make sure that your daughter has the long distance chops to make it in an environment where not everyone is thrilled to be there or even deems the work to have intrinsic value...

[Mom22ns]

I'm really just here to listen.

 

My ds is considering a creative writing/English degree. Right now that is what he is aiming for. We did a college visit and talked to one of the creative writing profs. His suggestions were read a lot and widely. Include things that challenge your way of thinking. Also write. Write often, write a lot. 

 

As far as admissions, after the kids are admitted to the college they have to submit writing samples or receive at least a B in the 200 level intro to creative writing class the college offers to be accepted into the program. It is a BFA and does require intermediate level foreign language proficiency, although the rest of the degrees at that university only require beginning proficiency. That is just one example. Our local state U just added a creative writing degree. They don't have the intermediate foreign language requirement, but have the same separate admissions requiring writing samples or a grade level in a specific class.

 

Neither of those college specialize in screen or play writing. Ds isn't interested in that. If I were you, I'd look for a college that does specialize in it though. Maybe one that has a cinematography degree or something where there would be students looking for scripts to produce. You can search college confidential for colleges with creative writing or playwriting and screenwriting degrees.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

I was an English major with a concentration in Technical Writing -- it was a fairly new program at the time (83-87).  I actually did do technical writing for a while -- writing software manuals for banking programs -- not fun.  :banghead:   I went to high school with the science writer Carl Zimmer, and he took an interesting route before achieving NPR fame - I think he started as a lowly copy-editor at Discover magazine.  Now he teaches at Yale.  Not a bad career arc.

 

The most important thing, in hindsight, is to not think of this, or perhaps any liberal arts degree, as only job training.  It isn't.  I've used my degree in one way or another in every job I've had, and it's not a coincidence that English is a popular BA to springboard into law school or some other grad pursuits.  It's a very good base for a plethora (ka-ching...50 cent word) of careers, some of which haven't been invented yet -- I'm still amazed that people make money blogging.

 

There are a LOT more resources out there now, such as jobs for English majors, and some interesting Amazon titles.  You might also like Gatekeepers, which is a little dated, but looks at admissions at Wesleyan, which has a hot writing program.

 

Your DD should go for it if it's her passion.  I have too many students who pick a major just because they, or the parents, are thinking only about income potential.  That sounds like a short ride to burn-out.

[Jen in NY]

Your DD should go for it if it's her passion.  I have too many students who pick a major just because they, or the parents, are thinking only about income potential.  That sounds like a short ride to burn-out.

Yeah... I get the whole follow your bliss thing... I really do. I just happen to know a lot of musicians that have day jobs..... and it's great when a day job pays a living wage, you know?

 

I think it's the type of writing she wants to do that makes me so hesitant to be 100% on board ... it just seems like you have to win some kind of lottery to make money writing for TV or film. I am sure there are a ton of people who think they can do it!

 

I really want my daughters to be able to support themselves. If dd really wants to be a writer, I am all for that. I wouldn't mind if she spend her last year and a half of high school/first year of college writing a lot but also learning how to be a dental hygienist or something so she can finance her writing habit. :) I don't see her as the technical writing type, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

At this point she does not think she wants to be a teacher... so that's out.

 

And there's no way I would advocate going into any debt at all to become a writer.... because it will be hard enough to get started as it is, without having large monthly bills right off the bat.

 

Maybe I'm over thinking.

 

Thanks everyone for the links... I'm reading... I'm reading. :)

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

That type of writing will be tough to do as an out-of-the-gate career, but might dovetail well with a job as an editor somewhere.   Mobility will be key, since landing that first job may be less likely at Harper's in NYC, but more likely at the Cattleman's Quarterly in Casper, Wyoming.  It's no different than the average journalism graduate's arc -- start small and climb, climb, climb.

[Mom22ns]

I've been told there is a significant market for scriptwriters in the corporate world. I don't know much about it, but I was told by the admissions person at a university we visited that corporations are recruiting most of their creative writers because they need people who can communicate their vision, mission, training, whatever. Videos have become a big part of that so they need script writers. I don't know if your dd would be wiling to go there, but in my mind it is more creative than technical writing but obviously not purely creative.

[Mom22ns]

I was a Creative Writing Major. It was most unwise!

 

Can you elaborate?

[KellyMama]

I was a writing major and I loved it! For 4 years I soaked in every different type of writing and it was such a rich life experience! I look back on those classes with so much joy - no regrets at all!

 

I decided to work for a few years and then decide if I wanted a graduate degree (several of my writer friends went on immediately to law school or added on teaching degrees). I worked for 2 years as a writer for a med tech company - I did research and interviews for their software product that required biographies as well as a variety of medical specialty phone message scripts. It was interesting work and in addition to learning how to work with clients, I also got to write every single day - which I loved!!! It was a young company, so my salary wasn't glamorous but it was respectable and I had lots of opportunity to work in a variety of other areas in the company , meaning I also gained valuable marketing experience.

 

After 2 years, when I made the decision to stay home with our first baby, I missed the writing! I decided to do some 'freelance' work which included tutoring, helping people write resumes etc. When my kids were a little older, I reconnected with a communications major friend who was editing for a local paper. She gave me the opportunity to write lifestyle pieces freelancing for them - sooo much fun!!!

 

I say this to encourage you that there can be opportunities you can't even think of right now! Being a writing major doesn't mean your DC has to sit down and make a living writing the next big sit com or novel. No matter what career path they ultimately choose, being able to express themselves (with correct grammar) on paper will be an asset! :)

[Harriet Vane]

I double-majored in English and Rhetoric (writing). I went on to work in publishing. I have done a lot of tutoring writing, and I am a freelance book editor.

[wingedradical]

My understanding is this: Unless you have talent AND are very lucky, getting into that kind of career is more about who you know than what your major is. So, to do what she wants to do, a degree in writing or English is not all that useful unless it is from a school that can give you those contacts. I know that isn't fair but it is what it is.

 

I see that you live in NY. I don't know if it has a screen writing major, but I do know SUNY has a good reputation in other media areas, as do a couple of places in CA and NYC. If there is a screen writing major or minor at SUNY, that might be worth it. You might look into it.

 

My son once thought of doing some kind of film major. He didn't end up doing it. Instead, he ended up majoring in philosophy/religion and then getting a MBA in Entertainment/Media Business. He started free lancing on the internet while he was still in his teens and when the internet was much newer. I am probably one of the few people who can say letting her son play video games payed off because reviewing games was where he started professional writing, lol. It's not where he stayed, though. 

 

On the other hand, his fiance has a degree in creative writing from a large and well-known private university and was writing copy when they met - and was earning next to nothing. She has since gone free-lance and is doing somewhat better. Her interest is not media/entertainment like my son's though.

 

Your daughter might want to get some kind of humanities degree in order to get a broader background to write from and then plan to go immediately to grad school at a place like SUNY or UCLA for screenwriting. 

 

No matter what, though, unlike an engineering or a medical degree, a degree in the arts guarantees nothing in the way of success or income. But income isn't everything.  

 

Then again, neither is a college degree.

 

 

DS1 (my older son) does have a friend who became an independent film maker; his most recent film even won some awards but he's barely squeaking by and living in Ventura (not the film capital of SoCal). He's happy, though. But he didn't even go to college and was pretty much unschooled.

 

And DS2 had a friend from when he was about 7, also homeschooled. We moved and lost touch. This guy also started freelancing on the internet as a teen, and ended up being on the ground floor of an internet site that became well known and was sold. He is doing very well financially as a result - I mean, REALLY well after the sell. He and DS2 only met again after they were both in their respective careers. Again, no college degree but homeschooled semi-classically.

 

 

[Jen in NY]

Coincidentally (or not....hmmmm..... ignoring big data issues for the moment...) this link ended up in my Facebook feed today.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-r-schwarz/what-to-do-with-a-ba-in-e_b_4204376.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share

 

Thought folks might enjoy.