1. Writer's Block
There is nothing worse than sitting at your desk with a pen in your hand, or your hands on the keyboard and not being able to get a single word out. It is almost as if you haven't experienced a single thing in your life because at the moment you have no apparent opinions, memories or anything meaningful to put down onto paper. The only thing that helps is a glass (or bottle) of wine and some reading. Lock yourself in the house and free write and I promise you, something will keep you writing.
2. The question, "What do you want to do?"
I DON'T KNOW. I MIGHT NOT EVER KNOW. With a creative writing degree, you can either have a ton of options, or what seems like none. Have you ever seen the look on someone's face when you told them you want to write a book? Because I have. The look that means, "Good luck." I might as well be saying I want to be the president. The bright side is that even though it seems like there aren't too many options out there for writers, there are actually more than you think. For example, teachers, editors, publishers, etc.
3. Having no time to read the books you actually want to read because you have so many books that you have to read.
Granted, most of the readings I'm assigned are interesting and can actually grab my attention. That being said, I can't sit here and lie and say I wouldn't enjoy going to Barnes and Noble and spending my entire paycheck on a bunch of books of my choice. Maybe I want to re-read the entire Harry Potter series, but sure. Let's read some other shit written by some guy who died 100 years ago.
4. The pressure of having to be creative almost all of the time.
Between poetry classes, fiction classes, and whatever other classes you're taking, you're going to need to try and find that little bit of creativity that made you choose this path in the first place. The problem is, you're going to need to try and find it constantly and almost every day. College is a lot of homework and a lot of projects. For a writing major, it's a lot of papers and a lot of workshops. You're going to need to be using your imagination a lot, and it's going to be a lot of pressure.
5. SO. MANY. PAPERS.
The difference between college, and what happens after college, is that instead of focusing on one piece at a time, you're going to be focusing on a bunch of different ones at once. Not only is it a lot of writing, it requires a lot of attention, a lot of focus and a lot of dedication. You might have a 10-page fiction piece due on Monday, a 15-page screenplay due on Tuesday, and 30 pieces of poetry due on Wednesday. And only a week to complete all three. The hardest part is switching back and forth.
