Three and and a half years ago, during my 8 a.m. freshman seminar class, I made the decision to dedicate the rest of my college career, and perhaps the rest of my life, to writing. Yes: I became a creative writing major. Over the next five semesters, I experienced roller coasters of confidence and self-doubt, some weeks assured in my choice as words and ideas sprouted easily and frequently, but others pulled down by my insecurities as a writer and the uncertainty of the future.
As I enter into my senior year and final semester, I still wrestle with my insecurities and worry about the future, though I realize that those are struggles by no means limited to my major. I look back to that early morning in freshman seminar and know I wouldn't change the choice I made. The last years have been challenging, but beautiful, and I am so thankful for all the professors and classes and friends who have encouraged me and helped me to grow as a person, student, and writer.
So for all those considering taking the plunge to pursue creative writing, here are some tips for how to make the most of your next few years.
1. It goes without saying that you are going to have a lot of writing homework. Don’t let getting that homework done be dependent upon the ever-elusive muse. If you consistently wait to do your writing until you get hit by inspiration, you will never get it done. Even if your on an imaginative and inspirational streak, one swift hit from writer’s block will wreck you. It’s terrifying when you have a swiftly approaching due date dependent upon your creativity and you feel sucked dry. So write whether you feel inspired or not. Write even if it sucks. Don’t be mastered by your feelings or inspiration.
2. When you’re not assigned writing, you’re going to be assigned reading, a lot of reading. Don’t put it off. In fact, get ahead on it. You don’t want to get in a situation where you’re behind on you’re reading and trying to push through writer’s block. Get your reading done with so you can dedicate the amount of time necessary for your writing.
3. Get connected with other writers. There are about 10 other creative writing majors that you are going to have all of your major requirement classes with; get to know them. Talk shop with them. Read their stuff and have them read yours. They can be there to encourage you and feed you ideas when you’re feeling blocked, and vice versa. Finding community within your major and your passion is integral for growth as you spur each other on.
4. Eat well, because food is brain power, and you need your brain to write. Treat your brain and your body nicely and sleep as much as possible. That being said, you’re still going to get hit by inspiration when you least expect it, sometimes at one o’clock in the morning, and you’re going to stay up even later trying to capture your inspiration (even though you probably shouldn’t) and it is highly probable that coffee will become the main staple of your diet. I like dark roasts, no sugar, a little cream.
5. Be tough: tough with peer-editing, tough with accepting criticism. You will not grow as a writer unless someone tells you how to do it better, so listen to writers you respect who tell you where you need to improve, and don’t let yourself give up. It’s okay to be discouraged, but don’t wallow in it. When you edit someone else’s work, be loving, but be honest. Again, no growth will happen if you don’t show them what they need to work on more.
6. Constantly watch what is going on around you and take notes. There are events, people, details, and quirks all around you in the real world, and they are gold for writers. Collect them; it doesn’t matter if you use real paper and a pen or the Notes app on your phone. Don’t let these opportunities for inspiration slip away. Look for it. Pray for it. Write it down!
7. Don’t get stuck in one style. Take risks and try new forms, even if you have no idea what you’re doing. If all you’ve ever done is short story, try poetry. If fiction is your safe place, test yourself on non-fiction. Branch out of first person and practice third. Search for your voice as a writer. I avoided poetry club invitations for over half a year because I was scared I would be terrible at writing poetry. I finally gave in, and discovered that I loved it. I believe that exploring poetry has been essential to my growth as a writer. So don’t limit yourself or let yourself get comfortable, otherwise you will never grow.
8. Take advantage of every opportunity to get your writing and your name out there. It takes courage sharing your work, but you can’t be too timid or shy if you want to make a career out of writing. Be brave. Start a blog or write for the school newspaper. Enter competitions and submit your work to magazines and journals. I’m not saying you’ll always be successful, but don’t give up.
9. Don’t neglect your other prerequisite / gen ed classes. Pay attention, because sometimes the stuff you think is going to be irrelevant to your major will actually be important to an aspect of your writing. You might hate math, for example, but a character in your short story might not. Physics apply to fictional worlds as well. Get your biology down and you can come up with a sick science fiction plot that makes logical sense.
10. Know when to put your imaginary friends away and have fun in the real world. It’s important to take a break from writing so that you don’t get burned out. There is the danger of writing becoming nothing but another assignment, another chore for you to complete, and losing your passion. Have fun outside of writing so that you can still have fun within your realm of writing.
11. Remember why you are a writer, and keep writing what you love just for fun. Sometimes the landslide of writing assignments can discourage you from the writing process. Don’t let that stop you from returning to the stories and characters and interests that made you choose this major in the first place.
