What My Creative Writing Program REALLY Taught Me

[@johnglynhughes4239]

Writing is personal. Publishing is business. Wow. That hit home. Super insight!

[@JustClaude13]

One great benefit of a creative writing degree I keep hearing about is the professional connection you can build. I hear of a lot writers who find an agent through people they met in college.

[@freedomthroughspirit]

Thanks Alyssa! I was an English major at a technical school so I went the Technical Communication route and worked as a technical writer for years. It was a good fit for me but now that I'm retired I'm delving into creating writing and LOVING it. Appreciate all of your content. 🤩

[@RodneyRogers-p8o]

She is such a great help. Many of the things she does for us is out of the kindness of her heart.

[@TiaLove28]

i'm in the middle of my creative writing and english degree, and right now we're going over publishing. your channel has been so much help and i wouldn't be doing well without it haha

[@AlyssaMatesic]

I'm so glad to hear my channel has been helpful! Best of luck with your degree program!

[@nikoletta_]

Hey! I just finished my master's course in creative writing, with a major in screenwriting. Now I'm writing my master's thesis (for which we have to submit a movie or tv script + a research paper). The lessons we had were different from yours, they were all related to writing theory, genres, feature vs short film format, and things like that. In all our classes we had to write scripts (since this was my major) and we also practiced a lot in feedback and editing because we had to present our work to the class and to read each other's work and give feedback on it. This master course really helped me understand the business side of things (in contrast to the "artist" stereotype) and the importance of audience, pitching, marketing. Most of all, it improved my writing tremendously and helped me realise what "over and over and over again" really means.

[@stephengrimes5480]

I agree with your pick of Kiley Reid's debut novel "Such a Fun Age." I read it a few months ago and loved it - would love to emulate her quality writing.

[@AlyssaMatesic]

One of my favorites - glad you enjoyed it!

[@lizgonzalez491]

Very helpful! Thank you.

[@LordOz3]

One class I wish I would have taken - typing. In retrospect, given that I was a J-Major, it's odd I didn't pick it up at some point, but I still mostly type with two fingers. One class I wish I would have paid more attention in - whichever one covered commas and clauses. Maybe I just forgot over the years; I didn't get published until I was 51. Having writer friends is huge. I've learned a lot from my author friends, and now I am fortunate enough to help mentor.

[@Tygertyger8008]

I took two semesters of typing in high school, and it turned out to be the most useful class I took during that four years. Not least because knowing how to type made it easier to wrap my head around using a word processor.

[@soccerguy325]

These are really interesting (and sometimes hilarious) stories, Alyssa! It can honestly be pretty fun getting a peek behind the curtain that is your life. Thank you for sharing.

[@astevenswrites]

Good practice should always help refine your craft no matter what you do. But like Alyssa said, you get out what you put in. I've never been formally trained in writing, but it's something I've been considering now that I'm getting serious about it. Thanks for sharing the value you found, Alyssa!

[@smallrose323]

writing is personal, publishing is business.. this will stick with me forever. thank you

[@luciusrex]

thanks for sharing! im in nursing school, in my last year. im so tempted to get a writing class in the winter term. im not sure about my sched though, nursing is tough and our schedules are all over the place.

[@beescheeseandwineplease889]

I have an English degree; every class was fun and profoundly educational at the same time.

[@melvindodson6827]

you're great 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@larssjostrom6565]

Last semester in high school I took a course in Literary formation. What I learned mostly was how to introduce a story in an exciting way. I also learned to see the hero(used synonymus with main character in this case) as the one something happens to and that when you continue and finish other people's works, what you wanted to do with them differed completely. In retrospect I think that the problem was that we all wrote what could have been complex stories, but to continue someone else story without any guidelines and still staying true to their intentions is impossible. We should have written simpler stories and each one should have continued without adding new things to the story. But that is easy to say 20 years later.

[@BabyalexanderLasica]

Thanks! this was very helpful i love your videos i now go to the NYU College because i got inspired by you

[@LBBenton-q1r]

You may or may not agree but I believe every creative writer should take some courses in practical problem solving - maybe math or engineering or science related - maybe business courses. Too often I read creative material that clearly reflects a naivety about the real world that is stunning. Great writing is a combination of beauty and truth. Wonderful stories usually revolve around some sort of problem with the MC working to solve. Understanding the real world and how it works - that is, the 'truth' - adds richness to how that MC resolves the situation. Best of luck

[@TheEccentricRaven]

I took too creative writing classes in high school and one creative non-fiction course in community college. I kind of wish I just majored in English with a creative writing emphasis, though my college degrees have helped out my writing, day job, and career anyway.

[@annworthington7253]

Very insightful. Thanks for sharing!

[@stefanschneider4073]

Thank you for your tips.

[@sejensen92]

If I could redo my college experience, I would've gone into publishing or creative writing. Unfortunately, those weren't options at my university until I was close to graduating. But, I did manage to take a few creative writing courses and learned quite a bit there. Then again, I wouldn't know half of what I do now without all the personal effort and research I did in my spare time.

[@kesabchandragiri833]

Thank you. Nice innovative idea

[@danielrenaud3985]

Hey I am trying publish my first book I have 3 more that are in various stages of being finished and will follow. What is a good way for a 58 yr old beginner to get the book assembled and put out tobhe market? Or maybe some good ways. I am thinking I will use Amazon but am open to ideas

[@giovannijacobs4496]

I'm studying a creative writing master's degree!

[@megreads9]

Many of fampus authors didn't go to university for creative writing degree, they were only sp much talented and they wrote their books with only one thing : Passion. Don't misunderstood me please i sn mot against creative degree writing msjors or english totally i'm with because it's shape the autgor path to be well known and i wish to have this chance to study this degree + Rnglish literature which is my passion. Talent and well grammar and structure will be enough for any person who wants to be an author. I will tell my story some day how i start my journey as an author.

[@briankilgore8808]

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” -Coach Vince Lombardi

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

I majored in Literature back in the early 2000s but the environment was toxic. Most of my classmates just wanted to be the next JK Rowling and did not want to be their own writer. But I did get one writer friend out of the ordeal and she and I are still on the journey together.

[@larrybird4398]

❤

[@beescheeseandwineplease889]

Kind of sad, no correction, very tragic that an individual would be sitting in a class at prestigious NYU but squandering their opportunity and not graduating due to laziness.

[@BudsCartoon]

Oh my God, be honest... those poetry slams were cringe AF, yeah? I get the chills every time I see one. Here, lemme show you how talentless they are by writing one right now... "I am oppressed in this economy, but is it econo-me, or econo-us? Is it a tree or a bus? Is it free or a fuss? Who do I trust? Not in God, not in Todd. Maybe in a Jihad. Palestine or Frankenstein? Hungry for German food, how about a frank and a stein?"