Maybe an English degree is a must?

[arianne]

i've just been randomly googling some of my favorite and some other popular authors, and all (and I do mean ALL) of them have either an English degree or some sort of English related degree.

JRR Tolkien (well, duh)
Jk Rowling-BA in French and Classics
Cassandra Clare
Susan Cooper (The Dark is Rising)
Jim Butcher
Stephenie Meyer
Melissa Marr
Stephen King
Simon R Green

And that's just for starters. Am I missing something here? Is an English degree a "must" for an author? Or is it more that people who love to read/write often go on to study English?

[Shecky]

More the latter. I've known a lot of English majors (and English grad students, for that matter) whom I wouldn't trust to write the number 1 on a piece of paper. Education isn't limited to matriculation, y'know.

[slrogers]

I think it's more of a love of literature than any direct training with it. I think it's the love of literature is reflected in their dicisions to get degrees in English. But I don't think you even need to start out with that love. I think as you start writing you'll see how increadibly amazing it all is.

http://wordmindjourney.blogspot.com/2013/04/falling-in-love-with-literature.html

But I think you are going to need to have that love, or passion, for writing eventually to help pull you through all of the challenges of writing. Like Jim said about how 99% of the failures in writing are self-imposed; it get's tough enough to make most people want to quit. But once you find that passion, regardless of how many books you sell, it's all worth it.

[LizW65]

I wouldn't say a degree in English (or anything, for that matter) is a must--some of the most stilted, unreadable writing, after all, is in doctoral theses--but a love of literature, language, and research into a variety of topics is most likely a given. Two of my favorites, PN Elrod and Elizabeth Peters, have degrees in theatre and archaeology, respectively. And as far as we know, Shakespeare never even went to university, but managed to do pretty well in his chosen field.

[Shecky]

I wouldn't say a degree in English (or anything, for that matter) is a must--some of the most stilted, unreadable writing, after all, is in doctoral theses--but a love of literature, language, and research into a variety of topics is most likely a given. Two of my favorites, PN Elrod and Elizabeth Peters, have degrees in theatre and archaeology, respectively. And as far as we know, Shakespeare never even went to university, but managed to do pretty well in his chosen field.

Oh lawd, let's not start talking about academic language. I speak it fluently but it gives me heartburn and particularly effective gas.

[gatordave96]

Oh lawd, let's not start talking about academic language. I speak it fluently but it gives me heartburn and particularly effective gas.

Could be worse.  Trying working in the legal field.  Makes my eyeballs bleed to see some of the pleadings or contracts that crawl or slither across my desk.

But I digress.  Writing is a skill and an art.  It takes knowledge and practice to cultivate both.  So if you're an English major, you have a leg up on everyone else.  You read.  You write.  A lot.  All done in four (or more) years.  But there are other ways to get there.

I just happened to take a dark and twisted path before I started writing my novel.   

[Wordmaker]

You've also got Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Dan Brown, or Jim Carroll, none of whom had English degrees, and many of whom had nothing close to what we'd consider a full education today.

I think the love of writing does attract people to study English, but it's by no means a requirement.

[slrogers]

Just out of curiosity, why do you ask? Is it because there's a lot of things that people say with regard to writing that's hard to understand and not having spent years of dedicated education to the subject you feel like perhaps you're behind the curve?

I can understand that.

If you're looking for more than just moral support, and want some good resource material ... I'd like that as well, to know what books or websites people found useful. I'd also like to know what terms people have not found helpful. I think for example, "show don't tell" is sometimes so over-simplified that it's not actually helpful. Learning what things to show, sounds like it's something that even the best authors struggle with. I think Jim talked about that with respect to the "sagging middle" that he said everyone has a hard time with.

But in terms of moral support, I'm sure you'll do well. Just keep at it.

[arianne]

You've also got Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Dan Brown, or Jim Carroll, none of whom had English degrees

Dan Brown has degrees in English and Spanish and taught high school English for a while before becoming a writer...

Just out of curiosity, why do you ask? Is it because there's a lot of things that people say with regard to writing that's hard to understand and not having spent years of dedicated education to the subject you feel like perhaps you're behind the curve?

I think it's just that when I stand in front of the fantasy section of my local bookstore and look at the current names on the bestseller lists, I find that most if not all of them are English majors. (I focus on the fantasy section because that's the genre I personally like the most to read and write. No disrespect intended to other genres and authors).

So it makes me wonder, maybe I'm missing something here. Like maybe I didn't get the writer memo where it says, "Thou shalt be an English major to be a fantasy writer".

I don't think I have trouble understanding concepts laid out in writing books (I do sometimes ignore writing advice that I don't think applies to my own writing or my personal style, but not because I don't understand it), so that's really not the issue here. I will admit to sometimes rolling my eyes at teachers who Cliffsnote every good bit of fiction into symbols and metaphors and whatnot (good thing I didn't become an English major then, I guess) but at the same time I do wonder if maybe there is some sort of "Rules of Fiction" thing (like a more general and more complicated version of Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces) that should be applied to fiction to make it good.

I think I could do with some moral support about now....

[Wordmaker]

I didn't know that about Dan Brown, I thought it was Art History he'd studied.

In any event, seriously, don't sweat it. There are only two things to worry about when it comes to writing for commercial publication: What you love to write, and how to make that accessible to a reader.

Sure, there are rules and guidelines, but you don't need any kind of a degree to understand them and choose to apply or ignore them as you see fit. The only things you absolutely need that you could learn from studying English are the ability to spell and knowledge of correct grammar. Beyond that, the single best way to learn to be a better writer is to keep writing.

[slrogers]

There are only two things to worry about when it comes to writing for commercial publication: What you love to write, and how to make that accessible to a reader.

I like that. It's well stated, concise, and much more helpful than, "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." 

[soltari_mage]

I know Steven Erikson (Malazan Book of the Fallen) has a degree in anthropology and archaeologist.  He developed his series from a roleplaying world with Ian Cameron Esslemont, who is also an archaeologist but is getting a Ph.D in Lit.

I think all you really need is training period, it doesn't really matter ultimately if you're driven enough.  I'm sure it's a better asset than others, but many degree paths focus on writing at some point, even the sciences.

I have a bachelors in physics and you have to be able to write technical papers.  While the subject matter is different, you can use that knowledge in other ways to help your writing.   

I personally decided I wanted a physics degree because I wanted to write a science fiction or science fantasy book with magic that follows natural laws and not have space fighters making instantaneous turns without accounting for conservation of momentum and moment of inertia or a wizard being able to use as much power as they want and it not really effecting them personally (why I like that Jim has Harry do stuff like when he's sucking the energy from Lake Michigan, uses fire at an enemy and the lake freezes, which is consistent with the real world) and what I'd classify easiest as Harry Porter magic. 

Unfortunately, I haven't made much headway on my project (other needs get in the way and still a bit uncertain where I want to go with it) but it's something that's always churning in my mind these days.  In the mean time I just research some interesting things that I think I want to use (thanks io9!). 

I've thought about taking some creative writing classes but it's not something I've felt was absolutely necessary for me.  Just means I'll have to be more self-taught about it.

[slrogers]

I think all you really need is training period, it doesn't really matter ultimately if you're driven enough. 

I'm not entirely sure what you were trying to say here, but I think it's the other way around. If you are driven enough (if you have enough passion, desire, love for writing) you'll learn what you need along the way (you'll train yourself or get the training you need from those around you.) I think ultimately it's having the drive that matters most. That's what makes you find the time, create the opportunities, overcome whatever obstacles might block your path.

[soltari_mage]

I'm not entirely sure what you were trying to say here

I just meant that it doesn't matter where your training comes from, as long as you eventually develop a system that works for you.  And that the greater drive you have the more likely you can overcome what you initially lacked. 

[The Deposed King]

I'm about as far from an english degree as you can get.  And doing just fine on amazon.  I wouldn't worry about it.  A degree like that its just another tool.

What did Jim Butcher say, you need to write between 3-5 books before you're up to snuff...? if you're going to get there at any rate.




The Deposed King