Creative writing is a broad field that covers a variety of literary styles and topics. Many museums collect books online; academic institutions frequently offer graduate degrees in creative writing, and many literary prizes are awarded for good work. There is a range of creative writing fellowships out there to support you in your writing career. But what should you say in your application? How can you stand out from the crowd?
The good news is, you don’t have to go it alone. We’ve put together a list of tips from a career in literary journalism to help you stand out of the crowd and write the best possible statement for a creative writing fellowship. Let’s get started.
Tip #1: Know What To Include
First of all, you need to know what is and what isn’t acceptable to include in your statement. More than anything else, your statement will be judged on its creativity and originality. So avoid including anything that could be considered clichéd or commonplace. These are the sorts of things that make your statement look unoriginal and uninspired. Unless you’re aiming for a particular style or tone, it’s usually best to keep your writing as original as possible.
Tip #2: The Importance Of Timing
You also need to consider the best time to submit your application for a creative writing fellowship. Most literary agencies, institutes, and museums won’t entertain applications from earlier than mid-December, so you have a bit of a head start. But even then, you probably won’t get selected for several months. The earlier you apply, the better your chances of getting in. But if you’re applying right now, don’t expect to hear back any time soon. These things take time.
Tip #3: Keep To The Point
When writing your application, you need to keep in mind that it’s a narrative. You’re not writing a novel, you’re writing a short essay for a specific audience. So give the reader a good sense of what the fellowship is for and why they should care. Talk about the themes you’ll explore in your work, give some examples of your previous work, and try not to ramble on for more than two or three pages. These sorts of things will make your application stand out above the rest.
That should get you off to a good start. But you need to keep going because there’s more!
Tip #4: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
When you’re done writing your application, you’ll need to take some time to edit it. Although you might not be able to tell from our example, applying for creative writing fellowships isn’t as easy as it sounds, and the editing is vital. Take your time going through each part of your application carefully, making sure that each statement is as polished as possible. Proofread it a few times, then re-read it once you’re comfortable that you’ve got everything out. If there’s a section you feel could be improved upon, you might want to consider hiring a freelance editor to take a look at it. Editing applications is not something that can be done overnight, so take the time to do it right.
As you can see, writing a statement for a creative writing fellowship isn’t exactly easy. But with a little bit of planning and research, you can knock out a good statement that will make you stand out above the rest. And that, my friend, is all it takes to write a winning application.