If you’re reading this, I assume you’re interested in becoming a creative writer. You’ve found a creative writing major online, and you’re wondering what it’s like to study literature and composition for a career. Continue reading for a concise introduction to what a creative writing major is and what it takes to become one.
Keys to a Creative Writing Major
Like many other majors, a creative writing major can teach you a lot of things. While it’s not designed to train you for a specific profession, it can help you develop the following skills:
- Creative Writing
- Rhetoric
- Argumentation
- History
- Language
- The Classics
- and more …
Comparisons to Other Majors
To give you some perspective on what a creative writing major is like, here are some of its salient features compared to other majors:
- Lower coursework requirement
- A wider variety of electives
- More flexibility in terms of when you fulfill your degree
- A smaller class size
- A greater emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving
- A greater emphasis on writing for both pleasure and profit
- A greater emphasis on individual creativity
- A greater emphasis on collaborative learning
- A greater emphasis on English as a second language
- More access—both in terms of faculty as well as student resources—to literary works
- More access to famous writers
- A greater variety of writing opportunities
- A greater emphasis on marketing and publishing
- A greater variety of potential job opportunities
- A greater variety of potential graduate schools
Keys to Succeeding in a Creative Writing Major
No matter what stage you’re at in life, a creative writing major can teach you a lot about writing and the literary world. To give you a leg up, here are some of the things you should keep in mind if you decide to pursue this route: