5 answers
Julie
Student
Elk River, Minnesota
2
Questions
Asked
1428 views
What college shound I go to if I want to become a writer in the future?
I'm in 10th grade at Spectrum High School and I've been interested in writing for a while. I've written so many stories throughout the years and it makes me happy just putting my thoughts and feelings into a story for people to read and enjoy. #Writing
5 answers
James Cerra
Manager, Consulting Solutions at PwC
25
Answers
Boston, Massachusetts
Updated
James’s Answer
Hi Julie - it's great that you enjoy writing so much. I recommend researching the best creative writing and english major colleges in the United States. I looked at US News and provided links for you to both.
2022 Colleges with Great Writing Programs: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/writing-programs
Best English Major Programs: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/english-rankings
2022 Colleges with Great Writing Programs: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/writing-programs
Best English Major Programs: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/english-rankings
Nancy Oliveira
instructional designer and technical writer
10
Answers
Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Updated
Nancy’s Answer
Hi Julie - Keep an open mind when looking for colleges. It's not just big famous schools that have great writing programs; so do many smaller, less-known schools. Look for colleges with strong English departments and majors such as English, Technical Writing, Creative Writing, Journalism, or Communications. Also, look at what they offer for student publications — such as student newspapers, magazines, and literary journals — as these can be great opportunities for you to get your writing published while you are a student.
Nathaniel Wander
anthropology/psychotherapy/writing
35
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Nathaniel’s Answer
It's been said that the best advice one can give a would-be writer is "Read!" Three top schools with 'Great Books' programs are Columbia College in New York, the University of Chicago, and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
Gloria Ortiz
Instructional Designer
845
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Julie,
I write for a living and like you, I was passionate about writing from a very young age. I would say that the first thing to do is continue what you are doing, writing and creating. Like most things, writing gets better with doing it. If you write stories all time, maybe consider changing your work up by writing a journal of your thoughts. Writing fiction and writing facts can change your writing results in interesting ways. And know this - writing can be enhanced by college, but you can write well without college.
Your next challenge is going to be this - getting feedback. You only grow in your writing through feedback. At your age, I joined my school's journalism class. We put out a monthly newsletter for the school. (I am not sure how it happens these days!) If you do not have something at school, find something where you can share your stories and get feedback. What I got from my journalism class was knowledge of editorial review. Not only did I get feedback on grammar and spelling, I got feedback on voice, viewpoint, and other details important in story writing. Also take any advanced English classes during the rest of your high school career.
You should read the work of others. You can read published authors to see what types of writing gets published. Think about what you think of that work. For example, I consider the first book of the Harry Potter series poorly written. There is something about this early work that makes it hard to read for me. (I re-read the books every year or two.) What gets me through it is the story is magical. The tale overcomes some style challenges that I have with the work.
You should also read the works of peers and provide feedback to help them improve their work. I learned a lot from seeing different kinds of work. Early in my writing I wrote stories with others. It showed me things that I didn't know and made me think about how research and study of specific subjects can help my writing. In my work today, I review a lot of work for peers. Often my work includes simplifying technical language to make it easier to understand. I also inform my writing and the writing of others with Global English standards - short sentences, use the words you mean to use, avoid idioms, etc.
So now - what do I do for a living? I write training content that people either teach or students consume in either written or video form. And it is not a book publishing type of storytelling. It is creating training that allows someone to learn how to do their job better or in a new way that they do it today. Think about the textbooks that you use in school or the videos you watch to learn something. Someone wrote that. And sometimes I get to make up stories at work that allow the training to come to life.
I do have two college diplomas with the second being the most important for my career, a Masters of Science in Instructional and Performance Technology. (It is more commonly referred to as Instructional Design.) If you do some research, you may find that the degree focuses on design elements and best practices. The writing talent that I bring to my job came from a passion for writing.
Gloria
Review sites like this that help with editing your own work: https://www.editage.com/all-about-publication/english-editing/top-tips-for-copyediting.html
I write for a living and like you, I was passionate about writing from a very young age. I would say that the first thing to do is continue what you are doing, writing and creating. Like most things, writing gets better with doing it. If you write stories all time, maybe consider changing your work up by writing a journal of your thoughts. Writing fiction and writing facts can change your writing results in interesting ways. And know this - writing can be enhanced by college, but you can write well without college.
Your next challenge is going to be this - getting feedback. You only grow in your writing through feedback. At your age, I joined my school's journalism class. We put out a monthly newsletter for the school. (I am not sure how it happens these days!) If you do not have something at school, find something where you can share your stories and get feedback. What I got from my journalism class was knowledge of editorial review. Not only did I get feedback on grammar and spelling, I got feedback on voice, viewpoint, and other details important in story writing. Also take any advanced English classes during the rest of your high school career.
You should read the work of others. You can read published authors to see what types of writing gets published. Think about what you think of that work. For example, I consider the first book of the Harry Potter series poorly written. There is something about this early work that makes it hard to read for me. (I re-read the books every year or two.) What gets me through it is the story is magical. The tale overcomes some style challenges that I have with the work.
You should also read the works of peers and provide feedback to help them improve their work. I learned a lot from seeing different kinds of work. Early in my writing I wrote stories with others. It showed me things that I didn't know and made me think about how research and study of specific subjects can help my writing. In my work today, I review a lot of work for peers. Often my work includes simplifying technical language to make it easier to understand. I also inform my writing and the writing of others with Global English standards - short sentences, use the words you mean to use, avoid idioms, etc.
So now - what do I do for a living? I write training content that people either teach or students consume in either written or video form. And it is not a book publishing type of storytelling. It is creating training that allows someone to learn how to do their job better or in a new way that they do it today. Think about the textbooks that you use in school or the videos you watch to learn something. Someone wrote that. And sometimes I get to make up stories at work that allow the training to come to life.
I do have two college diplomas with the second being the most important for my career, a Masters of Science in Instructional and Performance Technology. (It is more commonly referred to as Instructional Design.) If you do some research, you may find that the degree focuses on design elements and best practices. The writing talent that I bring to my job came from a passion for writing.
Gloria
Gloria recommends the following next steps:
Fernando Iriarte
Freelance Writer & Editor
151
Answers
Puerto Rico
Updated
Fernando’s Answer
I can only speak from experience, but my time at Full Sail in the Creative writing BFA program was a joyful one. It not only covers novel and prose writing, but it also teaches you about the various script writing formats. You don't need to worry about being on campus since the degree can also be acquired through their online program. This is just one of many universities that offer a writing program. Take your time to research as many as you can before making a choice. In the mean time a good way to keep up with your writing is read whatever you find interesting and practice.
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