The value of creative writing degrees

Several months ago — sorry, Nadia — a reader emailed to ask me my thoughts about creative writing degrees. Specifically, she wondered whether I thought my master's in creative writing had been useful. Today, John Scalzi posted a response to Lionel Shriver's interview about MFA programs (shorter Shriver: I'm glad I got an MFA but I feel conflicted about the fact that many MFA students will not become professional writers) that's collecting a lot of comments. Clip from Scalzi's post:

I find an...