And you’re using that degree for what exactly?

 

 

I have to write bios pretty often. Not long ones — just a handful of sentences. I always, or almost always, start out with “Kelly Fiore has a BA in English from Salisbury University and an MFA in Poetry from West Virginia University.” I’m not sure why I started writing that. I think when I was in grad school, all the bios I read for authors started that way, so I’ve just modeled it.

 

But do my degrees really define me? When I tell people about myself, are my degrees what I want to lead with?

 

 

I was reading an article, and subsequent feedback articles, about a creative writing professor who believed writing couldn’t be taught and that the majority of his creative writing students weren’t talented. I think people have a lot of opinions about whether or not art can be taught. I would argue that there needs to be a general knowledge or base for that skill to be improved upon through education. I have always been a writer. But I haven’t always been a good writer. All of the skills I’ve acquired have been a result of the classes I’ve taken in college and graduate school. They made me the writer I am now.

 

So, do I use my degree/s? Absolutely. Every day. But I became curious about other people — specifically other writers I know. Do they all have degrees? Do they use them?

 

 

 

To find out, I ran a (very very informal) poll on the Lucky 13′s message board. You’ve heard me talk about the Luckies before — it’s a group of 2013 debut authors. I adore them.

Anyway, the poll ran for about 3-4 days. Here are the results:

 

Out of the 29 participants…

 

1 – No degree

 

1 – AA

 

27 – BA/BFA

 

6 – MA

 

6 – MFA

 

3 – PhD (including candidates)

 

1 – MD

 

1 – JD (law degree)

 

Note: Many people have more than one degree – i.e. a BA and an MFA/MA and some people have three degrees.

 

English Related Majors: 18

 

Non-English Related Majors: 11

 

So, about 2/3 of people majored in English or English-related fields. Does that mean they use their degree? Maybe. I didn’t ask for specifics. But what I find more interesting are the 1/3 of people who majored in science or business, etc. and who are still incredibly successful writers. Which proves a theory/concept English teachers have been trying to prove for, well, ever.

 

Writing is not an English skill.

 

 

To be a good writer, you can come from any kind of background — many degrees, no degrees, doctors, lawyers, students, etc. It’s easy to say that writing is English related in scope, but you can be a true, talented writer – or storyteller, which sometimes is even more important – without ever having what is considered a traditional background.

 

 

So, if you want to write, that might just be enough to gain momentum. I would argue that you should take classes or workshops. You should work with other writers and you should read a lot. I wouldn’t try writing in a bubble because you will never grow or improve. But you don’t need a degree to do it.

 

*All Gifs from PhotoBucket and Tumblr*