Creative Writing MA or alternatives

[whereiscaroline]

I'm considering starting a creative writing MA but have no idea how to discern which are the best ones to look at, or whether there's any other alternative options such as Faber.

My degree is in law, and I'd need to study part time, in the evening ideally.

Has anyone done the MA, and would you recommend it? Where did you study? How do I work out which university is best? Sorry if any of these are silly questions.

Perhaps first consider your own strengths - and which area you're most interested in pursuing? Poetry, fiction, playwriting, other writing for performance, non-fiction, memoir?

Which places have practitioners you would like to to taught by? (But also good reputations for teaching.)

What sort of practical experience do they offer?

Which places have produced successful alumni in your preferred area?

If you're planning to do this part time then the environment matters slightly less - but there will be some where you work week by week and others where study is in discrete blocks of time. Which would you prefer?

There are other things - but those first! (For the record my experience is in a different, but related field.)

That's incredibly helpful and gives me a good starting point - thank you for your detailed post!

It's a pleasure!

Other things worth noting:

Although there seem to be a million courses with this title (so presumably most people get onto one somewhere ...) some of them are very competitive to get onto. I heard of an innocent enquiring would-be-writer being asked on the phone which prizes they had won ...

If you find a course whose application process asks for work samples that exactly match your best work - that's a good sign!

Ask around. If you're part of a writing group or have published friends. You already have the academic/professional (?) skills to find out pretty quickly which places have a buzz about them at the moment.

But in the end - go with the place that excites you most. (And if none of them do, re-think.)

What do you want to achieve? Becoming a better writer? In what genre? Or do you want industry links and an 'in' to a competitive industry if you've not worked in the industry before. Or a path to becoming a lecturer/academic?

Where are you based? If the UK, I think the UEA (Norwich) has a good reputation for literary fiction (though they have thriller and screenwriting streams as well) and some success in getting their writers published. It might not feature as the highest on the higher education rankings though, to me, industry links and success would be more important. They do a part-time MA though I think it involved face to face participation on a week day (Tuesday). They do an online free screenwriting taster module which some find interesting.

As you mentioned, there are non-MA avenues, including Faber Academy and Curtis Brown which have some success in getting their writers published.

I'm unsure of any evidence about whether any of these truly add value (in absolute terms and relative to the fees) beyond just selecting and effectively endorsing talent who would become publishable anyway.

That said, I'm saving away and writing with the intention of applying for the above.

Good luck.

If you want an MA then I've seen the following though you'll be able to search and find better yourself -

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Creative%20Writing

www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2018/may/29/university-guide-2019-league-table-for-english-creative-writing

Oxford and Lancaster universities both have highly respected Creative Writing MAs. Lancaster is distance learning and Oxford has some residencies I think.

University of York has a Creative Writing PG Diploma which also has a good reputation.

As others have said, what are your motivations and what are you hoping to achieve?
Creative Writing formal qualification - definitely a uni course
A route to commercial publication - perhaps Faber/ CBC would be better.

I have a number of friends who have done MAs and they are a bit "meh" about the value. In almost all cases they said the most valuable part was having a structure/ deadlines to complete your work enforced and meeting a group of fellow writers to critique and comment on your work.

I did the MA in Goldsmiths and lived it. Happiest year of my life. My writing ( as I was taking it seriously) soared both in publications and amount. Can't recommend it enough.

I know a couple of people who became successful fiction writers after attending adult education courses at both Goldsmiths and the City Lit (both in London). Neither course was an MA course, though. This was a few years ago now, so I don't know if these courses still run.