In regards to question as to a need to attend college to become a writer, I would say that it is a definite help to attend. You will gain insight, meet others that have similar interests and ideas that can help you decide for yourself what area of writing you would like to pursue. There can also be a contagious atmosphere that helps you challenge yourself and blend ideas that you will discover.
You will find, through classes, and exposure, ideas that may never have occurred to you -without the exposure to literature, past and present. I wish that I had had the opportunity to attend writing classes much earlier in my life and it probably would have made a difference in my own work(s) and pursuits. But life’s journey has it’s own destination for us.
Ask yourself who would make the better writer. One who has had numerous experiences in life, travel, and friends? Or one who reads about others’ experiences? Have you ever watched people dancing at a wedding -OR were you the one dancing. Who could best write about the complete experience of dancing? Could you describe the look in your dance partner’s eyes, the feeling of being in step with the music, feeling the energy on the floor? What about the perspective of the music? Can you ‘feel’ it through the other dancers on the floor -or imagine it on the sideline as the observer? Can you describe the exhilaration of your partner and yourself -after the dance?
If you are the observer of life, and not the participant, you may have the imagination that transcends the actual performance. What if you were to write about strangling someone in a story -hopefully it’s not something you have to do to write about -but can you? Does you focus allow you to ’see’/observe the situation closely enough to write about it -make it compelling for your reader to read?
You may want to test your writing, by offering it to other writers and see if you can get the feedback that gives you a better idea of what your writing needs.
Can you keep me interested in your story for two hundred pages? Are your characters interesting -do I love them OR hate them? -Why?
I am currently publishing my third novel and hope to have it available in June. I have no College training in creative writing -but my books have been used in teaching creative writing! I wrote a series of three stories that takes a number of teenagers in the 1845 era, and made it an exciting adventure that the ‘kids’ live through. The adventures take the reader through horrific events, including deadly snakes, mountain lions, murderous pursuers, near drownings, hunger, kidnappings and general hardships that plague our heroes in the series.
The Baby Grape Series, including the latest book, “Baby Grape’s Southern Exposure,” take the readers through the exciting times in our country’s early growth and it’s hardships.
All in all the Adventures keep the reader engaged and rooting for the good guys and despising the evil ones.
Good luck in what ever choice you decide to make, but nothing is a wrong decision if you gain wisdom in doing it. As this series came to me when I was restoring an antique and I began to wonder about the people that had originally built it…what it was like to live back then, and what happened when someone had to make a journey to deliver something.
