A really useful newsletter, Hattie. I’ve been doing short, online courses with Oxford Uni and some really expanded my confidence and taught me lots, but others had the opposite effect! I realised that the difference came down to how interested the tutor was in teaching the course. The course on creative writing I am currently doing is one of the less useful. It feels like the tutor has left us in the classroom to figure it out by ourselves and only occasionally pops his head into the room to see how we are getting on.
We are barely touching on topics, a new one each week. But, I’m hoping the next one will be better.
This experience has, though, made me wonder whether to do a diploma, rather than a lot of short courses. I feel I need to stay longer on a lily pad rather than hop quickly from pad to pad and never see what’s beneath it.
Your newsletter has helped me to see that it might be a good idea to take a longer course. So thank you for that!
Thanks, Ann. Can I ask about the courses at Oxford Uni that you found particularly helpful? I've done one or two courses there and have thought about doing more.
Hi Ben. Fiction writing was the one I got the most from. It felt challenging but the tutor was very ‘in it’. I started with that one which is why I wanted to do more. But, it may be that the other students got more from the creative writing courses than I did. I may just need more than the course was giving. But I’m toying with the idea of the screenwriting one next year... we’ll see.
This was such an insightful read. I’m also doing a part-time creative writing MA at Goldsmiths in London. My experiences echo Hattie. I always liked the idea of a MA but the lockdown gave me the time to work on my stories - basically no social life was good for me for that purpose. I’ve just finished my first year and these are my pros and cons....
PROs
1. As Hattie says, ‘permission and structure to think and talk about writing a lot’. This is amazing about the MA. They take your writing seriously so I have started taking it more seriously too. With busy lives the MA gives you the structure and focus.
2. I always felt a little unsure about my ideas ans writing style but feel much more confident now about what I’m working on. This is through discussions with my tutors, the workshop environment and also the friends I’ve made on the course.
3. It’s amazing to be immersed in writing and learning the craft/ technique. Reading so much more widely but also with a new laser focus. The MA is brilliant for this.
4. The assignments give structure and all important deadlines.
1. It’s expensive. It’s more affordable to do short courses but these can be hit and miss. I’ve done brilliant course and some dreadful ones. Also had writers groups that just petered out. So actually this is a pro but the MA gives a community.
2. Goldsmiths is going through a troubled patch and sadly there’s a lot of strike action which has interrupted the course. Worth investigating University politics when looking into the course.
3. Goldsmiths focuses on literary fiction, poetry and life writing so it’s not as broad as some of the other MA courses.
Final thoughts --- sorry this is a mega watt post!!!
It’s ALOT of work and pressure doing an MA and I’ve struggled this term with work load jigging my work, children and social life! I try and write daily with purpose but sometimes it doesn’t happen. The course can feel like a huge load but overall I just LOVE it and I’m really proud of myself for getting the assignments in on deadline and developing my writing. Compared to what I was writing before the course I can see I’ve moved on so much. Always happy to chat and do connect or you’d like to hear more about goldsmiths
Ps i did the intro to short stories evening class at goldsmiths and put together my application with this work. I’ve also heard great things about City for short courses. City lit can be hit or miss but there’s some amazing writers leading courses there.
Thanks for all these brilliant comments! So good to hear more about Goldsmiths. I’d love to hear from someone about UEA too. Re short courses - I did a great one at Curtis Brown Creative and I’ve heard good things about Arvon too.
Jun 23, 2022·edited Jun 23, 2022Liked by Hattie Crisell
Thank you for this, Hattie. As someone who's thought on and off about doing an MA in creative writing (possibly at Birkbeck), it's incredibly helpful.
Part-time is really the only option for me, given work and so on. I know that on some part-time courses (and not only creative writing ones), it's easy to feel out of the loop a bit and maybe as though the department/teaching staff prioritise the full-time students. But it sounds like that hasn't been your experience at Birkbeck. Is that right?
Also, do you feel as though the course has led you to make connections which might help to sustain your writing after you graduate (i.e., fellow students you might continue to share work with, mentors, people in the industry)?
Interesting… I haven’t felt at any disadvantage for being part-time. I’m not sure if that’s because Birkbeck is all evening courses, so maybe favours people who have a full-time day job and are less likely to be able to do the MA full time? Or maybe it’s because of lockdown and the fact that a lot of my teaching has been online, so it’s all been a bit more detached for everyone than it maybe would have been in a non-pandemic time.
I’ve definitely made writer friends which has been great. I think because of my job and the podcast, I already had decent industry connections but Birkbeck do invite agents and authors in every year as part of the summer lecture series, and there is also a literary magazine that students can get involved with.
Thank you for writing this! I've been debating this for quite a while and it gave some really useful context (I had also looked quite a lot at Birkbeck so this was particularly useful).
A great newsletter Hattie! I have dabbled in the odd evening short course maybe its time I jumped in. An evening course sounds like the ideal solution.
Thank you for this post, Hattie. Great to read about your experience.
I already have an MA and did that part-time. It was full on still, so I agree with both you and Anna that a part-time programme is not half a bad idea. It would be the only way to manage my time now anyway.
Before launching into anything I need to do some thinking about what it is that I am looking to get out of the course, taking into consideration your points about writing tasks and craft teaching. It seems it has given you lots of structure and a commitment to yourself and your writing which is fab to hear.
A really useful newsletter, Hattie. I’ve been doing short, online courses with Oxford Uni and some really expanded my confidence and taught me lots, but others had the opposite effect! I realised that the difference came down to how interested the tutor was in teaching the course. The course on creative writing I am currently doing is one of the less useful. It feels like the tutor has left us in the classroom to figure it out by ourselves and only occasionally pops his head into the room to see how we are getting on.
We are barely touching on topics, a new one each week. But, I’m hoping the next one will be better.
This experience has, though, made me wonder whether to do a diploma, rather than a lot of short courses. I feel I need to stay longer on a lily pad rather than hop quickly from pad to pad and never see what’s beneath it.
Your newsletter has helped me to see that it might be a good idea to take a longer course. So thank you for that!
You’re so welcome Ann! So glad it was helpful.
Thanks, Ann. Can I ask about the courses at Oxford Uni that you found particularly helpful? I've done one or two courses there and have thought about doing more.
Hi Ben. Fiction writing was the one I got the most from. It felt challenging but the tutor was very ‘in it’. I started with that one which is why I wanted to do more. But, it may be that the other students got more from the creative writing courses than I did. I may just need more than the course was giving. But I’m toying with the idea of the screenwriting one next year... we’ll see.
Thanks, Ann. The screenwriting one looks good!
Hi Hattie and everyone!
This was such an insightful read. I’m also doing a part-time creative writing MA at Goldsmiths in London. My experiences echo Hattie. I always liked the idea of a MA but the lockdown gave me the time to work on my stories - basically no social life was good for me for that purpose. I’ve just finished my first year and these are my pros and cons....
PROs
1. As Hattie says, ‘permission and structure to think and talk about writing a lot’. This is amazing about the MA. They take your writing seriously so I have started taking it more seriously too. With busy lives the MA gives you the structure and focus.
2. I always felt a little unsure about my ideas ans writing style but feel much more confident now about what I’m working on. This is through discussions with my tutors, the workshop environment and also the friends I’ve made on the course.
3. It’s amazing to be immersed in writing and learning the craft/ technique. Reading so much more widely but also with a new laser focus. The MA is brilliant for this.
4. The assignments give structure and all important deadlines.
CONs
1. It’s expensive. It’s more affordable to do short courses but these can be hit and miss. I’ve done brilliant course and some dreadful ones. Also had writers groups that just petered out. So actually this is a pro but the MA gives a community.
2. Goldsmiths is going through a troubled patch and sadly there’s a lot of strike action which has interrupted the course. Worth investigating University politics when looking into the course.
3. Goldsmiths focuses on literary fiction, poetry and life writing so it’s not as broad as some of the other MA courses.
Final thoughts --- sorry this is a mega watt post!!!
It’s ALOT of work and pressure doing an MA and I’ve struggled this term with work load jigging my work, children and social life! I try and write daily with purpose but sometimes it doesn’t happen. The course can feel like a huge load but overall I just LOVE it and I’m really proud of myself for getting the assignments in on deadline and developing my writing. Compared to what I was writing before the course I can see I’ve moved on so much. Always happy to chat and do connect or you’d like to hear more about goldsmiths
Ps i did the intro to short stories evening class at goldsmiths and put together my application with this work. I’ve also heard great things about City for short courses. City lit can be hit or miss but there’s some amazing writers leading courses there.
Thanks for all these brilliant comments! So good to hear more about Goldsmiths. I’d love to hear from someone about UEA too. Re short courses - I did a great one at Curtis Brown Creative and I’ve heard good things about Arvon too.
Birkbeck has also had a lot of strike action - good point.
Thank you for this, Hattie. As someone who's thought on and off about doing an MA in creative writing (possibly at Birkbeck), it's incredibly helpful.
Part-time is really the only option for me, given work and so on. I know that on some part-time courses (and not only creative writing ones), it's easy to feel out of the loop a bit and maybe as though the department/teaching staff prioritise the full-time students. But it sounds like that hasn't been your experience at Birkbeck. Is that right?
Also, do you feel as though the course has led you to make connections which might help to sustain your writing after you graduate (i.e., fellow students you might continue to share work with, mentors, people in the industry)?
Thanks again!
Interesting… I haven’t felt at any disadvantage for being part-time. I’m not sure if that’s because Birkbeck is all evening courses, so maybe favours people who have a full-time day job and are less likely to be able to do the MA full time? Or maybe it’s because of lockdown and the fact that a lot of my teaching has been online, so it’s all been a bit more detached for everyone than it maybe would have been in a non-pandemic time.
I’ve definitely made writer friends which has been great. I think because of my job and the podcast, I already had decent industry connections but Birkbeck do invite agents and authors in every year as part of the summer lecture series, and there is also a literary magazine that students can get involved with.
Thanks so much!
Thank you for writing this! I've been debating this for quite a while and it gave some really useful context (I had also looked quite a lot at Birkbeck so this was particularly useful).
So glad it was useful.
A great newsletter Hattie! I have dabbled in the odd evening short course maybe its time I jumped in. An evening course sounds like the ideal solution.
Thank you for this post, Hattie. Great to read about your experience.
I already have an MA and did that part-time. It was full on still, so I agree with both you and Anna that a part-time programme is not half a bad idea. It would be the only way to manage my time now anyway.
Before launching into anything I need to do some thinking about what it is that I am looking to get out of the course, taking into consideration your points about writing tasks and craft teaching. It seems it has given you lots of structure and a commitment to yourself and your writing which is fab to hear.