Q&A: What college courses should I take if I’m interested in becoming an author?
Question by : What college courses should I take if I’m interested in becoming an author?
I’m guessing that obviously literature would be the path I’d take but I really don’t know much else than that. I don’t know the names of courses or anything. Are there any authors out there willing to tell me what you studied when/if you went to school? I’m clueless.
Also, I’d want to write novels, if that means anything. Fiction. I like romanticism. Like… not romance. Romanticism. I don’t know how to explain it. you smart, experienced people hopefully know what I mean, though.
Best answer:
Answer by MavistheMaven
You can be a writer without taking any specific courses. All that’s required is writing ability and creativity, not a college degree. However, an English literature degree is the most relevant course of study. Take all kinds of lit classes, also creative writing. Other courses that can help are psychology (so you know about human motivations, coping styles, etc.), sociology (so you know about human behavior in groups), and history (great background info).
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That person got it right mostly.
DON’T major in Creative Writing though, as that would be quite foolish.
I’m planning on majoring in English Lit. so I can have a little more experience, work
on newspapers, and maybe even teach Literature later.
Write a novel whenever you want.
And by romanticism did you mean like Lord Byron and Poe and Shelley and Hawthorne and stuff?
Try Transcendentalism for the REAL crowd.
Do not, what ever you do do not, major in creative writing. It’s pure hell. My suggestion would be to major in English Lit and minor in Psychology. This way you read a lot of stories and find out why they work while minoring in psych to find out how people work. I would suggest taking a couple of creative writing classes to get invaluable feedback on your work. Also if you’re serious about becoming a writer get involved in the writing community NOW rather than wait until you want to publish.
I majored in creative writing and minored in psych when I went to college and hated every minute of it because the creative writing classes are very rigid in style and writers, as a rule, are rather unique beings.
The most important part of becoming an author is to write. Ignore everything else and just write, edit, write some more and repeat.