Formal Education Level

PhD in bio, and yes, it helped, but not because it reinforced "good" writing habits.....it taught me something close to a parallel language, and being aware of that instead of changing everything completely was what helped.

Bachelor in Environmental Science. I think my experiences since then have helped my creativity more than the actual education. For instance, my current series takes place in and around the Everglades. I would never have even thought about using it as a location without having spent time working there.

M.F.A. (fiction) and M.Ed. (Adult Ed / focus on narrative theory and transformational learning).

The M.F.A. helped, sure. The M.Ed. Naw. Mostly just project planning, curriculum creation, educational theory, etc. If anything, the M.Ed. has helped my writing by forcing me to write something truly dry and ultra-academic. It makes me crave creativity so that by the time I got home from class, I had to crank out some words for myself.

frankiebrown said:

Awesome, thanks for the input y'all.
I guess if I'm honest with myself, my education in exercise science has done a lot to teach me about kinesiology and the mechanics of the body. It comes in handy during action scenes where the push and pull of muscle takes center stage.

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Action scenes aren't the only kind of scenes where that can come in handy! *wink, wink*

I have a BA (Hons) in English and Scottish Literature. I think it taught me a lot by forcing me to widen my reading range, and discovered some amazing authors.

And I'm just starting a second undergrad in Ancient History and Classical Archeology. I'm currently studying Latin which is teaching me a lot about English grammar, and reading history books are teaching me a lot about human nature and psychology.

I didn't finish High School - but I read a lot.

mccardey said:

I didn't finish High School - but I read a lot.

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Always the best form of education.

BA (Hons)in English Language / Linguistics. It's helped, yeah, but once you've found your comfort zone with a particular genre, reading works in that area is your best source.

B.A., in English, M.F.A., in Writing from U. of Iowa, B.S. and Ph.D. in Geology from U. of Iowa. The latter two founded a career, the M.F.A. has, after many years, allowed me a part-time teaching position.

As for success in writing? I'm not sure Ray Bradbury even got a high school diploma. He . . . kinda . . . done . . . better than i have.

caw

Many of my most intelligent and informed friends didn't graduate high school... and then I have friends who went to college and struggle to communicate even a simple idea. Reading definitely makes the difference. I finished high school and I'd say that school helped my grammar, but reading probably helped it more.

Currently a BA Honours in English with the O.U. which I've done more writing for than I ever did at college.

At college I did 3 BTECs at different levels in Art and that's just mainly lots of painting and projects and portfolio work.

I left school with 4 GCSEs at D and 2 at C grade. So I'm not the smartest academic but I've only hit my stride in academia writing in past 3 years.

Finished secondary school and am nearing the end of a BA in History. It's really interesting, but I don't think it has affected my writing. That might change when do my Greek/Roman mythology subject next semester (actually the whole reason I chose my course) which is what I base a lot of my writing on.

A levels. I am studying for a degree through the OU but thanks to finances it has to go on the back-burner until I can sort out money/loan for it.

I studied English Literature as one of my A levels and all it taught me was a deep frustration about reading too much into a book. Sometimes the curtains are just blue, you know? It's not always a hint towards the characters depression. But it did help me with deeper reading, which in turn helped me with adding depth to my own work.

Diploma in graphic design from an art college. It probably has helped the way I visualize settings. It definitely helped form my work ethic and ability to deal with criticism. Mostly, though, I've just always spent my spare time reading.

PhD in English literature. I'm a professor at a community college--I got the degree with teaching in mind so the benefits for fiction writing were basically by accident. And I know high schoolers who are published novelists (including at least a few AWers) so higher education isn't a requirement.

Here's how mine has helped my writing (oh, and I didn't "endure" grad school...I loved it! I aspire to be a professional student ):
1) close attention to words and language--their nuances, their sounds, their implications
2) historical research (I write historical romances set in the time period that was my specialization)
3) a thick skin-- I'm fairly used to constructive criticism and happy to seek out feedback from people I trust to be critical but helpful.
4) a strong sense of organization and structure
5) strong reading and analytical skills

I'm pretty sure there are more...that's just a quick list.

Three GCSE's (English Lit, English Language and History); a GNVQ in Business and half an A-Level in English. For those not up to speed with the mid-nineties educational system, this equates to roughly bugger all.

My second book is published next March.

As a light aside re the usefulness of higher formal education.

Years ago, a relation with a PhD in Electrical Engineering borrowed my electric garden mower. He damaged the extension flex but re-wired it.

When I next went to use it I was astonished to see he put a male mains plug on one end and a male connector on the other.

I wonder if he was trying to tell me something -self prod

Master in Bitch. I would say it helps - you learn a lot of psychology while doing that.

A-levels... sort of. I missed most of high school due to health problems, only ever got to attend it as a part timer at the final stages. My education was mostly down to home-schooling but there's no official levels or documents to that.

Studying English, media and art as A-levels did help teach me how to evaluate stuff beyond a level of just being entertained by it. Media studies in particular was a good look into how certain things appeal to different audiences. Hopefully that helps writing in some way - having some rough idea of what motivates people to relate and take interest in situations/characters/etc.

BA in Anthropology, which is mostly nifty research information and whipping out of obscure trivia at parties. It does help with world building since I specialized in cultural anthropology, so I've got a bird's-eye sort of knowledge of how the fiddly bobs of micro and macro culture work and change around each other.

I also minored in creative writing, which taught me two things. One, I'm really bad at writing poetry. Two, workshops and criticism since the entire program was "write story, have it workshopped". Oh, I guess you could add the sting of rejection, since it was a needlessly competitive minor (that resulted in a lot of backbiting and broken friendship. Pffft). I might not write better because of it, but I am better for all the intangibles that go with writing.

Anninyn said:

A levels. I am studying for a degree through the OU but thanks to finances it has to go on the back-burner until I can sort out money/loan for it.

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Almost the same for me - I got my O's, then thought sod this for a game of soldiers and left school. I did most of an OU degree (in science/biology) before I had to give up due to ill health, but I don't think it's helped my writing any (at most, I don't have to research a few things cos I know them). I did it for fun anyway, rather than to get a degree.

What has helped? A lot of travel, a lot of observing people, experiencing as much as possible, reading a lot, writing a lot and a good grammar book.

You mean I had to pick a major? I wandered all over the place and ended up with an AA in General Education.

A Ph.D. in Psychology has been helpful to me in my writing -- in some expected ways, in others perhaps not as expected.

As you'd might expect, I did learn a good bit about different ways of being in the word, and about the ways various levels of psychopathology can disrupt life. That's pretty helpful from a character development standpoint.

Also expected, because I did a great deal of it, my academic writing was pretty sharp by the time my dissertation was done. Although that doesn't necessarily translate directly to writing fiction, it doesn't hurt.

What I really learned in grad school, and what was helpful in writing, is possibly a bit less expected. I learned to play by other people's rules in the name of achieving a goal. I learned that a Very Big Thing (i.e., a dissertation) can be completed bit by bit if you don't just chuck the whole thing in frustration, thinking there's no way you could possibly complete such a herculean task. I learned that sometimes, those with power to pronounce you "successful" will be looking out for your best interests, and sometimes they won't be.

I suppose the most important thing I learned in grad school which is helpful in writing fiction, is that there are many methods of getting-the-job-done, and that once you find the way that works for you, stick with it, even if it doesn't mirror the technique of those around you.

~STS~

BA and Post Grad Diploma in Town Planning.

But, mostly, life has helped me to be a writer. Life and reading a lot.