Degree vs. No Degree

I hear this debate often. Does a writer really need a degree to be a writer? I get it. I completely understand that now a days everyone thinks they can do whatever they think they want to do. But that really isn't the case, is it? There have been so many people that think that just because they could cook at home that they could make it as a chef in a commercial kitchen like Gordon Ramsey. They don't take into account things like how brutal an industry the restaurant business is. Writing is no different.

To be a good writer, you do need skill as well as talent. Having the formalized training of an English degree does teach you these skills. You learn the difference between writing in rhetoric vs persuasion vs essay or short story form. Styles and techniques in writing are required to know so that you can then put your own mark, voice and tone to each piece utilizing that style. Much like an artist would a painting. Literature is an art which is why you can tell the difference between Emerson and Thoreau. There is that discernible finger print type of element to their voices, much like a brush stroke to a canvas.

There are instances where a degree is not necessary. However, it is in my experience that in these cases the writer in question has then at least learned in an apprenticeship style of learning. Either in apprenticeship programs and later interning which gives valuable experience and qualifications to a writer's work or shadowing a writer or editor after they have completed their program. If someone were to think about just starting a career in writing without having a background of any kind in writing, I might suggest that they at least take a writing class to see if the process required is even for them. Let alone if they have the talent to bring the emotion to the page. Like I said, the literary arts are still an art and that does take a certain level of knowledge to achieve.

Creativity is not something that can be learned or taught. Writing, as in any art, requires you to draw from a resource that not everyone has. And that's ok. But it is better to know and adjust accordingly rather than be disappointment with unmet expectations. There are always exceptions to every rule though and there may be writers out there that can make it professionally without an education and just sheer raw talent. Just remember that while it does take creativity to be able to write with clear and concise emotion, writing is also an intellectual pursuit. Some take the intellectual side very seriously. As well as the ability to tell a tale with not only accuracy but aplomb. But that's for another post.

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Thanks for reading!

The Scribbler