Should You Get an M.F.A.? (Opinion Piece)

A question that all writers struggle with is whether or not they should get a degree in writing. I will be honest: I have a B.A. in Creative Writing. I loved learning about creative writing in a school setting. I didn't so much care for a lot of my peers (we will get into that later), but connecting with the professors.

Before I started college, I struggled with what I wanted to do with my life. I really wanted to be a writer, but had a mother that kept on saying, "What are you going to accomplish with that?"

When I got to St. Edward's University, I was an English Literature major - for the first five minutes (Mom's idea. Still don't know why she thinks that was a better idea than writing, but I digress...). While I loved reading, I was more of a reader that prefers to read on my own terms than on what I am assigned to read. I hold an appreciation for the classics, but I won't say I am a fan. I prefer to read what I like as opposed to what I am told to read (which is normally the classics when it comes to English Literature majors).

So about a week or two into my first semester of college, I immediately changed my major to English Writing and Rhetoric with a specialization in Creative Writing (this was the official title of my major at the time). I got very lucky with my creative writing program. My professors were very big on creating your own style and voice. They didn't try to mold us into writing like the classics (even though there were students that really tried to make themselves sound like Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, or Walt Whitman).

At the time, I didn't realize that the way I was being taught was different from the normal creative writing academic setting. Once I graduated and worked as a teacher for a year, I struggled when it came to applying to the Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of North Texas. I was told to submit the writing that I love to write. For me, I love to write supernatural/fantasy. However, that was not the genre UNT was looking for. I was told that my writing wasn't up to snuff for them and that they wouldn't have a mentor for me because no one wrote for the genre I preferred. Apparently, they expect the Master's students to be taking the same classes as the doctoral students, which was never expressed to me when I talked with the admissions counselor. They also only accepted 10 students, most of which were doctoral students.

I felt angry and crushed when I found out, and it made me really question my writing skills. However, I later learned that I would have gotten in if I had submitted the piece I originally planned on before talking to the admissions counselor. That piece (called Three Rose Bushes) was more on par with the type of writing that academia studies, and it questioned issues that we have in our society. While I was proud of that piece, it wasn't the kind of writing I always wanted to write.

As I was dealing with my negative emotions, I looked into whether or not getting a Master's degree was worth it in the long run. And truthfully, an MFA isn't worth it. Multiple authors who have gotten an MFA have stated that they don't think it's worth it (Junot Diaz, Flannery O'Conner, Stanley Elkin, etc. - a list can be found here). Most of the authors that said that an MFA isn't worth it found the programs and their workshops to not be the best environment for finding your voice and improving your writing. I also looked into popular authors and whether or not they have an MFA, and I found that some did not have an MFA under their belt. The most interesting examples I found were George R. R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, Harper Lee, and Ray Bradbury. Two of these authors (Lee and Bradbury) have Pulitzer Prizes, and all four of them wrote books about topics they love. They didn't conform to academia standards because they stayed out of creative writing academia.

In conclusion, my opinion stems from the fact that a lot of academics view these "classics" as the guide to all that is writing. Truthfully, I think that academia needs to embrace new types of writing and encourage experimentation and new styles. Academia has become so rigid and uniform that there is no creativity in it. I encourage you to write what you want and to focus on finding your own unique view, voice, and style. Add more flavor to the stale world of writing; I think we are all tired of eating plain, dry, white bread. Whether or not you want an MFA is up to you, but make sure to do your research and look within yourself first. An MFA isn't the be-all and end-all way to make it as a writer. It's just one of the many paths you can choose. Just remember that the choice is up to you.