/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.10441054]

what degree does someone pursue in college who wants to become a fiction writter?

i know a degree is pretty pointless in terms of getting your foot into the deal or any kind of publishing deal, i want something that will improve me as an would-be novelist

[Anonymous No.10441055]

Engineering is the new liberal arts.

[Anonymous No.10441057]

>>10441055
CS

[Anonymous No.10441090]

>>10441055
>>10441057
i dunno guys, something tells me working with objects and numbers for hours on end isn't going to help progress me as a creative artist

[Anonymous No.10441099]

History.

[Anonymous No.10441103]

>>10441054
there is nothing in college that will help you on your path to becoming a fiction writer any more than reading and writing that you could do by yourself. Humanities classes are for the most part a joke, and will only help your essay writing and interpersonal skills, not your skills as a fiction writer. Go to college to get a degree that is practical, and then read and write in your spare time.

[Anonymous No.10441107]

>>10441054
You wanna become a better fiction writer? Spend a few years as a stevedore, or a crab fisher. Enlist in the army. Steal a car. Get in bar fights. Live, and the writing will come.

[Anonymous No.10441125]

That girl is exceptionally beautiful

[Anonymous No.10441135]

>>10441054
Start writing. Or do something, then write.

You can't find or force passion by going to school.

>>10441107
This. Go do.

[Anonymous No.10441139]

>>10441107
Abysmal post

[Anonymous No.10441150]

>>10441090
Nothing inspires latent creativity like monotonous work with little creative outlet

[Anonymous No.10441152]

MFA in Creative Writing from a fully funded program

Or just write a thousand words every day, focus on short stories, and join a writing group or find a writing mentor who can coach you, then go live a crazy life and do awesome things that will give you a unique perspective on life.

[Anonymous No.10441163]

you all talk about having a unique experience to improve the quality of your fiction, but isn't college itself a grand experience?

[Anonymous No.10441193]

>>10441163
Depends on your country, but if you are American it's one of the biggest scams around - all about getting retards to sign up to predatory loans.

Also depends what you want out of college. In a lot of colleges English departments are completely dominated by people who have based their careers on critical theory (some aging marxists also), but very few people who have a non-instructional view of literature (a view of literature and media in general as something that ought to instruct morality, social behaviour, political organisation). If you are a creative person with aesthetic motivations or a desire to entertain/delight/etc other people with literature, you will be brutalized and saddened by the contempt your teachers hold for your actual ambitions.

[Anonymous No.10441211]

>>10441163
going to college is a liability, it has a lot of useless courses you're required to take and plenty of useless distractions that will come at you

not to mention as this guy said, there's a lot of really weird fucking people in teaching positions that may try to screw with your mind
>>10441193


you'll be far better served reading and writing 8 hours a day, joining local book clubs, whatever you can find that fits your interest locally

forget about the people saying 'you need an experience'... what you need is empathy, this is a key component to becoming a writer and why i'll never be one

with empathy, you have that experience by reading others story... you would feel their struggle, seeing their downfalls, get emotionally involved in the resolution of the conflict ect.

if you don't have that, give up now... but yeah 8 hours a day read/right, don't go to college for liberal arts, waste of time, money, and brain-cells

[Anonymous No.10441249]

>>10441107
this

[Anonymous No.10441272]

>>10441054
As someone who went to a medium-ranked yet boring college, it's unlikely that it would be helpful for you to become a novelist since it didn't help me regardless of my motivation.

[Anonymous No.10441275]

>>10441107

Severely autistic post

[Anonymous No.10441276]

>>10441107
step one: get in a fistfight
step two: fistfight your dad
step three: fistfight your dad

[Anonymous No.10441279]

Piloting

[Anonymous No.10441283]

>>10441211
>what you need is empathy, this is a key component to becoming a writer
how do you know if you have above-average empathy?

[Anonymous No.10441284]

>>10441193

Pretty much this.

English literature has to be one of the most useless departments in any university.

No one reads academic journals written in the humanities as it is, much less an academic journal about English literature. No one cares. The only people that do are other literature professors and students who are required to read them.

If you like literature just fucking read books. If you like writing, write. Do a useful degree in the interim so that you have something to fall back on in the incredibly statistically likely event that you aren't a successful writer.

[Anonymous No.10441289]

>>10441284
>Do a useful degree in the interim so that you have something to fall back on in the incredibly statistically likely event that you aren't a successful writer.
if he wants this, he has to go all-out... you're right, it's incredibly unlikely he'll be 'successful', but it's guaranteed if he doesn't dedicate the majority of his time to his craft

what pole should say instead of this is: take 3 years, see what you comes of your creative craft, feel if you have a future... if not, at least you tried, and then go get a secure degree/career

it's not it'll be useless time spent, creative pursuits learn many lessons on the journey to success or failure

[Anonymous No.10441306]

>>10441283
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy
Empathy is pretty weird, psychologist' still aren't sure how to measure or categorize all the various factors...

Most people have a healthy affective empathy capacity... it's what makes us upset when we see animals hurt, or senseless violence/aggression.

I think what fiction writers excel with is cognitive empathy, it's the ability to easily put yourself in the others shoes... you'll try to make shot calls for them before the danger is coming, you could be a millionaire and still feel sadness reading about a child who lost their $5 allowance, because you self-insert yourself in their position and take on their circumstances naturally.

[Anonymous No.10441313]

>>10441090
Neither will being unemployed, indebt and living with your parents at 30

[Anonymous No.10441315]

>>10441107
t. Pseud who likes Bukowski quotes on Jewbook

[Anonymous No.10441320]

>>10441276
step four: fist you dad

[Anonymous No.10441324]

>>10441320

[Anonymous No.10441329]

Some uni English departments can help foster your writing I think, uni presses as well. Also you can get involved in Uni magazines, or publications, if you're lucky literary ones.

[Anonymous No.10441340]

>>10441329
None of those things are in reality helpful. They're full of mediocre idiots who will only encourage the castration of your work

[Anonymous No.10441367]

>>10441340
this lmao
reminds me of all the "leadership education" schools are pushing, mediocre students are lauded with praise, "support" and special benefits for enter busywork student committees despite being utterly incapable and emptyheaded. At a school awards ceremony you'll see tens of these special individuals saturated with special awards without an academic accomplishment in sight. Future journalists and magazine writers in training

[Anonymous No.10441424]

>>10441276
You forgot
>stop jerking off

[Anonymous No.10441531]

>>10441055
is it like this because engineering is in the end only about sucking dicks?

[Anonymous No.10441546]

>>10441531
wtf delete this shit right now

[Anonymous No.10441566]

>>10441054
it's not just what you study but where you study
UEA has a notable creative writing course. the course was started by Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter
kazuo ishiguro, this year's nobel prize winner, studied creative writing at UEA
so did Ian McEwan, Rose Tremain and Tracy Chevalier

[Anonymous No.10441719]

>>10441276
>tfw more robust

[Anonymous No.10443115]

>>10441566
cookie cutter hacks

[Anonymous No.10443308]

>>10441054
Real talk. Get a degree in something practical, office work-y, like technical writing. Work that doesn't wear you out and that gives you a relative measure of freedom and financial security will take you far and give you the right headspace to write in your free time.

Or you could go the MFA route.

[Anonymous No.10443335]

>>10441107
Bullshit advice. Sure, be active, go out and experience the world, but don't buy into the machismo meme. The literary world largely doesn't give a shit about the callouses or scars on your hands.

[Anonymous No.10443375]

>>10441107
gay. you sound like a redditor. kafka was a clerk and eliot was an editor.

[Anonymous No.10443568]

>>10443308
office work will wear you out faster than bricklaying, getting "headspace" through idylity is a meme
read some Melville

[Anonymous No.10443574]

>>10443568
True and good advice. Manual labor lets your mind wander. And it builds character.

[Anonymous No.10443582]

>>10443375
Eliot is worthless and Kafka wrote only for himself and it shows.

[Anonymous No.10443603]

>>10443582
>Kafka onyl wrote for himself

He literally read his diary out loud to his friends

[Anonymous No.10443622]

>>10441107
Someone under 25 wrote this. Guaranteed.

[Anonymous No.10443646]

>>10443582
Imagine being this much of a fool

[Anonymous No.10445298]

imagine being bumped

[Anonymous No.10445323]

>>10441054

There is no degree that can make you a good writer, but, if the ten-thousand-hour rule is to be believed, the more practice you get, the more competent you will become; quantity is the key. So degrees with lots of reading and writing are what you want, like history or journalism.

[Anonymous No.10445367]

>>10445323
whoever made this "ten-thousand hour rule" is a fucking retard and it's only popular because talentless losers want some small hope that they might not be worthless as they are
effort is nothing without potential

[Anonymous No.10445375]

>>10445367
sadly, this is true

10,000 hours to produce your greatest work maybe, but i'd say that within 100 hours you should have something entertaining and engaging if you have any hope

[Anonymous No.10446042]

>>10441313
This is just a shit meme myth. Anyone who get's a 2.1 can easily get a job teaching in the likes of china,japan,korea, vietnam, russia, ect. In addition, many middle eastern countries pay pretty well for English teachers.

[Anonymous No.10446048]

>>10443308
why not just get an english degree and teach around the world? Surely that will inspire.

[Anonymous No.10446049]

>>10441055
>>10441150

This but unironically

[Anonymous No.10446074]

>>10441054
how the fuck is college going to teach you to write fiction? if any of those clowns knew how to fucking write fiction for a living they would be doing that instead of being a fucking teacher. it's a SCAM

[Anonymous No.10446127]

>>10441054

you could study a language and that cultures literature. having another language under your belt helps w/ job prospects and also can alter the way you think about the English language. other than an actual english degree, that might be second best for improving your craft

[Anonymous No.10446167]

>>10446042
A highschool drop out can teach in Asia you stupid fuck. That's not a real job

[Anonymous No.10446340]

>>10441054
This girl is so beautiful.

[Anonymous No.10446487]

>>10446167
what isn't real about it? dumb capitalist

[Anonymous No.10446490]

>>10441054
Maybe some creative writing classes, but if you aren't practicing writing every day and taking in experiences to enrich your writing, it's a waste of your money and time. A degree or university level classes in writing won't improve your ability to be a fiction writer if you aren't already devoted to being one.

[Anonymous No.10446512]

>>10446487
>what isn't real about it? dumb capitalist

Holyshit this post.
I worked TEFL and you'd have to a total fucking loser to believe it to be legitimate job, I'll spell it out though:
1. You have to live in third world shitholes
2. Zero job security
3. Miniscule career prospects
4. Resume cancer in long run
5. Surrounded by no one but other losers

Its unironically fastfood tier

[Anonymous No.10446537]

that girls eyes make my chest burn desu

[Anonymous No.10446542]

>>10441107
this. definitive truth.

[Anonymous No.10446563]

>>10441054
The fuck is with all these children fawning over that plain jane child? How fucking old are you people?

[Anonymous No.10446567]

>>10446563
I'm 23, I'm just attracted to teenagers

[Anonymous No.10446601]

>>10446563
Plain Jane? Are you serious? You must have no sense of aesthetic if you aren't completely enamored with her smirk, her eyes, her crossed arms. That's the kind of image of a girl that sticks with you, that you remember years down the road.

[Anonymous No.10446710]

>>10446601
I remember her for years of how not to look. Here's a real woman just for your own reference. Thots for tots

[Anonymous No.10447933]

>>10446563
it's the dimples, she's' dressed so classy, hair hair is so nice

[Anonymous No.10448019]

>>10441054
IDK if you're still here OP, but I suggest a business degree (at least if you're in the States).

I've found it to have a relatively low workload so far, so you can spend your free time learning about writing on your own. Having a business background means you will have the knowledge to know what publishers are looking for, give you savvy in the world of any industry, and potentially give you the tools to self publish and market if you want/need. Having a business degree is also a built in fallback in case it turns out you suck.

[Anonymous No.10449453]

>>10441054
"I didn't go to university. Didn't even finish A-levels. But I have sympathy for those who did."

[Anonymous No.10449469]

>>10446601
>aesthetic
is an adjective you insufferable pseud cretin

[Anonymous No.10449664]

>>10446167
You realize you can’t get a working visa in Japan without a degree right?

[Anonymous No.10449931]

>>10449664
>Japan represents all of Asia

[Anonymous No.10449937]

>>10449931
OP posted a pic of japanese schoolgirls

[Anonymous No.10449942]

>>10449469
It is also a noun, you pedant.

[Anonymous No.10449944]

>>10441107
no one romanticizes this roughness or brags about it; they just do it

[Anonymous No.10449949]

>>10449937
What, where?

[Anonymous No.10449987]

>>10449937
She's British.

[Anonymous No.10450024]

>>10441107
get stabbed

[Anonymous No.10450055]

>>10441090
>2018
>still doesn't know mathematics is most creative discipline

[Anonymous No.10450193]

>>10446074
>write fiction for a living
you realize the only way to do this is to write genre trash, right? lowest common denominator. or you could get lucky like dfw and co. or the author of cat person, who i hear has a juicy 7 figure contract

[Anonymous No.10450200]

>>10446710
your "real woman" died in a nuclear holocaust. you literally posted a roastie.

[Anonymous No.10450229]

>>10441107
You wanna become a better fiction writer? Spend a few years a freegan, or a fruitarian living alone in the Alps. Join a Detroit-based drug-dealing gang. Drive a car off a cliff. Get stabbed. Post as many Bukowski quotes as you can on facebook, and the writing will come.

[Anonymous No.10450349]

>>10443335
Way to misinterpret his comment. Eat a dick.

[Anonymous No.10450579]

>>10441150
>>10443375
"To those who reject the notion of discipline, we should object that true poetry requires great discipline--no wonder three of the greatest poets of the 20th century (more accurately, a writer and two poets) were bankers or insurance agents--Franz Kafka, T.S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens. They needed the discipline of dealing with money not only as a counterpoint to poetic license, but as a means of installing order into the flow of poetic inspiration itself."
- Zizek

[Anonymous No.10450602]

>>10450579
David Foster Wallace was obsessed with this notion in The Pale King, working for the IRS

[Anonymous No.10451040]

>>10441107
Hahahahahahahahahah

[Anonymous No.10451292]

>>10441546
your comment is more accusatory than any of us could be

[Anonymous No.10451320]

>>10441107
No that's not how you get good at something you fucking idiot. It's important to have life experience as a writer but it isn't going to magically make you a good writer. The only thing that can do that is talent coupled with disciplined practice.