Why Creative Writing MFA's Kill Creativity & Your SOUL
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Жыл бұрынAre you trying to be a great writer? Are you trying to create value with your work? If you are, creative writing programs aren't the place for you then! Whatever excuse or "this doesn't apply to me" in your head now is crap.. If you don't believe me.. Go type your name into Amazon and see how many raving fans love your non-existent books 🤣 Go look at your favorite authors and see how many got MFAs... Attend an MFA graduation and find one real author... I am here as an emissary from the simulation to tell you that it's possible to live your dream as a writer. But, the university blackhole is not the place for you to do it. Find a true mentor and discover the beauty of isolation. Then you'll be on the right path!
@bigmikecastle 5 ай бұрын
Yo!!! You are making so many valid points! I just got my MFA in creative writing from NYU. But I disagree with you that it kills creativity... I was very lucky and had a great group of professors and a great cohort of fellow students. I'm a weird case though... I was a US Marine for 7 years and an NYPD cop for 2, then I went to prison for 5 years... but the best "time" of my writing was the 3 and a half years I did in Solitary Confinement... ISOLATION is the key!!! I'm also very lucky that I didn't "pay" for my education because of the G.I Bill... I am now about to do my PhD. Anyways, I appreciate your channel and videos, keep up the good work man!!! Thank you for your video!
@profjeff9 Ай бұрын
Sounds like you have some stories to tell, that's for sure.
@dreyri2736 Жыл бұрын
Few people are aware of this but SF writer Gene Wolfe gave a personal advice for leatning to write, despite him saying that you cannot really learn *how* to write but only learn to write the specific book that you are writing. It involves finding a short story by an author you admire, reading it over and over again and then putting it away. After that, you should know the story, the characters, how it begins and how it ends, so try to write it from memory! Afterwards, you can take out the original story and compare it with your own. You can see what the author did differently from you and how he handled parts that you may have been stuck on. It's an inexpensive way to learn from the masters.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
Love Gene Wolfe! You can also copy a book by hand. I did that with blood meridian
@mattbahen2160 Жыл бұрын
I am an artist, a painter, 20+ years in and I’ll tell you man the most important part other than obviously your craft is your community. You need to be an active participant within in it. The few unicorns that exist that are famous are very much the exceptions, if you feel that you are the exception then there is little drawback from also participating in your community and lifting your buds up. As far as an MFA my feeling is very much that you take that if you feel stuck in your practice or you want to teach, since an MFA is the minimum requirement to teaching. The life of poverty is not for everyone and one I don’t recommend. When you are in your 40’s have a family and are broke it becomes harder and harder to bet on yourself when others depend on you. If an MFA can help to provide you with a community I’d recommend it. Is it a scam to make you a better writer or artist, yes, but that’s not really what it’s value is.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
I understand and agree brotha. I am going to drop a video on networking and show how you can build a better network of writing friends online and in person without paying any money.
@AJPzaworld Жыл бұрын
An MFA somehow managed to escape becoming as big of a meme as an English or Philosophy degree-it's just the classic trapping of falling into the chamber of the academic complex. Overall, after a while, I realized I didn't like hanging around other writers because a whole lot of them loved to talk about being a writer rather than just doing what Bukowski, Faulkner, McCarthy, Hemingway, Miller, Kane, Welsh, and so many others did: write. Just write, man, instead of attending a workshop and getting some of the most useless feedback you'll get or waiting on someone to get back to you on a chapter you sent months ago. Write and write and write and write, instead of arbitrary goals that hardly enhance your creative voice. I am grateful for that the creative writing classes I did have expanded my worldview of writing, of allowing creative freedom and spirit, and made me realize I can get people into my works and get invested. Also, a lot of modern poetry is garbage, that is a fact.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
For sure. For introverts getting in a workshop and having people like your stuff is an awesome feeling.
@benjaminmwashumbe3586 7 ай бұрын
This came at the best possible time for me. It gave me great clarity and will go a long way to help me, you'll see it one day👍🏾.
@WriteConscious 7 ай бұрын
I'll read it one day I think you mean!
@benjaminmwashumbe3586 7 ай бұрын
Nope, I mean you'll hopefully see the impact of this video on my life one day.@@WriteConscious
@WriteConscious 7 ай бұрын
I will brotha. I meant I'll read your books one day. I probably won't be seeing you :P
@charlotte_levin 8 ай бұрын
While I completely agree that it is absolutely unnecessary to do an MFA or any other course to become a writer, and that the best thing you can do is work on your craft yourself, the concept of being able to work full time as a writer even when published is beyond rare. The only people who can write full time are either already pretty rich, have a partner with a good wage, or one of the 1% of traditionally published unicorns who have a massive hit. So the professors on the courses are actually in a job that support their own writing and that's better than many other jobs that you'd have to do to still support yourself.
@WriteConscious 7 ай бұрын
Yes!
@mryan4719 6 ай бұрын
I think part of this is that there's a... fantasy?... among writers that an advanced degree will enable them to work exclusively as a "creative writer" exclusively in their chosen genre. Compare it with an MFA in design or art, or an MM in music performance or composition -- those artists build multifaceted careers that include teaching, commercial work, supporting the infrastructure of their industry through administrative jobs or instrument repair whatever -- in addition to making personal/fine art work. So, yeah, get an MFA if you really think it'll help you enhance your craft (if you can find a program that will actually help you do that). Just don't expect that it will exempt you from having a real-life creative career.
@lighthouse6748 Ай бұрын
This is very helpful. I just encountered someone recently who mentioned "MFA", and I wondered about it. You've cleared a lot of things up.
@enriccoc7794 Жыл бұрын
I think a lot of aspiring writers are introverted and while they can deal with the sitting alone griding part, they have difficulty with the networking aspects with other writers. the MFA program seems like a simple answer to make connections. If you had some videos suggesting strategies for networking and helping people understand how it works and things they can do I think that would be helpful
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
Great idea with the networking videos!
@donovanwhitley775 Жыл бұрын
I second that.
@Misserbi Ай бұрын
I entered a magistrate's program in philology for 1 month then dropped out. I returned to the States and attempted to enter a MFA program at my old alma mater but was denied. I knew I wanted a program I could embrace so I switched gears and entered and completed a MEd program at an online university and finished on time and with reasonably high marks. The lesson. Sometimes you need to switch the ball to learn something new to actually know and not guess the truth about learning. I think the whole point is learning. I doubt a BA answers all those questions? My advice: Get comfy, get a smart phone, and don't stop writing until you master the medium and have a substantial amount of material. A ground school could never provide that. A master's degree is a perfect way to start to get what is inside or kept from sight -- out!! You will have time after the program.
@fortunamajor7239 2 ай бұрын
As an adult college student who avoided this video for a long time ... youre really saying what a lot of us need to hear. I'm working on my BA rn but had this idea that the MFA would 'legitimize' me more, but I'm realizing that my BA program is helping me do a lot of the type of independent growth you discuss. I'd already been feeling less inclined to go on to the MFA when your video came up in my feed again and I was like 'ok, he probably has a point' and lo and behold - you do lol. I think the BA/BFA, though obv not required to be a writer, can be useful for people w/specific struggles regarding artist identity + work ethic. But the MFA system really is selling a lie 😅
@neonoires Ай бұрын
I agree for the most part and I know you're not trying to tell us what to do but for me it's mostly about the connections I can make. Unfortunately doors are closed to people who don't have that fancy paper that says you paid for something. But I agree completely, school doesn't always help people creatively but it does help with community building. For example, I considered picking up college courses purely to get professors to help with recommendations for things I want later down the line. It's so fucked. But that's a great idea to get into genre fiction writing because as someone who has been doing the marketing thing, it really sucks and content writing sucks my soul so dry. I'd rather work on my own thing even if I'd like to write litfic down the line.
@shaneharrington3655 Жыл бұрын
Agreed. I feel the same way about art school. One of the least creative periods of my life. And so much time spent dealing with the psychological projections of the mostly failed artists who were “teaching” us
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
Haha, exactly! You're now embarking on a national tour while those teachers are still saying and doing the same shit.
@shaneharrington3655 Жыл бұрын
@@WriteConscious let’s gooooooo!
@KL0098 7 ай бұрын
1) Praises David Foster Wallace because he looked down upon his Creative Writing MFA time; 2) then mocks teachers of Creative Writing MFA's as losers who teach because they couldn't make it as full-time writers. 3) Plot twist: David Foster Wallace couldn't make it as a full-time writer, that's why he was the Roy E. Disney Professor of Creative Writing at Pomona College.
@WriteConscious 7 ай бұрын
David could have easily made it as a full-time writer without taking a professor job. He made hundreds of thousands of dollars from Infinite Jest alone. How did every other author who wasn't a professor survive lol?
@jartladder15 Жыл бұрын
Maybe it's a little different but I got an MFA in painting from Hunter college in NYC. While there I had interest from a good gallery in Chelsea wand was eventually represented by them. But even with that relative success it just didn't happen for me as far as making enough money to support myself in a decent way in NYC. I'm proud of having a MFA from a CUNY school as it's hard to get in but if you do it's very affordable. But I gave up my rent stabilized apartment and returned to the midwest to become a high school art teacher which has it's good things and bad...one good thing is I had my student loans forgiven through the PSLF program The idea that you can become a professor if you have a MFA is myth I've found from my experience. I definitely think what you're saying in this video is true, you have to focus and grind it out. It doesn't guarantee success but without that approach you for sure wont be successful.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
Proud of you too! Happy you're finding a divergent path outside of NYC.
@DeusExMachina50 Жыл бұрын
Self-publishing is a viable option for aspiring writers to gauge their abilities. By putting their work out into the world, they can determine if it resonates with readers. The free market acts as the ultimate arbiter, distinguishing quality writing from mediocre writing.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
100% - If it hits well with readers, then all you have then is a marketing problem. Put a little effort into getting the book in front of more potential readers and you're on the way to being a full-time writer. However, most self-published writers are way better at marketing than writing lol
@DeusExMachina50 Жыл бұрын
@@WriteConscious lol That's true! But I like the idea of cutting out the middlemen (agents, publishers etc.) and going direct to your readers. Ultimately, they are all that matters.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
Feel the same way. Publishing houses are criminal. They exploit your work for a 6% royalty rate and you lose creative privilege over your work.
@hello50881 Күн бұрын
What do you mean by read 5 marketing books? Interested
@BigPhilly15 Жыл бұрын
How do you feel about self-publishing? I’m coming back to writing in my 40s and not sure I want to invest to time to break into traditional publishing.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
If you want to just publish something it is very easy. Will take you maybe an hour to learn how to format and all you'll need is to design a cover. So, if you want to get your work out there that's the fastest way! But, making money or building an audience is a whole pursuit. You'll have to learn marketing or write a ton of marketable series.Very similar to gaining contacts to break into trad publishing.
@edemont333 Жыл бұрын
Does this have to do with the Iowa workshop debate? Some people say it's good, some say it's bad. Can you do a video about that? Nobody has ever clearly explained it.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
What debate?? Just on if the prestige or the program is worth it?
@toddjacksonpoetry 2 ай бұрын
Yes. Isolation yields authority, and authority yields authors. A little delusion is good for you; it's good to feel as though you're the only living writer in the world, a world that now comes to you for judgment.
@KingMinosxxvi Жыл бұрын
Kaz got one...he turned out pretty good
@WriteConscious 7 ай бұрын
First MFA to ever win a nobel prize!
@chrisbroadhurst996 7 ай бұрын
@@WriteConscious The world is changing my friend.
@chrisbroadhurst996 7 ай бұрын
@@WriteConscious Nobel Prize...is a weird literary award...They gave one Bob Dylan for crying out loud....DF Wallace had a master of fine arts..I hate Infinite Jest but I've heard he was pretty good.
@igoswimmingalot 3 ай бұрын
You remind me of a Conner O'Malley character.
@jamaalclarke2380 20 күн бұрын
There are so many fallacious claims in this video I wouldn't even know where to start. David Foster Wallace felt trapped being a famous writer and then he killed himself. So by your logic, don't become successful. If you study the history of art, visual, music, writing, theater, all movements where started by people who worked in groups. Even before the idea of movements, say in Michelangelos day, artists worked in things that would look like mini corporations today, with lots of other talented people around working on huge projects together. Most artists, and sure there are exceptions, don't grow as artists completely alone. I believe the isolation that you mention in this video is valid and needed, but most artists through history went into isolation after a long period of being around other artists, bouncing ideas off of them and having people to share their work with. And then when they matured, the isolated themselves. An MFA isn't the only way to be around other artists, but in the 30's-70's for example, I have heard a lot of writers say they just hung around the bookstores in New York or Paris and would run into and meet other famous writers. Those days are over, people don't really engage with society with the same amount of curiosity anymore, and it seems to me that the only way to be around a group of other writers is to go to an MFA. Also, plenty of successful writers (including David Foster Wallace) taught. So saying professors are just people who couldn't make it fully off of their writing is just stupid. Writers don't make that much money, and teaching is the most stable way to make an income as a moderately successful writer who isn't pumping out book every year.
@adampearson1541 Жыл бұрын
Man, there’s so few KZfaqrs or “influencers” of any kind that I wish I could have a conversation with every-time I watch their videos, but you’re one of them. Also, yes, more videos about developing writing careers please. We need more McCarthy bros (and hoes) to write books and get them on the shelves. Take back literature from the university establishment and revive the western canon.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
Adam! Thanks for this. Comments like this mean more to me than you know! Those videos will be coming soon!
@t0dd000 Жыл бұрын
The folks I know who got their MFA see value in it. Now, if you can't thrive or find value in a structured environment, maybe it is not for you. It should be noted that the point of an MFA is not to finish a book. Heh. Your rant is wildly off-target IMHO. By the way, the mantra "those who can't, teach" that you just repeated is total BS. The Internet killed reading. There is zero doubt about the core catalyst for the decline in reading by the masses. The constant digital stimulus of content on demand, gaming, etc etc.
@WriteConscious Жыл бұрын
I get value from staring a the lemon tree in my backyard. If you read and write for three years you will get value out of it. But, it is nowhere close to the value you could get by spending your time reading/writing on your own. If you also can't function as a writer without a forced structure then you won't make it. Every single author on my bookshelf published every one of their works with self-created structure. I also understand that paying money and showing up is a method to create some momentum for a self-discipline. But, once again it ranks down the list. I've joined great online writing accountability groups for $20 a month that cut all the MFA baggage out. It only isn't the point because people like making excuses. The fastest way to get better is to finish books. Even if you publish them with pen names. That mindset is never pushed on students because everyone is on the fellowship/professor gravy train mindset. I've written a 75,000 word first draft in a month. If you gave me 35 more months to edit it for a pen name release I think I could get it done lol. Poetry books are 50 poems. Those who can teach audiences who care about what they are teaching. That requires three things: 1. The people who don't care are rejected 2. There is no degree, grade, or expectation attached to the program.3 3. Focus on the implementation of the knowledge. Anyone can read a book and understand it. Real teaching shows a caring audience how to make it actionable. Also, of course digital technology tanked reading. But, we spend 800 billion on k-12 education alone in the US per year. With the right strategy you could spend 5 billion a year and get way better results. But, bureaucracy, pensions, teacher unions, religion, the woke, and a ton of other road blocks are in the way. Technological growth is inevitable, but us not adapting in public education is on us.
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