Creative writing is a very good thing. Creative living in general is a good thing, I think, and perhaps the last hope of humanity with all the unprecedented challenges we face. I encourage people everywhere to live as creatively as possible, and that certainly includes those who write and the writing they do.
I do think there's an odd kind of humor though, about the business of Creative Writing Programs at universities. Are they trying to emphasize a lack of creativity in their other departments and writing programs by only giving that special label to one program? Do we need special training to be creative, without which we are destined to be dull and unoriginal? If this is the case, I encourage students everywhere to take a stand for creativity. Demand that creativity not be limited to creative writing programs but integrated into studies all over the campus! This world is in desperate need of original thinkers, and originality and creativity go hand in hand.
In this time of unprecedented challenges, creative and original thinking and writing are desperately needed.
I'm sure there is much to be gained by participation in university-level creative writing programs, and as with any resource what you get out of it depends on large part in how much you invest. If you think that entering such a program will improve your life or further your goals and you have the opportunity and wherewithal to give it a shot, go for it, but please don't think that it is your only hope of being able to write creatively or earn an income as a writer. From some discussions I've heard from students and academics, a creative writing program is not necessarily an instant road to getting paid significant amounts for your writing. If you want to sell your writing, there are many resources to help you get to where you can do so that do not require the money or commitment levels of a college program. Some of them are detailed on the Fiction and Nonfiction pages.
Still, the most important thing you can do to develop your creative writing skills is to write. Creatively. Lots. Freewriting, whether solo or in a writing group, is probably the best thing you can do to help your creativity stretch and grow. For more about freewriting, check out the Freewriting Basics and Freewriting Prompts pages, and if you want some terrific prompts you don't have to think up yourself beyond those pages and the possibilities in the Creativity Corral, check out Sharon's Deluxe Take-A-Write Prompts.
The most important thing is to keep writing on, whenever, wherever, and however you can.
If any of you have participated in university creative writing programs or classes, I'd love to hear from you, and share your experience with Cowgirls and Friends. What do you feel that you gained from the program or class? Did it make you a stronger, more creative writer? Increase your income or chances at publication? Increase your confidence in the power of your words and writing and creativity? Inquiring minds want to know.
I encourage all write 'em cowgirls and friends to practice creative writing—and creative living—at every opportunity and wherever your life takes you, whether it is to university and a creative writing program, to home and family, or anywhere else life may lead.
Help Still Needed! Cowgirl Call to Action!
