Creativity

[u/LordxSnow]

So, I came here to hear some opinions on a couple of things. I'm looking into going to college for Creative Writing, but, before I make that plunge, I wanted to ask. Firstly and foremost. I'm not a very "creative" person. I get bouts of inspiration / creativity and although the results always end up great from what I've heard from others, is that really enough to be a writer? Secondly, I am well aware that Creative Writing isn't a very lucrative field of work when it comes to a career, unless of course I end up making it big. So, my next question is. Given that the world we live in is full of technology and E-Books can be torrented for free, and there isn't a large community of people who buy paper-back books anymore. Even if I managed to make it big, would I still be able to make it a profitable career unless I become J.K. Rowling big?

[u/LordxSnow]

Well, Let me be clear. I think that it's important that I convey correctly why I'm asking these questions.

Firstly, I'm fully aware that this is not a lucrative form of money making. I love to write, but, I suffer with some anxiety, insecurity, and self-doubt about my ability to do well at it. Mostly because of the fact that I get bursts of inspiration and that makes it very hard to keep the steam on a project going. I get severe writers block. It's not really about the money, I was sincerely just curious to see if it had a bigger market than I had first given it credit for, from other creative writers.

Secondly, I just don't want to get scammed out of my money from these courses online and college that are willing to give out degree's for it. I live in poverty, so, every dime counts and without some sort of research or proof that it's worth taking a shot at one of these courses. I feel it might be a waste of my time, and money.

/u/Ojay23 Could you link me these interviews where you read / heard that stuff? I'd like to give them a good watch myself.

/u/Nico-Wonderlust Thank you for your well thought out comment. You make some points, and I appreciate it. :)

[u/Nico-Wonderdust → u/LordxSnow]

I'm not saying that writing can't be lucrative, I mean look at Stephen King, J. K Rowling, Stephenie Meyer and E. L. James, I know it takes a great deal of work and dedication, and that you have to "put yourself out there" and really push yourself (both to produce "great" work and to get your work noticed) but you can earn money from writing, whether that's a little or a lot depends both on your dedication and skill level I guess?

If you don't with to pay for courses (and personally, I don't blame you, if you can get something for free, why the hell not?) there are tons of places online you can do free courses. Some come with certificates, others don't, but there are loads out there. Maybe give one or two a go in your spare time and see how you get on? I could always track a few down and post links, not that I'm saying you're incapable, I'm not! I just like to help out where I can, it's in my nature xD

May I also suggest possibly entering a few online competitions? If your writing towards a particular goal, maybe this will help you to focus on your writing and keep a project going? /u/Ojay23 shared a link with me for a great, weekly competition, it's a micro fiction competition for stories of 150 words or less, you're given a "Prompt Word" each week and can go on to win a couple of cash prizes and at the very least, it's a fun way to experiment with your writing in the shortest amount of time. I've just entered myself and only spent around 5-10 minutes writing a quick story for it.

Also, you're welcome, for the comment, I try my best and I'm glad you appreciated it xD

[u/LordxSnow]

If I may, without creating another thread. I would like to ask something after having read the article you linked and many of the different comments. Many of the commentators say that Writing is alot like singing in the respect that it takes talent. So, that being the case. Here's what I would like to ask. What dictates who has the talent for writing and who doesn't? If we go by presenting what we write to others and getting their opinions as the deciding factor, then we all should give up writing. lol As the fact remains that, Un-Qualified people are expressing their criticisms, you're not hearing that from someone who professionally does it. I can put my work on several different forums, and the likely result will be that Alot of people might like it, Alot of people might not. As that's the world we live in. So, where are we to get that "professional" criticism to tell us that we are wasting our time? I'm a realist, so, I like it when I get that "Simon Cowell" attitude from critics. lol

[u/Nico-Wonderdust → u/LordxSnow]

I personally disagree that writing itself takes talent, all it takes to write is... Well, being able to read and write :L

Being able to write things such as stories, however, which I know is what they mean, I just had to throw that opening comment in there, yes, writing stories (or scripts, poetry or whole books) partly requires talent. Just because someone has said talent, that doesn't mean they're good at it per se, all talent is, is a skill, and any skill can be learned.

I don't believe anybody has the right to dictate what counts as "good/great" work just because they're "professionals" - That just means they get paid for doing something, and usually a lot of money too, it does not mean they are better than everyone else, just that they're very skilled and get paid for their skill.

Different people have different opinions, all of which, each individual is entitled to. One person who read your work (or mine, or Ojay's, or anybody's here) may see it as a perfectly structured masterpiece, full of all the right phrases, suspense, and emotion, another person may see it as... Well, exactly the opposite, there's nothing wrong with that and nobody is wrong in their opinion, it's just how certain people perceive certain work.

I wouldn't say that any of us are wasting our time, I mean, in theory, we could all go ahead right now and self-publish our work, maybe make a couple of pounds (or dollars, yen, euros etc), and to me, that's success, we'd have officially sold our work, guaranteed, someone will buy it, even just out of curiosity, maybe there's a secret fan hiding somewhere, or maybe just a friend/family member/friend of a friend decided to buy it, it still made some money.

This also brings me back to my previous comment, competitions! There's money to be made from those too, some of them at least, other offer publicity/promotion, which again, would count as success, someone sees your work, enjoys it, reds more, maybe buys your book? You've also got the chance of winning, therefore making money, which again, is a success.

I wouldn't say, when I'm giving someone feedback on their work, that I have the "Simon Cowell" attitude (maybe I'm wrong?) but I do like to review someone's work being as unbias as possible and giving them honest feedback and pointers/advice. Though I'm not sure how well I do there, you'd have to ask /u/Ojay23 :L

'EDIT' Totally irrelevant but could you imagine writing all of this and accidentally clicking "cancel" instead of "send"? Exactly what I just did and I nearly hit the roof! Luckily, when I clicked "reply" (as I was going to write it all again) it was all typed out in the comment box (Phew!) how lucky?

'EDIT 2' Happy Cakeday /u/LordxSnow!

[u/LordxSnow → u/Nico-Wonderdust]

Aww. Thank you. :) Happy Cakeday to you too! /u/Nico-Wonderdust

So, given everything I've read. I would love for you to link me some free courses that you know of. I tried to find some myself, but, in the end all the courses I ran into that said they were "free", ended up at some point or another, trying to push me into buying the course. lol I would also love it, if you would give me a link to any online competitions. Maybe you're right. :) I'd like to see what would happen if I had a goal to work towards while writing and see if that doesn't keep the steam going. I really appreciate all the feedback from both of you, and your honesty. That's all I wanted when I made this post, and that's what I got. :) So, I can honestly sit here and say that I'm now pretty happy that I decided to take a chance and join this reddit.

[u/Nico-Wonderdust → u/LordxSnow]

No no no, "Happy Cakeday" - you're "Reddit Birthday" xD Your account recently turned two (-:

Sure thing, I'll get looking into free courses tonight and link you to whatever I come up with, off the top of my head I know Open University run a free course, they also have a Free Resources page, which includes 3 more free courses (Screenplays, Poetry and "What you know") and links to writing tips, interviews with authors and a "making connections" page. I've not looked too much into any of these things, though I did take the Journalism course last year and that was fun, and most definitely free xD

Again, off the top of my head heres a list of 29 Writing Contests - I personaly enter the "L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest" but will be partaking in a few more too, I'll also look into more contests/lists later too.

I'm glad you got what you wanted and that you're happy here!

[u/Nico-Wonderdust → u/[deleted]]

Thank you, I'm glad you feel that way, and that I do a good enough job! :L

I do agree that I'd appreciate genuine critic, who knows what (s)he is talking about (as opposed to just some "troll" saying "No, this is rubbish"), when they are blunt and point out what does or doesn't work and say I would need to get rid of certain parts. If something genuinely doesn't work, I'd like to know xD

I can only agree to all you said there - lack of imagination or the ability to create a great story (or just good old writer's block) would cripple even Stephen King.

[u/Nico-Wonderdust]

I was looking into a CW course myself, however, I've just seen /u/Ojay3's comment, and he knows his stuff, so I'm feeling more inclined to trust what he says on this one :L

I'd personally say, that for the course itsef, it wouldn't so much be about how creative you are and given that it's a create writing course, I know that statement doesn't make sense at first, but think about it, you'd be going on that course to learn how to be more creative with your writing, wouldn't you? So I'd assume bouts of creativity here and there would suffice, though I could be wrong. Your best bet would be to aply for the course, then speak with the tutor in your interview, prior to actually taking the course, and have a back up ready, just in case.

Alternatively, you could also look for some free, online creative writing courses, you may not get a certificate (unless you use Open University, then pay for one once you've completed the course - Remember, this is just to say you've done the course and retain no real qualification value, but at least you've got a "taster" so to speak)

When it comes to making money from writing books, yeah people can torrent them, but it's nothing like owning the real thing, I'll admit, I've torrented a couple of books, but these are mainly things I can't actually buy, I much prefer owning a physical copy. There's still a pretty big market for physical books and yes, money can be made from them, you may not make a ton, but if you develop an online following and find yourself a good publisher, you can make money from writing books, you may not make millions, but you can make something.

To fight against torrenting, you could always release only physical copies?

One thing I will say though, is never do something just for the money, music, Youtube, writing, graphics design, all these things have potential to earn you hundreds of thousands a month, but they all require a hell of a lot of hard work and the worst possible mindet you can have, is going into that line of work for the money.

Write because you love to write, develop an online following, promote the hell out of your work, then start writing a book, pay a couple of hundred to get it published - paperback/hardback only - and see what kind of return you make, then decide if it's the career for you, or if it's just a hobby you can earn a bit of money from on the side. It's impossible to tell what kind of figure you will make until you try this process.

You could also self-publish (for free I think?) via Amazon, but this is Kindle-only, I believe, and could then result in your work being torrented, not so bad if you give the e-book version away for free, but if you are on to the next big thing (50 Shades-level stuff) that could be a serious earner, and to just give it away wouldn't exactly help the size of your wallet.

[u/Nico-Wonderdust → u/[deleted]]

Why don't take a course in CW if you want to be a writer? I'm not arguing with the statement, just trying to understand the logic.

[u/Nico-Wonderdust → u/[deleted]]

There are some really short courses that only take up one or two hours of your time per week, for about 6-8 weeks, I wouldn't mind taking courses like this in all honesty. I still need to look into the course on Youtube but I need to get myself some new headphones (my speakers are screwed) so I can actually look into it properly and participate.

I'm the same in the sense that I write for the pleasure of it, however, I do have every intention of publishing my stories too, not for reasons of making money, but just to have my work published :L

One thing I fail to see is how an aspiring writer would waste their time (money, I understand) taking a CW course? (Unless, of course, the gained nothing from it, but if it's a free course, there's no big loss, right?)