Near the end of my senior year of high school, my step father suggested I put together the short stories I had written and send them in for publication. I said no, because the only writing I had actually done at that time were fantasy stories for my creative writing class and articles in the school newspaper, all of which were not the quality of writing that should be even allowed on near a publisher's desk.
Even as a aspiring high school graduate, I knew that if I wanted to be an accomplished fantasy writer, I needed to go to college and improve my writing. For many reasons, this would be the smartest decision I ever made.
The benefit of going to college, especially Spokane Falls Community College, is that many of the professors I have had for my classes have real world experience as writers. They have given me advice and constructive criticism on the writing I submit to them for a grade. They have also have given me interesting stories and tips they learned in their experiences in their careers.
Another thing college has done for my writing is that it's helped me be more open to other people reading my work. In all of my classes that required writing assignments, I had to let one or more of my classmates read my drafts and review them. This made me nervous at first because I thought that my writing would simply be trashed by my classmates either because my writing was not of good quality, or that what I had written had no interest to them.
However, I quickly learned that my peers were not as merciless when it came to looking at my writing. They gave their constructive criticism, like my professors, and suggestions to help improve my writing. Much to my surprise my classmates seem to enjoy reading my writing. I have also learned to critique my classmates papers in the same manner, offering them advice and complimenting them on their work.
Some of my college classes have had me go outside my comfort zone by introducing me to reading material and writing techniques that was new to me.
Although fantasy and mystery are the genres I want to base my novels around, my journalism and English classes have pushed me towards the way of writers like Hunter S. Thompson, C.S. Lewis, Henry Fielding, and Jonathan Swift. From these authors, as well as material covered in my sociology, psychology and history classes, I've drawn various ideas and have used them in my own short stories.
By writing argumentative essays, after-pieces, and articles for the college newspaper, I have learned to do in-depth research on subjects I really like and even subjects that I don't have a particular interest in. I have also learned to write in ways that were difficult for me at first, but have become easier with experience.
My professors have also suggested to me other ways I can branch out as a writer with the use of the Internet and multimedia for my stories. They also suggested that I have a career to fall back on like teaching or public relations.
Although college has given me tools that I can use for writing, I still have improvement that I need to make before seriously devoting my time to a writing career.
Off the top of your head:
How has college or technical schools helped you towards your goals? Is there anyone in school (teachers or peers) who has influenced you?
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