College Won’t Ruin Your Writing Dreams: Debunking Some Myths

On May 4^th (yes, Star Wars Day), I moved the tassel and threw the cap, and now I await the nifty piece of paper to arrive in the mail that makes me what Anne Shirely reverently calls a “B.A.”

Seeing as I am a writer and I succeeded in the venture which young writers discuss in hushed and worried tones, I would like to pause a moment from the pinnacle of my achievement and declare: “College didn’t ruin my writing dreams. In fact, college can be worth it for writers.”

To illustrate my point, I will dismantle three common myths believed by young writers (including myself at one point) considering college: The Monstrous Debt Myth, The Time Gobbler Myth, and The Completely Useless Achievement Myth.

If you’re a young writer considering college, in college, or advising someone in either position, allow me to employ some humor and common sense to banish the fear surrounding this topic.

Myth #1: You rack up monstrous debt in college

I think money is the greatest deterrent from college for young writers, or even for the growing crowd of high school students who realize getting $100,000+ into debt doesn’t seem rational. However…

You may rack up monstrous debt in college. It is not an inevitable sentence.

Yes, a vast majority of universities charge an arm and a leg for college. (Don’t get me started ranting about the absurdity of this.) However, as much as it seems we are cursed to live in an age of astronomically expensive education, we are also blessed to live in an age where thoughtful people are offering quality and affordable alternatives.

It is entirely possible to get through college debt-free, or with minimal debt. There are scholarships. There is dual credit work. There are also a growing number of amazing colleges to attend in person or online that cost a fraction of what most universities charge. Many of them are small colleges where the professors really care about you, too.

I acknowledge money can be a reason not to go to college as a writer… but writers are creative. It is possible to get creative about college as well so we don’t end up with all that monstrous debt.

Myth #2: College gobbles up all your writing time for four years

After battling for writing time during high school, continuing the fight for four more years with undergraduate course work sounds agonizing to many young writers. Too agonizing. Why not just start a writing career right away?

Two points on this:

First, ask most published authors, and they will tell you that they do not spend all or even a majority of their time writing. Much of their time is spent marketing, or working another job (often writing related, like editing) that helps them support their writing. Unless one is extremely lucky and has an endlessly fruitful imagination like Brandon Sanderson, avoiding college does not equal massive amounts of time to write. College or not, the act of balancing writing with other responsibilities will continue until we draw our last breath.

Second, you may have less time to write in college. It is not an inevitable sentence. (Are we seeing a pattern?)

There are wise ways to use your time and precious energy so you can still accomplish mighty writing feats in college. I wrote 500k while in college while keeping up my grades. I am not superhuman. I was just determined and a bit imprudent (and exhausted) at times. But it worked. It is possible to write (a lot) while in college if you want that.

In addition (warning, I am about to turn your world upside down), one may achieve a four year degree in a space of time greater than four years. I took five, due to a desire to write, health issues, caring for family members, and several moves. I am not ashamed of that. It is not conventional, but it is entirely possible.

In sum: life is going to gobble up your writing time whether you attend college or not. If you do go, you can employ your creativity to make time to write.

Myth #3: Nothing you learn in college will help with your writing.

I think this is a young writer’s foremost reason why attending college is a waste of time.  If you want to write, why study business, science, philosophy, etc.? And I acknowledge the sad reality that many English and creative writing degrees are wanting when it comes to giving you actual skills that help you write or sell stories.

However, that traditional degrees are entirely unrelated to writing rests on the faulty assumption that writing only entails 1) writing and editing stories and 2) selling your books to publishers and customers. If that is the truth, then certainly few programs (perhaps outside of Brandon Sanderson’s at BYU) will be very helpful in training you specifically for that.

However, looking at many successful authors over the ages, I would argue that knowing what goes into a good story and how to make people buy it doesn’t make up the bulk of what being a writer is.

The raw material for the stories you structure and sell is reality, life itself. The great authors of history and even the good ones of today are so successful because they could re-present to us something real that they knew so well. That is why knowing and executing three act structure and perfect character arcs better than anyone else does not guarantee a good story. That is why knowing all the marketing tricks and ways to connect with people does not guarantee good stories that sell and last. The raw stuff of stories cannot be learned in writing classes… or often even through writing itself. It is learned through direct contact with the real thing, with life lived day by day.

I am not saying college gives you direct contact with the “real stuff” (college campuses sometimes feel a little artificial, am I right?). But it is not a waste of time to deeply study something about reality that fascinates you, whether that’s how people work together in business, or the science of how things work, or great works of literature, or liberal arts that gives you a wholistic vision of the human person and history and achievement.

Yes, learning to write and sell books is important. But immersing yourself in some study–or even work after college–that will give you more raw stuff to put in your stories is invaluable as well.

The Truth: Everyone’s Path is Unique

There is no right or wrong answer about whether going to college is the best decision for a young aspiring author.

Let me repeat: There is no right or wrong answer.

Writers who have gone to college have gone on to be successful. Writers who have skipped college have gone on to be successful.

Ask any published author and I can almost guarantee they will acknowledge that there is no one method for becoming a talented and successful writer. There are good tools and practices. But there is no one single path that will turn you into the next C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien, because each individual and his or her talents and experiences are wholly unique. Because of that, everyone’s road to success in writing, or wherever God sees best to lead them, will be different.

That difference is beautiful. It is freeing, and it eliminates so much fear. College will not ruin your chances at becoming a Lewis or a Tolkien. It might help it. It might hinder it. You get to decide, based off where you feel called in life. 

In sum:  This is not a “why writers ought to go to college” post. Instead, I hope it’s encouragement to realize that whether attending college or not, nothing guarantees total destruction or quick success of a young writer’s dreams. You might find that having the courage to follow the most unconventional path is what really equips you to write the best stories.