This question has pops up at regular intervals, especially when I’m talking with non-writers about what I do. The TLDR answer is: nope. I don’t have any formal qualifications in writing, literature, publishing or anything like that.
But the more accurate answer is…I’ve done a lot of things that have really prepared me for a career in writing. And, I actually did enroll in a certificate of creative writing at once point. But I dropped out after one two classes. It’s the only time I’ve ever dropped out of any educational activity in my whole life.
Why did I quit my creative writing course?
It became VERY clear to me in only two classes that as a romance author I wouldn’t be welcome or encouraged. The teacher made some disparaging remarks about the genre (and an author they had in to talk about the genre in previous years) in the first class which made me really uncomfortable. At that stage I already had a request from Harlequin and when I thought about it, I wasn’t sure how a teacher with such a closed mind would help me to be more creative. So I quit.
Looking back on it all these years later, I’m glad I didn’t waste my money.
What qualifications do I have?
I have a Bachelor of Business from La Trobe University in Melbourne, with a major in Human Resources. My degree is made up of regular business subjects and a bunch of english lit electives. Do I think the English subjects helped me get published or become a better writer? No, not really. But did I enjoy taking them? Heck yeah.
What jobs helped me to become a writer?
One thing that’s great about the writing community is how different our backgrounds are. I know former teachers, lawyers, artists, police officers, medical professionals, journalists and more. Writing draws on the wealth of your experience, regardless of what it includes.
I did a lot of writing in my former careers. Company newsletters, recruitment advertising, policy, training manuals. executive communications, speeches, presentations, corporate blog posts. All of this helped me to learn how to communicate a message clearly, which is something that is required in both nonfiction and fiction.
Working in a high-performing team in one of Australia’s biggest banks also taught me some other important skills: how to manage my time for high output, how to manage stress and deadlines, how to work with lots of different personality types, how to communicate to a wide array of people.
None of these skills are necessarily things you would be taught in a creative writing class, but they’ve helped me immensely.
Do I think there are any requirements to becoming an author?
Other than a love for story…no, I really don’t.
There are certainly things that will help, such as:
A strong grasp of grammar, punctuation and the language you want to write in. If you don’t have this already, then have a willingness to learn and improve.
A thick skin (aka my eternal work in progress).
A willingness to be critical and complimentary of your own work. You need to see the flaws, but if that’s all you see you’ll never put anything out.
Determination.
Again, these aren’t things you’re going to learn in a general creative writing course. That’s not to say that a course won’t help, because for some people they might be immensely inspiring. If that’s you, then go for it! For romance writers, I often recommend starting with a course that’s specific to the genre, because then you know it will be a welcoming environment.
But you don’t need a piece of paper that “qualifies” you to write stories. Put words on the page, be committed to improving your craft through whatever means you have available to you and dust yourself off when you get knocked down. That’s it.
Now go write.