none. they will all destroy your ambition and not allow you to express yourself like the unique snowflake you are

And by schools I mean Universities.

>>2105710

srsly you guise...srsly.

just do english at the best liberal arts school you can for undergrad, then do an mfa somewhere

Pratt, Susquehanna, John Hopkins, Iowa

there's plenty

>>2105710
pretty much this, except no smartassery

because writing is a solitary process, the best way to learn how to write is to be an autodidact. college courses teach in a mass format that appeals to the majority (not the dan brown majority, the "literary" majority, but as we have learned from sturgeon, being on the side of any majority is likely to be a bad thing)

every college course I have ever read about, talked to people about, etc. is basically just

>forced to read western canon
>professor creates arbitrary meaning in the work and you must find it and elaborate on it, or get a bad grade. whether you agree or not, because the prof knows more than you, you're not allowed to disagree
>focus on literary theory and complete disregard for craft, which is the bane of 99% of would be authors
>reading day
>a bunch of 23 year old hipsters read their shitty self insert romances, people offer "critiques" full of shit
>nothing of value is gained, learned, or produced
>rinse and repeat

how many of the greats actually attended creative writing classes? truman capote didn't even graduate college

fiction is not something you learn by listening to some wise ass who has never produced a decent novel and gathering every thursday with your writing buddies like an alcoholics anonymous group

>>2105739
hmmm its a stupid post but that girl does have large breasts so

>>2105739
Have you ever actually taken a Creative Writing class?

We're just taught that logical is good, fantasy isn't necessarily wrong, and depth is power

>>2105744
FIVE STAR POST

SOMEBODY GIVE THIS GUY A 4CHAN ACHIEVEMENT FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS

>>2105752
i'd like to thank the academy and sucka mcs everywhere

>>2105749
okay, and you couldn't have picked up a book and learned this shit on your own instead of spending thousands of dollars for some washed-up never-was to tell you?

What's up with all the hostility? It's a simple question. I didn't ask for anyone's thoughts about these kinds of courses. I asked if they knew of any.

>>2105756

rugged individualism is so 20th century

Nothing wrong with doing an MFA if you have the time and the cash, but there are a plethora of alternatives to higher education if your ambition is to publish creative writing. The best thing that you can get out of an MFA program are connections to agents and more importantly publishers. As for the work itself, I'm with previous posters in that I think massive amounts of solo writing > taking classes on creative writing. Just make sure you have some honest, capable people to critique and edit.

>>2105764
we offered opinions because this is a website for people to post their opinion. I don't see much hostility, just opposition to an idea

I know all where to find all kinds of creative writing schools

on the fucking front page of google, just look for highly rated ones derp

Well here is what I am doing right now.
I am studying some IT shit and will soon finish this. Most of my free time I spend either reading or writing. I went to some creative writing class, which actually wasn't too bad and we got some good input from the teacher, an autor who had actualy published something.

But seriously, I improved a lot over the past year, but that was not, becaus of this course, it was because I write nearly every day!
So lets say you finish your creative writing studies and get major there, what will you do then? You sure as hell won't write a novel and get published as soon as you are finished. I on the other hand, will most likely get a nice job, that pays well and I don't have to worry about life.
Lets say you live by the pen. You will most likely be pushed to write something that people will read, not necessariely what you wanted to write. So basically shitty short stories for some papers, that give you enough money to pay your rent and something to eat.

>>2105784

Your grammar and spelling show that if you've improved immensely then you started out really bad, but despite that I agree with your last point. I'd hate to have to write for a living, it would be difficult to earn enough and the stress of trying to do so would probably make me like writing less. I'd much rather have a day job and write on my down time as a recreational activity.

>>2105813

Ah well, English isn't my first language, so don't mind my errors.
Yeah thats what I think to, if you 'must' write to earn money it is going to suck. You won't enjoy it as much as you do, if you write just for the sake of it. If you live by writing, you are either good as hell and can write what you want and get a lot of money from it, or you are damned to write what people say you should write. And most of the time, this is even true for good writers.

So do get a job or study something that will pay well and do the writing in your spare time. Even with university, you still have the time to sit down one or two hours a day (at least most of the time).

On the other hand, you should join a book or writing club. It was a really good experiance for me. Sure all of us there were amateurs, but it was still nice to be forced to read your stuff out to people. When you read it to people and 'know' that they are listening you will notice your errors way better than just by reading it yourself. Most of the time you won't improve your writing in this courses much, but you will get some ideas about style. We also got some tips on how to get into the mood of writing or how to 'get creative'.

Where the MFA system is today in the United States, the best creative writing programs treat their students like PhD candidates (full tuition waver, modest living stipend, small teaching load) because there isn't currently a standard for PhD programs in creative writing. Although there are many schools which offer this kind of modern patronage, the competition for admission is intense, almost worse so than medical or law school percentage-wise. If you think your writing is good enough, apply away. That said, there is no sense in going into debt for an MFA because, like most degrees in the humanities, it does not guarantee a job after completion.

Teaching creative writing is sort of pointless. I TA for a creative lit class and the teacher fills those kids with mindless rules about every possible corner of creative expression. However, when it's just us talking, he praises writer's who completely ignore the rules.

As for your original question, I think Ole Miss has a stellar program. The South just breeds a brilliant writer every ten years or so.

Iowa (only for fiction), Houston, the New School, NYU, Columbia, Rutgers...

I'm currently applying for an MFA (in poetry though) and have friends that have gone to different programs - for the most part they say the only point is to have the space/time to write, exposure to people who will critique in a way that allows you to grow rather than stay stagnant in one particular style (which is why the classes are GOOD. writing may be a solitary process but editing is more effective collectively), and, of course, networking.

I don't know about America, but the best creative writing course in the Commonwealth is arguably the University of East Anglia creative writing course. You mightn't think it, but numerous famous writers have been through it, Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro for example.

The Man Booker prize offers a fully funded scholarship to any student within the Commonwealth, Zimbawbwe or Ireland - unforunately, of course, you have to be in the Commonwealth, so unlike the Rhodes scholarship, Americans don't count.

Any information about creative writing in Toronto?

I have no idea what career to aim for, but I'm debating between

>technical writing major and creative writing at York, easy as fuck to get into
>journalism at Ryerson, competitive program

Shit, I like writing, but starving? Not so much. Are there any writing-related degrees I should aim for that won't have me flipping burgers when I'm done?

>>2106803
journalism at Rye sounds fuckn awesome, i have a friend who just started there. he gets to go to any concert he wants (ANY) under the pretense that he's a journalist. it also prepares you really well for the cut-throat world of journalism (or so i've heard), but alas it's pretty hard to get into.
anyways, check out u of t too.

>>2106806

Pretty damn good preparation, especially since it's located in the social hub of Toronto and the connections that can be made. Is your friend Matt by the way?

Taking a liberal arts program at U of T sounds
kinda shitty, considering the soul-sucking stories I've heard. I honestly don't know anyone who's had success with their writing programs.

>>2106528

The Man Booker Prize? You mean, like, the commonwealth equivalent of a Pulitzer? It's great that it comes with a scholarship but if you can win the Man Booker Prize why in the hell would you need one?