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From Author to Student:
My University Experience
By Reece Bridger, May 5th, 2020
I went to university with what I thought at the time to be a great deal of writing experience and, therefore, expertise.
I’d written and self-published two YA fantasy novels I’d written back when I was a teenager and was halfway through writing my third. As everyone knows, writers reach the peaks of their creative careers when they’re uneducated, passionate teenagers (with ideas they think are avant-garde but are really just disgusting and needlessly dark). As such I went into the course expecting to be taught nothing and teach people around me a precious thing or two.
But that’s not what happened.
I was surrounded by people who’d done similar things to me, perhaps not in medium but definitely in scope. Fanfic writers with large followings, YouTube sketch writers, poetry slam regulars, people with the same passion and raw creative energy that I had. It was sobering and even a tad intimidating from day one.
The main value of a degree in writing is pretty obvious: education and advice from people who’ve been there, done that, and are now ready to pass on their experiences to newcomers.
‘We are what they grow beyond’ and all that, or at least that’s the idea.
In my experience earning a degree at a university in the UK, I was exposed to a number of different concepts and forms of writing I had no experience in, like poetry, creative non-fiction, and lyric writing; all forms of writing I’d never attempted and had no plans to attempt, but thought would be a good tool on my belt if I wanted to become a full-time writer.
But beneath that there’s another value that mustn’t be overlooked: the experience of studying outside of a school.
Open discussions in classes where every perspective and idea is given a voice at some point or another are an invaluable part of university studying that open your eyes to new possibilities and ways of thinking. Looking at things you already knew from a different light, maybe with a specifically-chosen perspective about politics or social dynamics, teaches you to be objective to your own work as well as the work of others. And, well, there’s a lot to be said about knowing how to make a proper bibliography for an academic essay.
Getting a better insight into your own work and ability is a great reason to consider a degree in creative writing; but more than that, there’s something to be said about the value of any university degree. Outside of developing specialist skills and preparing yourself for careers and vocations, the university experience prepares people for a world of multiple perspectives and open communication. It can be said that studying for any degree is a balance of ‘being taught a subject’ and ‘learning how to learn in general’, preparing and adjusting your mindset for worlds without grades, and where right and wrong are not necessarily clear-cut. In particular, studying creative writing opens you up to discussions and debates about emotions, inspiration, dreams and aspirations.
For me? The biggest lesson I took from studying creative writing was how little I knew, and how easy it is for anyone to fall into that trap.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect (one of my favourite terms) describes a situation in which a person’s knowledge of any topic is so limited that they have no scope or frame of reference for how limited it is, and therefore they consider themselves an expert when they know next to nothing about what they’re talking about. Think people who read blog posts about chemicals and then believe they know more about medicine than doctors. And, having been to university and come out with a degree of my own, I can say that I was DunningKruger’d when I came in.
When I started university, I thought I knew everything.
When I earned my degree, I’d learned how much was left that I didn’t know, but I was better prepared to learn it for myself.
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Reece Bridger
Reece is a professional game writer and voice actor, with credits and titles on consoles, mobile, and other platforms. Still a creator at heart, Reece has embarked upon his first original game project: ‘Mark of Mona’, a hybrid Visual Novel/Puzzle Battle title. He’s also branched out into streaming on Twitch, to personally share his passion for video games with the internet.
Learn more by visiting: https://www.reecebridger.com
