Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Creative Writing MA applicants

oblomovski

jhk

(edited 12 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

~ Purple Rose ~

PS Reviewer

I'm not applying this year but am thinking of doing so next year so have been doing some research into the different courses.

Personally I like the look of Lancaster, the courses at Keele and Lincoln look quite good as well.

Manchester Met is supposed to be good, and Edinburgh do a course as well.

Reply 2

tigermoth99

I'm currently studying an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. Enjoying it a lot so far :smile:

Sorry to hear about your UEA application, it's a renowned course and wouldn't surprise me if competition was fierce for places there.

Can I ask what area of Creative Writing are you interested in?

Some courses are geared more towards fiction than poetry.

Reply 3

oblomovski

jhk

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 4

tigermoth99

Indeed, you're correct. It's taught at 2 Gower St/11 Bedford Square.

There are no compulsory poetry elements. The workshops are divided into poets and fiction writers, lectures follow after (we're doing lit theory this semester)

My personal statement wasn't very long (a page) and I focused on my writing accomplishments and the reasons why I wanted to do the MA.

Reply 5

slideyfoot

oblomovski

Seems that

Manchester, Birkbeck, Royal Holloway, Sussex are in a decent league

with

Lancaster, Warwick, York not so far behind

but are any of them stand-out options? How about Glasgow? the new course at Oxford? the arts reputations of UCL and Goldsmiths?

My girlfriend just finished doing a MA in Writing at Warwick, having done a BA in Eng Lit and Creative Writing a few years earlier. Apparently its a highly regarded course (or at least the BA is). I'm not sure you got enough time with tutors, but then that always seems to be an issue with creative writing degrees.

Various cool people teaching on it, like China Mieville and AL Kennedy. I would have liked to attend Mieville's lectures, if I'd had the chance: my gf said he did some stuff on 'weird fiction' (so that covered writers like HP Lovecraft, which sounds like fun).

Reply 6

tigermoth99

I've heard Warwick is good for the subject, some fine writers teach there and the university journal, The Warwick Review, is pretty good.

I've had a poem published in it, was chuffed because I was alongside well respected poets such as Tim Liardet :smile:

Reply 7

slideyfoot

tigermoth99

I've heard Warwick is good for the subject, some fine writers teach there and the university journal, The Warwick Review, is pretty good.

Yeah, Michael Hulse is one of my PhD supervisors, so I tend to be sitting amongst stacks of The Warwick Review when I go in to see him.

If you're a poet looking to apply for the MA, then I'd say he's a big plus: very knowledgeable guy, who has definitely been a huge help to me with my thesis. Of course, I last did creative writing back in 2002, so I've never actually shown him any of my own poetry. I'm told he can be a tad harsh.

Still, that's probably a good thing, as its beneficial to have a thick skin as a writer (not to mention they're criticising the work, not you).

Reply 8

tigermoth99

I've spoken to him a couple of times. He seems very friendly and knows his stuff.

Reply 9

slideyfoot

His wife just had a baby daughter, which is cool. Explains why I've found it difficult to get hold of him over the last couple of months. :wink:

Reply 10

oblomovski

jhk

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 11

tigermoth99

I'm taking poetry. I sent a portfolio of 25 poems (RHUL required either 25 poems or 5000 words of prose)

Reply 12

~ Purple Rose ~

PS Reviewer

Due to various reasons I've been having a rethink over the last few days and am thinking about applying to courses now.
I'm not really sure how many places to apply for though. At the moment I'm thinking about Lancaster, Nottingham Trent, Lincoln, Edinburgh Napier and Edge Hill. Panicking at the thought of trying to put a portfolio together though, suddenly all my writing looks terrible :hm:

Reply 13

tigermoth99

Don't stress too much about your portfolio, I think if you should be able to get an interview if your writing shows promise.

Reply 14

janeemily

Hello all, sorry to barge in, but does anyone know about the Creative Writing MA at Exeter? Is it hard to get on? I was thinking about Bath Spa but I heard the standard is super high...not for me, I fear!

Ideally, I would like to apply and be accepted somewhere first time round! I am not madly ambitious - I would just like to read and write for a year at a nice Uni. Also, I have not been a student since 2002 and my first degree was not English..Any ideas for someone at my level?! Am I a hopeless case, or would some mad institution accept me?

Reply 15

tigermoth99

You should be offered a place if you do well at interview and have a portfolio of writing that shows promise.

If you're passionate about the subject, I think you should be okay :smile:

Are you a poet or fiction writer, btw?

Reply 16

slideyfoot

janeemily

Also, I have not been a student since 2002 and my first degree was not English..Any ideas for someone at my level?! Am I a hopeless case, or would some mad institution accept me?

I wouldn't worry about that. On my gf's MA in Writing at Warwick, there was a middle-aged lady with a high level job at an accountancy firm (so I doubt her first degree was English either), who I'm sure hasn't been a student for a couple of decades at least. She did fine, from what I heard.

I also know from speaking with my supervisor, who has been the convenor for the MA in Writing in the past, that he's had groups with people in their 80s and 90s. So, shouldn't be any problem at all that you've been out of education for a little while: after all, broader life experience is useful for writing. :wink:

Reply 17

janeemily

All sounds encouraging. Thanks :smile:

It's fiction for me. Actually, I can think of lots of other questions, but I think oblomovski has the right attitude: time to get started on that application. Good luck everyone!

Reply 18

tigermoth99

Good luck with your application :smile:

Reply 19

woollygirl

janeemily

Hello all, sorry to barge in, but does anyone know about the Creative Writing MA at Exeter? Is it hard to get on?

I got onto it with a skin-of-the-teeth 2:1 and no creative writing experience (though I had done my undergrad at Exeter). It was ace, though several years on my interests have changed and I'm thinking of doing another MA in something else!

The good thing about the Exeter one is you don't have to specialise in poetry/fiction/screenwriting/etc - you can try a bit of everything before specialising for your dissertation, and anything you don't want to do, you can swap for a module in something else from another pathway (film, Victorian studies, etc).