Hey, all. As stated in the title, I got my master's. I owe a lot to this site's community to keep me going and safe from being gaslit.
If it would help people, I would love to share my knowledge and experience about graduate school, writing spaces, or anything that might interest you. Here are some details that might invite questions (that won't doxx me):
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My focus was Prose/Fiction
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To complete the master's I had to turn in a novel as my thesis.
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I volunteered in the anti-racist program in my Creative Writing Department and handled some cases of in-class discrimination issues.
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Some of my peers are boomers and/or libs and I workshopped with them.
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I took courses on teaching Creative Writing, if you want some general advice.
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I was only made aware of the CIA's history of influencing writing programs during my final semester.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them or go into more detail.
I don't think you need a master's degree to become a writer. I think you need some of the basics handled before you get started though. It's important to know the terms and tools/mechanics to be able to write well. Or you could know those things so that you can decide if they work for you. A master's will help publishers and hirers give your work/resume a second look.
I don't know a specific syllabus to suggest, but there are plenty of youtube collections that cover things like plotting, character, worldbuilding, etc. You might even find a creative writing course at a community college. It's a lot cheaper, and it could give you the structure you need to get the ball rolling on a project. Barring that, I would suggest looking for writing groups or starting one in your community.
The best stuff I learned was from other writers.
Hopefully, I get to be a mod in c/writing and I would happily put up more info and informal classes.