I recently looked at a program for a Masters in Fine Arts with a focus in Creative Writing. Sounds perfect. When I read the course descriptions and the bios of the professors, I felt an old familiar pain.
"They would never take me seriously"
"They would discourage me"
"They would laugh at the stuff I write"
Why did I feel that way? I suppose because these professors wrote things like you would see in Oprah's book list or in a Poetry collection. Impressive stuff. No wizards, trolls or superheroes.
I felt bad about this for a few minutes, like I write drivel compared to these great literary works.
I remembered Mark Twain's words, "Some writers work is like fine wine. Mine is like water. But everybody drinks water."
Of course not everyone enjoys the stuff I do...speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror are all by definition niche genres. When you talk cross genre, it is even more so.
Then again, I don't need to be Ernest Hemingway. I just need to write what I like and gather a tribe of people who like the same thing.
Of course JK Rowling, Stephen King and George RR Martin all also write in the same niche genre.
I am, in no way, even targeting that level of financial success. I think I am just point out that the old saying is very true,
"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are."
Oh yeah, I still intend to look into the creative writing program. After a brief few moments of introspection, I'm back to not giving a damn what anyone who tries to hurt me thinks.
