Sunday, 6 July 2008

MA in Creative Writing

So apparently it is possible to study creative writing at a NZ university — I didn't think it was. Not that I would have majored in creative writing anyway; I'd like to keep my options more open.

However, at Vic you can get an MA in creative writing, so I'm thinking about that. I was planning to study English for my master's, but creative writing sounds much more fun. Unfortunately, it's limited to 20 students per year, and the intake is based solely on creative ability, so I'm extremely unlikely to qualify.

I still intend to apply, but my problem is now this: you need to write a novel-length manuscript in either fiction or non-fiction, and you need to have a novel-length idea when you apply. Judging my stories over the past year, I seem to be far better at writing non-fiction. But what on earth kind of novel-length non-fiction could I write? A biography? On whom? An academic thesis on the habits of butterflies or properties of steel? Or does it have to be creative non-fiction?

I'll find out a bit more about the criteria and expectations involved in the MA, but for now my dilemma is this: fiction or non-fiction?