Phil Craggs
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Creative Writing MA article
I don't know if anyone's thinking of doing a Creative Writing MA, but there's an article in today's Guardian Review about my old MA course written by (presumably) a recent graduate. I think that I'd agree with about 90% of what she says - not an exact mirroring of my experiences but I recognised a lot of it. If you are thinking of an MA, might be worth your time.
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10/29/2005, 11:06 am
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stripycardy
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
Where did you study your MA, Phil? Are there any good MA courses in this area?
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12/1/2005, 11:26 pm
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Phil Craggs
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
quote:
stripycardy wrote:
Where did you study your MA, Phil? Are there any good MA courses in this area?
I did my MA at the University of East Anglia, which is a pretty good place for it. Locally, I'm afraid I really don't know. Best bet is to go to the web sites of local Uni's - they're bound to have a subject list.
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12/1/2005, 11:30 pm
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stripycardy
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
Isn't East Anglia fairly near?
Never was any good at geography. 
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12/1/2005, 11:35 pm
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Phil Craggs
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
quote:
stripycardy wrote:
Isn't East Anglia fairly near?
Never was any good at geography.
Feels like a long way because there's no motorway - the drive takes 3 hours because it's minor roads all the way. It's about the same distance as from here to Bolton but takes a full hour longer by car. But Norwich is a nice place.
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12/1/2005, 11:39 pm
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stripycardy
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
hmmmm, I'll take a look around anyway.
Back off to the UCAS website then, I guess.
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12/1/2005, 11:43 pm
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stripycardy
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
Okay, i've checked out three so far, one was all the way down in Sussex so that was out although it did look a fairly decent course. Nottingham Trent looked alright but there wasn't much information available.
I've gone to the UEA site, and to be honest it's certainly the best so far.
There's plenty of information available and the course itself looks extremely good.
What did you think of the course, Phil?
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12/2/2005, 12:26 am
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Phil Craggs
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
quote:
stripycardy wrote:
What did you think of the course, Phil?
Well, the thing that surprised me is that there's no actually Creative Writing teaching - it's all workshops (which you'll find out more about next term).
I found it extremely useful because you're mixing with very talented people, and seeing their work in unpolished, unfinished form. I'm not saying that can make you a great writer, but if you can't learn something from that there's something wrong somewhere.
In terms of the caliber of people who go there, my classmates included Tash Aw, Diana Evans and Naomi Alderman. Tash was longlisted for the Booker prize, Diana won the Orange First Award and both are short-listed for the Whitbread first novel award. Naomi's book comes out in March but from what I hear, everyone in the industry is expecting it to make a big splash. Anyone who can't improve in that kind of company should realy consider giving it up, IMO.
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12/2/2005, 1:15 am
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stripycardy
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
Looks like I have a lot of saving to do.
How do you go about looking for financial aid for MA awards?
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12/2/2005, 2:13 pm
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Phil Craggs
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Re: Creative Writing MA article
quote:
stripycardy wrote:
How do you go about looking for financial aid for MA awards?
I didn't. I applied late and all the grants/bursaries had gone by the time I was accepted. There was a grant of some kind but I forget what it was called. Best thing is that when the time comes, ask the University what's available because there are some nationwide ones and some Uni specific ones. They'll be able to tell you what's available.
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12/3/2005, 5:30 pm
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