Uneducated does not mean stupid.
Merriam Webster's definition of Uneducated is "having or showing little or no formal schooling."
Things get a little trickier when you go to their thesaurus. It defines uneducated as "lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books," which is true. But it also includes "stupid" as one of the synonyms, along with a whole host of insulting words. Dumb, silly, senseless, idiotic, uncultured, and the list goes on from there, though I'm sure you get the general idea.
If the synonyms for uneducated include terms implying, our outright saying, that someone lacking a formal education is unintelligent, is it any wonder that those ideas bleed into the writing world?
I spoke in a previous post about how educational disadvantages affected my writing from a grammatical standpoint. The issues that educational disadvantages cause in a writing career go far beyond grammar usage, though.
Going to college doesn't guarantee anyone a career in writing, but it can give someone an advantage over a writer who didn't have that opportunity. Some things you gain when you can attend college for writing:
networking connections one makes with people who might become your bosses, peers, editors, or agents
practice in following style formatting guidelines for short stories and novels
critique on works in progress that include detailed analysis on ways you can improve the story
deep knowledge about prior works of literature and the ways they followed, or bucked, conventions
knowledge about story arcs, worldbuilding, and characterization
opportunities for publication (if your school has a literary magazine)
A lot of writers I admire have "about me" sections on their website and/or author bios that explicitly name MFA programs the writer attended. MFA programs are difficult to get into, take a lot of work while you're in them, and can be prohibitively expensive.
I find myself intimidated by writers who've had the experience of attending an MFA program. To me, they always seem so much more sure of themselves and the value of their writing than I ever feel about my own. Which I know is a silly way to feel. If you spend even five minutes talking to writers you'll find many of them experience imposter syndrome when it comes to the strength of their writing, MFA experience be damned.
When it comes to entering the writing world as "educated" about writing, those with MFAs have a slight head start in some areas. That doesn't mean that the rest of us can't learn what we need to know outside of an MFA program. It simply means that we need to work a little bit to find the resources to catch up. And writers with MFAs, especially those who want to write genre fiction, still need additional learning. It's simply impossible to learn everything you need to know by traditional schooling alone.
Where can we find these resources? The easy answer is "Google" but it's more than that. You not only need the "where" of the resources, but the "why" and "which" of the resources to choose. Some good starting places for education about different aspects of the writing world:
For networking and learning craft:
Writers groups in your area, you can usually find those either by doing a search online for your area, looking into groups hosted by a local college (if you have one), or even groups that are run out of your local library.
National or international groups, such as Sisters in Crime, the Horror Writers Association, and SFWA (to name a few) often have Discord groups, or other forms of social media where writers can connect with each other. Many of them also have:
local chapters
online learnings about craft
links to genre specific awards
events with guest speakers from pertinent professions (example- an FBI agent giving a talk to a group of crime writers)
One of my favorite benefits of Sisters in Crime is the weekly writer-ins, which happen five times a day on Tuesday and Friday, and twice on Saturday, the entire year.
For networking and learning about the business of writing:
The Writer's Coffeehouse. A description from their "about" section on Facebook: "The Writers Coffeehouse is a free 3-hour networking session that meets monthly at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore. Facilitated by Jonathan Maberry and The Liars Club." I first heard about the coffeehouse because Maberry posted about it on Twitter. It took me a couple of months to psyche myself up to attend (see sometimes crippling shyness). Once I went to my first coffeehouse, I couldn't believe how much information I hadn't known about the writing world. It was my first introduction to the business side of the writing world, as well as introducing me to both the Horror Writers Association and Sisters in Crime.
Writing conferences/conventions. This honestly could also go into the craft section too. These events are full of classes and presentations on both the craft and the business of writing. They are also networking opportunities where you get to meet writers, agents, and editors. Many also have pitch sessions where you can pitch your work to agents or editors who are attending with the intent of finding new talent. Some of the best ones are:
For mystery and crime writers:
Thrillerfest June 17-21 in New York City in 2025. Numerous classes and craft sessions, there is a special "FBI" day, and pitch sessions galore.
Killer Nashville August 21-24 in Nashville in 2025. Masterclasses, opportunities to get feedback on your manuscript from agents and editors, and an award for the best 50 first pages of an unpublished novel called "the Claymore."
Bouchercon September 3-7 in New Orleans in 2025. More reader focused, a great place to connect with them once you're ready to sell books.
For horror/sci-fi/fantasy writers:
StokerCon June 12-15 in Stamford, CT in 2025. Panels and presentations, opportunities to pitch agents and editors, a "dealers room" with hundreds of books available to sell (or, in my case, purchase and then regret my life choices when I had to cart the books home in my carryon), and an awards banquet for The Stoker Awards.
WorldCon August 13-17 in Seattle in 2025. A short story writing contest, an academic track, panels, a masquerade event, and it's capped off with the Hugo Awards.
For non-genre specific writers:
San Francisco Writers conference February 6-9 in San Francisco in 2025. Masterclasses, panels, summits, exhibitions, and contests.
Southern California Writers Conference February 14-16 in San Diego in 2025. I'm sad that I had to back out of attending this conference this year (my day job got in the way, sadly), but I know several people who are attending or running panels. Read and critique workshops, a novel bootcamp, and advance submissions to agents for one-on-one consultations.
AWP Conference and Book Fair March 26-29 in Los Angeles in 2025. Panels and a book fair and so much more.
Uneducated does not mean stupid, but if we want to become successful writers, we must become educated about all aspects of the writing world. No one is going to reach out and hold our hands to teach us about writing either. I hope you use these resources to help you along in your journey. (If you know of additional ones I didn't include, please feel free to share them in the comments below.)
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