# Do you really need to go to school to be a writer?



## TheEXxman (Jul 10, 2016)

Hello, This is my first post and a sort of introduction and a question. I come from a military family and my father is retired Air Force. I've been wanting to write for the longest time mainly in the science fiction and fantasy and horror genre. I don't have much written and don't have anything at all published. I am currently I'm enrolled at a local community college called Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tennessee and am majoring in English. I also am bi-polar and am using writing as a kind of therapy. My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer. I'm having a lot of financial difficulty right now and we're fixing to be kicked out of the house we're renting. I'm really stressed out because of going to be kicked out and I'm thinking of dropping out of school, but I still want to be a writer. I bookmarked several internet forums on writing and just joined this one. I've been lurking around and trying to get the hang of this site. I'm not really asking anyone if I should drop out that's a personal decision, I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.


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## escorial (Jul 10, 2016)

George Orwell never went to uni and wrote a few good books....don't think he was very astute financially though...


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## escorial (Jul 10, 2016)

van gogh sold one painting in his life..the list is endless in the arts and if you don't try you will never find out..educated to the hilt or not


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## TheEXxman (Jul 10, 2016)

Thanks for the replies so far.


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## Phil Istine (Jul 10, 2016)

A reasonable grounding in English is fine because you can always expand on that as and when required.  Although not everyone will agree with this, I attach a lot of importance to reading things that I enjoy.  When my own creativity is at a low ebb, such as recently, I read others' work.  I've found that it's surprising how much sticks regarding methods etc.


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## LOLeah (Jul 10, 2016)

I studied journalism in college but never finished my degree. For many of the same reasons, it seems. I had to work to support myself. A formal education helps but is by no means a requirement. I have learned the most about the craft from simply reading and being a life long lover of literature. Sites like this one and talking with so many more experienced writers from all over the world have been invaluable. All one must do to be a writer is write.


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## Jigawatt (Jul 10, 2016)

Everybody is different. School boosted my self-esteem. I received complimentary comments from my teachers and peers. The assignments were a means to an end, to learn how to communicate effectively by leaving words on a page. Honestly, I learned more about writing on my own. I have spent more money on books than on tuition, many of the books on writing. If you have a keen desire to write, then write. The internet contains for free the information on writing. Keep searching for advice. Force yourself to write everyday. Invent reasons to write. I keep a journal at my bedside to write my personal thoughts. Sometimes I awake during the night, turn on a lamp, then write a dream I just had into the journal. I keep another journal to record my fishing experiences. Another journal contains my philosophical musings. Write interesting things you hear and see in the World. When you think of a story, write it down. Writing and reading is something that school cannot do for you. You have to do it.

When you get a job, look for opportunities to write at work. My degree is in Electronics. There are many opportunities for technical writing at work. Technical writing increases my value at work, and it's part of how I get paid. When I retire, I hope to transition my story telling into generating funds. Look for opportunities everywhere to write, even in your family.


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## TheEXxman (Jul 10, 2016)

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm thinking of starting a writing journal to write everyday. I'll post later on this thread if I decide to drop out or not. School doesn't really start till August 22, so I have the rest of the month to decide. It's not a really good time for me right now and I'm really stressed out and depressed. I still have the desire and the itch to write. I can't really handle college right now and then try and write for myself. I'm trying to keep positive and calm, cool, and collected. We stayed at the local lodging on base and my father had his high school reunion on base. It turned out to be a great weekend for which I hadn't had one in a long time. It brought back memories.


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## PrinzeCharming (Jul 10, 2016)

Welcome to Writing Forums! I'm Anthony, the New Writers' Mentor. 



TheEXxman said:


> My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer.



The simple and short answer, "No."

Do you want to be a published author? 

Again, the same answer. "No." 

 Despite having a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, I can say that my writing is both influenced and improved from my studies. However, I can also agree that I could have read a lot of books, engaged in a community like this one prior, and still excelled in everything I acquired thus far. Formal education is a set curriculum. Liz Murray went from homeless to Harvard. She self-taught her way into the prestigious campus. Everyone has the ability and potential to become better in everything and anything they are willing to pursue. It takes time, commitment, and perseverance. Financial stability may hinder your journey, but it certainly does not limit your journey. Read up about Harper Lee, Augusten Burroughs, Charles Dickens, Jack Kerouac, William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Harvey Pekar, George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, and Jack London.




TheEXxman said:


> It's not a really good time for me right now and I'm really stressed out and depressed. .



As a former graduate, I would not advise this decision. Give yourself a time when you're ready. You should never commit to something while feeling the way you do. Breathe, relax, and wait it out. Time will come. When you're ready, you'll know.


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## MzSnowleopard (Jul 10, 2016)

No, but it can help.


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## Patrick (Jul 10, 2016)

TheEXxman said:


> Hello, This is my first post and a sort of introduction and a question. I come from a military family and my father is retired Air Force. I've been wanting to write for the longest time mainly in the science fiction and fantasy and horror genre. I don't have much written and don't have anything at all published. I am currently I'm enrolled at a local community college called Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tennessee and am majoring in English. I also am bi-polar and am using writing as a kind of therapy. My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer. I'm having a lot of financial difficulty right now and we're fixing to be kicked out of the house we're renting. I'm really stressed out because of going to be kicked out and I'm thinking of dropping out of school, but I still want to be a writer. I bookmarked several internet forums on writing and just joined this one. I've been lurking around and trying to get the hang of this site. I'm not really asking anyone if I should drop out that's a personal decision, I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.



No, but you do have to learn the craft by reading fiction and writing it. I have friends who have degrees in literature; they aren't writers. I don't have a degree; I am a writer.

There are lots of writers with degrees and lots of writers without them. People with degrees have won literary prizes and so have writers without degrees. What do they all have in common? A love of the craft and some talent.


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## Jay Greenstein (Jul 10, 2016)

> van gogh sold one painting in his life


That's a popular misconception. He did, but not many. And the reason he sold so few is that he refused to. He was acknowledged a genius after his first show, but was used to being dirt poor and had no need for money, so he said no when they begged him to sell.

A second reason is that he put the paint on so thick it took as long as a year for them to dry enough to sell.


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## TheEXxman (Jul 10, 2016)

It's a personal decision I'm going to have to personally decide on my own whether I drop out or not. It's a hard and necessary decision that I have to make. I really don't want to, but life keeps throwing me these curve balls here lately so bad that I can't write and all I do is stare at my screen. I'm using journaling software. I'm also using Microsoft Office 365 and Scrivener. So I prefer a keyboard to pen and paper. I appreciate all the input on this question. I'm a christian and kept praying and searching for a calling for a very long time. For several years as a matter of fact. I kept praying and all I got was silence. I kept thinking I would get a still small voice like those who claim they have a call to preach. I'm not debating christianity. I'm just saying that didn't happen to me. I came up with writing mainly because I like to read and want to write like the authors that I have grown and loved over the years. I prefer fantasy and authors like J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis. I've read several how to books on writing, but they all say the same thing and got advice from Facebook and they all say the same thing. Just write. I started a writing journal to do just that. Right now I'm stuck on an idea which I have written a separate thread on. It's currently being moderated right now. I hope it gets posted. Sorry for this lengthy reply, I'm just going through a rough time right now. My christian friends went silent after I told them what was going on. So I won't post the personal stuff here. If I get through this I might use it in my writing.


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## Jay Greenstein (Jul 10, 2016)

> I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.


Absolutely not, though you do have to learn your craft. The thing is that in our school days we're being trained to be useful, productive, and employed adults. So we learn the writing tricks we need if we're to make our employers happy. That's why so much of out schooldays writing consists of reports and essays. But our training is in how to inform concisely and accurately, so of necessity it's fact-based and author-centric—we explain things to a reader who is seeking information. But fiction is another story (sorry). Fiction's goal is to entertain. Moreover, it's to entertain by giving the reader the emotional experience of living the story in real-time—_as the protagonist._ And how much time did your English teachers spend on that? Unless the teacher was a successful writer, damn little. So that's what you need to fix.

But you're in an ideal position to do that. You've not yet developed any bad fiction writing habits that have to be unlearned.And while you can get lots of sincere, well meant advice on various writers sites, my view is that if the one giving the advice has not yet managed to sell their work, the advice they give might be to do the very thing that keeps them getting rejections. Because of that, my suggestion is to go to the pros for your basic, nuts-and-bolts, education. And by that I don't mean a school, I mean take advantage of the fact that publishers, agents, editors, and teachers have written books on the subject, some of them very good. And if the books are in the library they're free. If not, they're not all that expensive.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• Our goal isn't to tell the story, but to make the reader see the protagonist as their avatar. So instead of us explaining, "This happened...then that happened...and after that—and by the way, here's something you need to know...and..." we want the reader to know the situation as the protagonist does, including the protagonist's needs and resources, so they'll "mirror" that protagonist in their mind, and thus live the story in real-time.

• We cannot tell the story as we do in life because the page doesn't reproduce our performance,  which provides the emotional content (no sound or picture). Instead, we take the reader into the protagonist's persona, using the techniques and craft unique to our medium.

• Plot matters, but we must motivate the reader to turn the page, and do that on every page by providing writing that entertains: emotion-based and character-centric.

For an example of the kind of things you'll find in a book like Dwight Swain's, Techniques of the Selling Writer (my personal favorite), this article will give you an overview of one way to place your reader on the scene.

Hope this helps.


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## TheEXxman (Jul 10, 2016)

Very good advice and I thank you for that. My original idea has a very dark and controversial view of magic. When I posted the thread it said it had to get moderated first. I hope the other thread gets posted. It's not meant to spark a debate or heated argument. I won't get into the other thread I'll just let others read it when it gets approved. Anyway I like the advice keep it coming. I'm starting to get a little hopeful. My father had a very good lengthy career in the Air Force and I originally wanted to enlist my self, but couldn't because of asthma. I kept searching for a job and career and just couldn't get satisfied. I know we have to go through those early hard jobs as we grow up and become adults and sometimes after we grow up when times are tough. I just wanted a career and a path in life like my dad had. Anyway I can't believe my thread is on a 2nd page. I just became a member a couple of days ago. Like I said I'm becoming a little more hopeful and confident and positive since I joined this forum.


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## dale (Jul 11, 2016)

i'm a high school drop-out that had his very 1st story written accepted for publication by a paying magazine. 
i think like 75% of my works have been published. i'll put it this way....i've never had a driver's license, but i've been
driving for 30 years. would me having a piece of paper saying i'm a "licensed driver" make me a better driver?
no. it's just a superficial construct. now...would it make things easier somehow in some superficial way if i had a license?
yes. would it make things somehow easier in a superficial way if i had a degree in creative writing? quite possibly.
but it's definitely not a necessity. and to be honest? i'd be worried that if i had some kind of "formal education" in 
writing...that it might actually do more harm than good to who i am as a writer. i'd really feel like if i were to go to
college for a writing degree? that i would lose more than i'd gain, as far as "artistic individuality". because being an artist
is, or at least should be, a very personal experience. and i just don't see how absorbing another person's "influence"
or indoctrination in any mechanical way could be helpful to me. i learned how to read and write in grade school. what
more do i need? some pompous whack-job professor telling me his political views and a piece of paper framed on my wall?
 i don't think so.


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## Sam (Jul 11, 2016)

No.


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## Carly Berg (Jul 11, 2016)

Nope. You can learn how to write informally as well as you can learn it formally, as long as you just keep writing and learning. In fact, I would not pay for a college degree and spend several years in school to learn how to write fiction because college is expensive and I don't consider writing fiction to be a reasonable career path. A reasonable path in my opinion is to learn to do something that is in-demand and brings in a decent, steady income. Write for fun, on the side. If it takes off, then you quit your job. Studying what you want sounds lovely until you're done with college, have a ton of debt, and can't make more than minimum wage. Then you won't have time to write, you'll be too tired after working two jobs just to keep a roof over your head. Good luck to you.


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## TheEXxman (Jul 11, 2016)

I just woke back up. Thanks for all the replies.


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## TheEXxman (Jul 11, 2016)

Sorry for that very bad last reply. I appreciate all the comments and advice. I was a little groggy at the time and went back to sleep. I woke up at 5:30 am and feel a little better. I'm going to work on my story today and try the seat of the pants method. I want to just write and I'm going to try it for my story. I'm feeling very positive this morning.


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## Marstouria (Jul 11, 2016)

I agree the answer is no - you can learn all you need to learn elsewhere and from trial and error. You do need to have a decent knowledge of the language you're writing in, and grammar, but you don't have to go to school to learn those things - especially now, in the age of the internet.

Having said that, I certainly wouldn't want to encourage anyone to drop out of school, but if there are lots of other pressures on then you definitely shouldn't give up your dream if you have to give up on school.

The best of luck with your writing : )


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## Newman (Jul 11, 2016)

TheEXxman said:


> My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer.
> 
> I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.



No.

But you do need to learn the craft.

Probably the best way is to start writing and solve some of the craft problems you come up against.

There are plenty of resources on the Internet thingy.


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## Aquilo (Jul 12, 2016)

I'd certainly think long and hard before dropping out of school, regardless of whether a qualification helps your writing career or not. Your degree will help in other jobs and against those who don't come through with degrees. 

Mine helped, not only with moving into writing, but also becoming an editor. But that's just me.


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## Sakura (Jul 12, 2016)

My aunt is a university professor, 20 years going, at a major university. She maintains that a number of her students never should have graduated high school, yet alone college, on their writing ability alone. So though schooling helps the student is oftentimes only as good as the teacher. If the teacher couldn't be bothered then what are you doing aside from wasting money? 

I have a B.A. in cultural history. Met some interesting people. Learnt a lot of stuff you definitely don't in high school & college. Gives me a benefit when writing certain characters & particular perspectives that only those of this ethnic / cultural group would best. But I'd still bore *myself* to death if I applied the non-fiction writing style typical of essays used for five years to any fiction book. 


If the OP doesn't want to do an actual college program there is a few options. Online training and/or websites. Joining a writing forum or finding a local writing group. There's also CE courses. Continuing education is offered at almost every university / college & you generally don't require formal training / education [high school at most] to attend despite the "continuing" dub. Some places offer writing courses.


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## Ultraroel (Jul 12, 2016)

A Degree shows a level of thinking.
Whether you wanna write or not, it makes it easier to find a job that will provide a specific amount of security.
I would not want to trust on the guess that my writing will provide me with a living.

In Any case, i would always advise to study. Maybe not writing necessarily, but something that might gain you skills and knowledge to provide for yourself when writing can not.


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## bdcharles (Jul 12, 2016)

TheEXxman said:


> Hello, This is my first post and a sort of introduction and a question. I come from a military family and my father is retired Air Force. I've been wanting to write for the longest time mainly in the science fiction and fantasy and horror genre. I don't have much written and don't have anything at all published. I am currently I'm enrolled at a local community college called Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tennessee and am majoring in English. I also am bi-polar and am using writing as a kind of therapy. My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer. I'm having a lot of financial difficulty right now and we're fixing to be kicked out of the house we're renting. I'm really stressed out because of going to be kicked out and I'm thinking of dropping out of school, but I still want to be a writer. I bookmarked several internet forums on writing and just joined this one. I've been lurking around and trying to get the hang of this site. I'm not really asking anyone if I should drop out that's a personal decision, I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.



Nope there are no real hard and fast rules.


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## Bard_Daniel (Jul 12, 2016)

If you want to be a writer you need to read and write voraciously. That, luck, skill and perseverance are what you need. School may help build those foundations or it may not. Though I would lean more towards the latter than the former.


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## BeastlyBeast (Jul 12, 2016)

escorial said:


> van gogh sold one painting in his life..the list is endless in the arts and if you don't try you will never find out..educated to the hilt or not



I don't know... I'd rather become famous with my art and make money now, than become a suicidal, earless nut and have my art be glorified centuries after my death because it's 'cool' to like an insane guys art. Just saying.


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## Sam (Jul 13, 2016)

Why does someone go to college? Some might say to get an education, or to better themselves, but most people go to college because they're passionate about some topic and they want to know more about it. There's someone there who can enlighten them about botany or eighteenth-century history or Eastern philosophy. And so they enrol and head off to college, where they expect to learn more about their passion. 

The trouble is that schools and colleges have the wrong idea, the wrong nexus, and what you find shortly after entering them is that they have a system of honours that students must, whether willingly or grudgingly, meet in order to advance to the next semester, to the next stage of learning. The reward for doing an English degree should be the ability to read and write to a high level in the English language. But when you have honours and pieces of paper each incrementally more valuable than the previous, the reward isn't learning more about the subject that you were heretofore passionate about. It's about getting the highest degree you can possibly attain. It's a game of one-upmanship. And so the passion you had for the subject you went there to learn about is so often diluted over time; because the system of learning in the Western world is fundamentally flawed, insofar as it promotes self-improvement over actual learning. Memory over intelligence. 

You go into college to learn about your topic, and what you end up learning is how to memorise things about your topic that you'll forget ten minutes after you've departed the exam hall. The whole idea of improving yourself by learning is entirely irrelevant to the learning process. You learn not to improve _yourself_ but to improve your _knowledge. _That is the purpose of learning. 

So the OP goes to school because he wants to learn how to write. The process should be learning how to write. But it isn't. It's about prepping the OP to pass an exam and get a sheet of paper that proclaims "this person knows how to write". It's like someone giving you a thirty-second crash course on how to moor a boat, so that you can demonstrate it to an inspector who has shown up unannounced to test you on your boat-mooring skills. It doesn't teach you how to moor a boat -- it just teaches you how to pass an exam! 

So, no, you don't need to go to school to learn writing. I got an F in English at school. Ten years later, I got a 1-1 in an English degree -- because I learned how to write on my own, the correct way, and not the school/college/university way.


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## Schrody (Jul 13, 2016)

That's what I've been saying for years about our education, but does anyone listen? You Sam, win in life


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## Tettsuo (Jul 13, 2016)

TheEXxman said:


> Hello, This is my first post and a sort of introduction and a question. I come from a military family and my father is retired Air Force. I've been wanting to write for the longest time mainly in the science fiction and fantasy and horror genre. I don't have much written and don't have anything at all published. I am currently I'm enrolled at a local community college called Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tennessee and am majoring in English. I also am bi-polar and am using writing as a kind of therapy. My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer. I'm having a lot of financial difficulty right now and we're fixing to be kicked out of the house we're renting. I'm really stressed out because of going to be kicked out and I'm thinking of dropping out of school, but I still want to be a writer. I bookmarked several internet forums on writing and just joined this one. I've been lurking around and trying to get the hang of this site. I'm not really asking anyone if I should drop out that's a personal decision, I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.


I say yes, but not for the reasons you're probably thinking.

In order to write effectively, you have to have a broad knowledge base.  Not only about things you can learn in school, but about people and their behaviors.  In school, there are so many forced interactions with a wide range of different people, you'll find yourself learning so much more than simply people watching.  Schools are overflowing with ideas for writers to write about!

If you're going to write about science fiction, it's a massive benefit to learn about the sciences.  That will greatly improve your work.

You have to learn to push yourself on demand, even when it's not comfortable.  That's one of the biggest failing many writers are beset with.  School will force you to perform under a deadline.  You really need to get use to that kind of pressure if you want to be a success at writing.

The whole starving artist thing is completely played out.  I know many, and they also think it sucks.  Don't do it to yourself.  Getting a degree, in anything, is better than no degree at all.  Get a decent job because you'll have to pay for editing... huge expense!  Plus, you have to get out and travel!  See the world.  Especially places you want to write about, and you can't do that if you're a starving artist.


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## Patrick (Jul 13, 2016)

There are obvious advantages to going to school. Higher education is another subject, but it too has many advantages; one such advantage is that it gets you out and about in the world and teaches you things that have wider importance than their effect on your writing.

However, it's a myth that worldly experience translates to writing experience. I didn't go to University; I didn't travel the world; I haven't visited any of the places I write about. I go there in my imagination, one I have cultivated all my life, and all of my characters come from my subconscious. I cannot think of a single person I have met who has ever had even a marginal influence on any of my characters. I can think of all the literature I've read that has had an influence on them and my prose style, however. And you certainly don't have to pay an editor in order to produce a polished, professional manuscript.


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## Kyle R (Jul 13, 2016)

TheEXxman said:


> Hello, This is my first post and a sort of introduction and a question. I come from a military family and my father is retired Air Force. I've been wanting to write for the longest time mainly in the science fiction and fantasy and horror genre. I don't have much written and don't have anything at all published. ... My question is do you really have to go to school to be a writer. ... I'm not really asking anyone if I should drop out that's a personal decision, I just want to know if you really have to get a degree to be a writer.



Do you need a degree to be a writer? Not at all.

But you do need to write. A _lot_. It helps to read a lot in your genre, too.

Generally, the more you write and submit, the better your chances get at making it as a writer. The less you write and submit, though? The worse your chances become.

So, whether you're going to school to be a writer or not, if you want to get anywhere with it, you better be writing! Success comes to those who earn it.

Best of luck! :encouragement:


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## Nellie (Jul 23, 2016)

Did you ever hear the story of Jaycee Dugard? The 11 year-old girl from Lake Tahoe who was kidnapped and withheld from her family for 18 YEARS!! Since she has been set free in 2011, she has written TWO books about her ordeal. She didn't go to college. She went thru HELL! So go ahead and write your story. All one really needs is life experience and some language arts skill.


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## Zorg (Jul 23, 2016)

Anne Frank didn't go to college either.  Nor did any of the writers of the New Testament.


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## dale (Jul 23, 2016)

Zorg said:


> Anne Frank didn't go to college either.  Nor did any of the writers of the New Testament.



actually, Paul went to school at Gamaliel, which was a very prestigious school in jerusalem. and Luke was a physician...both
very educated men.


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## Patrick (Jul 23, 2016)

dale said:


> actually, Paul went to school at Gamaliel, which was a very prestigious school in jerusalem. and Luke was a physician...both
> very educated men.



Rabbi Gamaliel, a Pharisee held in very high regard, was Paul's tutor. Paul was a man of prodigious learning, at any rate.


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## TheEXxman (Jul 25, 2016)

Sorry for ignoring my thread I had to move. We got kicked out of our house we were renting. We found a trailer to rent and it really was a hard move for us even though we our used to moving. I'm just now getting back into writing again. I had to take a break while we moved and get settled into the trailer. I'm really sorry but I have finally made my decision to drop out of the community college mainly due to the circumstances of this forced move. I'm on disability and don't get much per month, but I had to help with some of the expenses of the move. Also, I have to help with paying the internet provider so we can have internet. I just don't have the money to use this semester to pay college. I might try in the spring if I have better circumstances, so I'm not entirely ruling college out.


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## dale (Jul 25, 2016)

Patrick said:


> Rabbi Gamaliel, a Pharisee held in very high regard, was Paul's tutor. Paul was a man of prodigious learning, at any rate.



ok. but my point really was that the writers of the bible were all very educated men. it what gets me when i hear so many 
people try to claim Jesus himself was poor and uneducated. the text proves He wasn't. Him and his family were invited to a
wealthy man's daughter's wedding. i hate to break the news to people, but the wealthy don't invite the poor over to their daughter's
 weddings. that has never happened. that was where he performed His 1st recorded miracle of turning water into wine. 
also, at age 12, he was recorded as amazing the rabbis with his knowledge and wisdom. this is just more proof he was educated
as a young man. and sorry....but the poor back then were all illiterate. the only writers of the bible who were poor? only were 
so by personal choice. and they were ALL educated to a point where in today's world....we would have considered them highly educated.


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## Terry D (Jul 26, 2016)

dale said:


> ok. but my point really was that the writers of the bible were all very educated men. it what gets me when i hear so many
> people try to claim Jesus himself was poor and uneducated. the text proves He wasn't. Him and his family were invited to a
> wealthy man's daughter's wedding. i hate to break the news to people, but the wealthy don't invite the poor over to their daughter's
> weddings. that has never happened. that was where he performed His 1st recorded miracle of turning water into wine.
> ...



The only apostle who would have had much education before Jesus was Bartholomew who was the son of a nobleman, the rest were fishermen and tradesmen (with Matthew being a tax collector [not a skilled, or educated job]). I don't believe much is known about Judas in his pre-disciple days.

Jesus' knowledge transcended education. The time he spent with the clergy of his time was spent more as teacher than student. He was invited to the wedding not because of his social status, but because of his God-given wisdom, and his popularity. The authors of the New Testament were an eclectic mix of educated and uneducated men.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Jul 26, 2016)

Ladies and Gents, may I remind you that this is a thread about whether or not education is needed to write. 

This is not a thread about the education of men in the Bible.


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