I don’t know about you but since retiring to Thailand I have certainly found that I have more time on my hands than when I was working in the UK. Like many things in life becoming an expat requires working on. Filling your time effectively is certainly important and one possible way to do this is through writing. Indeed I have featured two British expats on this site who have done just that, you may well remember Denis Lipman and Maggie Hall, both of whom have taken their writing to the next level by getting books published.
Well someone once said there is a book in all of us so I am particularly pleased to share this information with you about an MA in professional Writing being offered by University College Falmouth in the UK. Here’s what the team at Falmouth have to say:
University College Falmouth’s MA in Professional Writing is drawing increasing numbers of current and former expatriates.
Many people who spend time living abroad think about becoming writers. For some, the decision to spend time away from home may even have been partly prompted by a desire to notch up experience that might be turned into books or features journalism.
Of course, some of the greatest writers of the past century have been long-term expatriates, from James Joyce in Trieste to Gertrude Stein in Paris. More recently, writers such as Tim Parks (Italy), David Mitchell (Japan), Hilary Mantel (Saudi Arabia) and William Dalrymple (India) have achieved success with books drawing on their experience of foreign cultures.
But writing can seem a very isolated occupation, and one that demands a big commitment of time and effort. For some people, working on their own with little feedback or support can be a daunting prospect – especially if they have little idea whether their writing is likely to prove marketable.
One way of overcoming this problem is to take a postgraduate degree that allows you to try your hand at different forms of writing, build up skills and understanding of the publishing industry, and develop a writing project within a supportive group of expert tutors and fellow students. This is precisely what the MA in Professional Writing at University College Falmouth is designed to provide. And since an online version of the course was launched last year, it has been attracting increasing numbers of current and recent expatriates.
Amongst students now studying on the course are a Brit living in Australia but writing a thriller set in China (where she lived for several years); a former lawyer with experience of living in Moscow, working on a non-fiction book set partly in the gambling industry; and a former TEFL teacher working on a darkly comic coming-of-age novel set in Barcelona.
Alumni of the MA Professional Writing course are now working in a wide range of roles as writers, editors and publishers. Many have published books and two have won screenwriting awards; others are working as copywriters at leading agencies, website editors and in senior editorial positions on national magazines, while one former student has launched her own successful magazine publishing company.
Former student Judy Hemingsley, whose practical guide to running a home business, Work from Home, came out last year, said: “Trying to break into a new industry as an outsider can be incredibly hard. But not only did the course refine my writing skills, it also gave me an in-depth knowledge of how publishing works and what publishers are looking for. I learnt how to put together a professional book proposal that won me a contract within months of completing the MA.”
While the full-time course runs over a year, the part-time course takes two years and can be done entirely online via a specially designed virtual learning environment. Both full-time and part-time students benefit from talks by leading authors, literary agents and other media-industry experts, and all students are encouraged to engage in real-world collaborative projects and work placements. For students undertaking the course while still working, it’s also possible to developing writing-related projects in connection with their current jobs.
Guest speakers giving talks and workshops for students on the course have included novelists John le Carré, Helen Dunmore and Patrick Gale, award-winning travel writer Philip Marsden, acclaimed journalist and non-fiction author Richard Benson, and the BBC’s Controller of Continuing Drama Series, John Yorke.
Christina Bunce, who leads the MA course, said: “We believe that we’ve created a uniquely focused MA which really does give our students the skills and knowledge they need to make a living from their writing ability. Our part-time, online option means that people living abroad can now enjoy the same depth of expert input and feedback on their writing as our full-time students. But expatriates returning to the UK might also consider taking the full-time course over one year in Falmouth. We’re lucky enough to be in one of the most beautiful coastal areas of Cornwall, and it’s certainly a very inspiring environment for any writer.”
There are more details of the MA Professional Writing course (full-time and part-time) and information on how to apply at http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/professionalwriting.
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