<p>As someone who works in the field, and who has a child who’s also interested in storytelling as his focus in college, I have a few thoughts. To start, everyone who’s commented here is right and everyone is also wrong. Writing programs at universities tend to use the writer’s workshop method in which others critique your work. They tend to shy away from the nuts-and-bolts, just-tell-me-how-to-do-it craft and marketing side of writing I believe in order to stimulate growth in the field of literary writing. In other words, if they tell you how to do it, you may not innovate. Often people graduate from these programs knowing diddly about how to do basic structure, such as how to plot. I know several people who know little to noting about plot and they graduated with MASTER’S degrees in writing. Be aware of this side of the degree. It’s not fatal. It just exists.</p>
<p>Writing is an art and as such requires an apprenticeship. Sometimes the apprenticeship is extremely long. Hence: the get a day job comments above. </p>
<p>What’s a person to do? First recognize that the only way to learn to be a writer is to write and then to have that work critiqued in some sort of group. That’s the apprenticeship part. Universities provide you with that structure. You can do this at home too. Second, you’re right! The other side of writing, the craft and marketing side is important, how do you learn it? Mostly that happens outside of the academy. Here are the resources: 1) Gotham Writer’s Workshops offer classes, many online, on craft (I have no stake in Gotham, but I’ve used their classes on occasion); 2) Choose your genre and attend conferences. Literary writing is just one form of genre. Mystery, YA, romance, these are all perfectly wonderful genres. There are others. Often they have their own conferences. Conferences tend to focus on craft and how-to, everything from how to world build to how to sell your work, as you grow in your CRAFT, the connections will simultaneously be made and you will sell your work; 3) no matter how many connections you have in the field, if you don’t have a book that can sell in your genre, it won’t sell. Crappy books are sold all of the time, but that’s happened because at the time of sale, the buyer felt there was a SUFFICIENT market for that book, not necessarily a BIG market. Literary books get advances that are paltry–a few hundred dollars often–and their sales are paltry, usually, until you build a PLATFORM. Then a literary writer might break out and really have a best seller and an income. Stars, sports figures, politicians “write” (with ghostwriters) books all of the time, because they already have PLATFORMS. </p>
<p>At your tender age, I strongly advise majoring in whatever you want to in college. If that’s writing, then go for it. At the same time realize that it won’t turn you into a writer much less a commercially successful one. Only the (often long) apprenticeship with constant critique will do this. Craft is learned outside of academies, in places that are interested in craft. See for example books on structure, esp. screenplay structure, because those books break down how plot is constructed. Syd Field and others. Join FB groups on writing and other online discussions such as this to get more resources. Do NaNoWriMo (google for that and do it.) Sit down every day and write every day. Did I say every day? Yes, every day. It’s the daily focus that hones the craft and leads to good work and ideas. Focus on building your expertise in one genre, make that sale, then start marketing the heck out of building a platform. Do all of this and you can be a successful writer–it’s a business. All creative professsions in the end are business, unless you don’t care about keeping the lights on. Which is fine too.</p>
<p>After college if you need to make some money, take a short course in a trade, such as computer tech or something similar. Welding, even. I am serious. Anything that will keep you primed to keep writing every morning when you get up. Because you will need to write every day. Every day. in order to achieve your goal.</p>
<p>For my own child, I’m seeking programs that allow him to write and to delve deeply into his own ideas. The nuts-and-bolts craft he can learn at home anyway, through methods described above. We are looking therefore at colleges with authors he loves, like Bard. Also at schools without too many other requirements that will prove distracting, such as Sarah Lawrence and Benington. </p>
<p>Oh and keep the day job, even if you’re a successful writer, because it’s endless inspiration for what’s really important in writing: human interactions. Many great writers keep their day jobs. You’re young, and you need stuff to write ABOUT. Besides it comes with benefits. Good luck!</p>