(Note:  I’m breaking my vlog-centric lifestyle momentarily to share this quick post.)

One thing people ask a lot is whether they should go to film school/grad school (MFA for writing). I’m never quite sure how to answer.

I loved film school, and the psychological affirmation it gave me (i.e.: I’m not “weird” for wanting to be an artist; people seem to like me and/or my work reasonably well) was wonderful. I also can’t overstate how helpful it was to see, like, 2,000 movies on the big screen. Likewise, I had a couple screenwriting mentors in school who were instrumental in helping me feel like I could face the anxiety inherent in trying to get a grasp on How To Write Stories.

But I also agree with Stephen King: The most important lessons are the ones you teach yourself.

I only really started feeling like I was pretty *good* a couple years after I graduated. This isn’t necessarily a knock on school or anything; it’s just another way of saying that schooling can’t “give” you anything that you don’t earn 99% on your own steam.

(I only began to understand paragraph structure, for instance, at the age of 25, after writing two [unpublished] novels and spending a full year just studying paragraph structure. I only began to understand thriller structure after reading 30 or so books about it, attending Robert McKee’s seminar, and spending *another* year analyzing literally 100 scripts and about 50 of the best thriller novels ever. And the best mentor I’ve ever had — Sara Zarr — was someone I just met through the Internet.)

Also, FWIW, I applied to grad school twice; I got form rejections both times (one with a writing sample from THE END GAMES). Again, this isn’t a knock on school at all (at the time, I would have loved to have gone to school, gotten the mentorship/time/stipend/etc.). It’s just: schools and teachers are neither genie factories nor oracles. They’re just human, in other words. Often really fantastic and talented humans! But humans.

Which is both the bad part and the boon, I guess: Whether you go to film/grad school, or you do your “10,000 hours” on nights and weekends while working minimum-wage jobs, you are the only steward of your own talent & fate.

There are legions of MFA’d writers who don’t do the work; there are legions of MFA’d writers who become brilliant pros.

Both groups are made up of *individuals,* though: people who were ultimately on *unique* paths of their own agency.

Don’t get too hung up on the idea that somewhere out there is the epiphany/answer/silver bullet that will supercharge your life. Study & forge your craft & find a mentor if you can. Network when you have the opportunity, certainly.

But the battle is fought daily and unromantically at the word processor. And whatever degrees you attain or don’t attain, if you don’t show up, the battle is forfeited.

—

My debut novel, The End Games (HarperCollins), hits shelves May 7th, 2013.  You can pre-order it here:  http://dft.ba/-theendgames

“It’s full of both jaw-dropping action and heart-twisting beauty. A thrill ride that makes you think and feel: terrifying and joyful, funny and moving. In so many ways The End Games is the book I was waiting for and didn’t know it until I had it in my hands.”

- Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist

 

“One of the sharpest, most unexpected zombie novels I’ve read in a long time.”