There are many potential writers out there, and published writers, too, for that matter, who feel you must have a degree in English or English Literature in order to become a writer. I wholeheartedly disagree. My own background is in film, where I graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Cinema. Other writers I know studied a variety of different subjects in college or didn’t graduate at all. Even some very famous authors studied medicine or anthropology or science.

Why the emphasis on the degree in English? Perhaps because some people feel that you must have a command of the English language in order to write. There is some truth to that, but that doesn’t mean you have to be degreed in that subject. If you lack good grammar, take some classes to improve your skills. But a naturally gifted storyteller will know how to string words and sentences and paragraphs together to make a coherent story from beginning to end. The classes will hone your skills, but you must have those God-given gifts inside in the first place for you to work with.

So if you want to be a writer, but don’t have a degree in English with an emphasis on writing, don’t worry. Study those things that interest you, take a few classes to sharpen your writing skills, then write about things you know and love.

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