1. It made me realise I sucked at writing - I started my creative writing degree believing I was already a great writer. I was quickly, rudely proved wrong. That was important. I had to realise that it took work to become a good writer.
  2. It made me desperate to not suck at writing - I was sharing my work week-in week-out instead of stashing it in a drawer. There's nothing like public embarrassment to incentivise you to get better.
  3. You'll be surrounded by creative people - Except it soon stops being embarrassing. Everyone on my course was brimming with stories, poems, songs, or just unfettered ideas. Soon you want to share your writing to make it blossom in the creative glow of your classmates.
  4. You'll get used to receiving criticism - Your writing won't improve without people telling you what you're doing wrong. Sharing work with my creative writing group was the perfect way to get used to accepting, considering, and implementing feedback, something you'll do time and again on the road to publication.
  5. It's good practice for the author-editor relationship - Before my book was published, my editor had her way with it. Surrendering some creative control can be a difficult pill to swallow, but having worked closely with classmates and tutors made it easy to embrace this constructive partnership.
  6. Practice without the pressure - Writing a novel is daunting. When I was a teenager I didn't know where to start. My creative writing degree allowed me to discover my voice through set goals, small exercises, short stories, and finally longer projects building toward a novel, all without the pressure of immediately needing to get it right so I could seek publication.
  7. It made me a better reader - Nothing is more important to being a successful writer than reading. I had always read, but I learned to read with a critical eye. I learned to read around my genre, my intended audience, etc., and instead of diminishing my enjoyment of books, I learned to identify what authors were doing to make me enjoy their work.
  8. It helped me make valuable contacts - My tutors were writers. We often had writers, editors, booksellers, and other industry fingers come to talk to us. Listening to these professionals was invaluable, but it also gave me a foot in the door to approach these people at a later date.
  9. I learned how publishing works - I entered my creative writing degree harbouring dreams of fame and fortune. My expectations were soon cut down to size. That's important. When you know the realities of the writing industry, you can decide if it's really for you, and if it is, your best path to success.
  10. It made me love writing - Writing can be lonely. It can be hard. Writing a novel is a solitary marathon. My creative writing degree allowed me to work with other writers, try all sorts of new things, and generally throw my imagination against the wall. It instilled a love of writing in me. If I had bypassed it and gone straight to my lonely desk, I'm not sure I would have made it.