Back to School

Posted by Colin Harvey Sep 27, 2009

This morning I'm getting ready to take my place in the educational system as an, ahem, 'mature' student.

It really came home to me on Saturday how focused I've been on delivering Damage Time, and then on launching Winter Song, when Kate said to me after a brief conversation with Lee Harris (my editor at Angry Robot), "Haven't you told him (Lee) that you're going back to Uni?"

Er, no, it turns out. I was sure I had, but apart from a brief mention on the blog some time ago, I haven't mentioned it to anyone on-line.

So I'm going off to Bath Spa University this morning to register, meet my course tutor and pick up things like library passwords and student cards. I'll be taking a BA in Creative Writing & Media Communications.

I applied two years ago when I was first made redundant by Unilever, even before I was taken on by the NHS and I was trying to get work as a freelancer. The BBC is one of the big opportunities for magazine writers, but certainly for in-house jobs they demand degrees. Since I've always wanted to do something like this, simply because I love writing in all its forms, I applied to do a degree at nearby BSU (oh, we do like our acronyms don't we?) .

And I got in.

Once I had established I could get some -if not all-- of the funding I needed (more on that on another occasion) I then had to decide when Angry Robot offered me a deal whether to pull out of the application or stay in. I'd already deferred it by one year, so I couldn't do it again.

The life of a freelance writer is precarious. Deals can dry up as abruptly as they appear, and it seemed to me that if I can use some of the material I'm writing for Angry Robot as course-work, there's no reason why I can't actually pursue the degree while writing.

The course offers me exposure to a number of writing elements that I would otherwise have no exposure to, such as scriptwriting, will (heopefully) allow me to network with a number of potential employers as a freelancer or as staff.

I'm hoping that I may even be able to put in a few hours a week at the BEH. If I'm honest, I miss the girls -- but don't tell them that. They'll think I'm getting soft.

More on this will follow, but I have to make my packed lunch and slip it into my satchel. :)