[EirinnMoChroi]

ChotooMotoo, on 19 February 2012 - 01:07 AM, said:

I wish I had a lot of money. I'd hire Errin to write for me. Technical writing is a surprisingly in demand skill. Ultimately how well you do in anything comes down to good lucj, duas and self marketing.

Thank you And yes, it is. Writing is a very important skill when applying for jobs. Not to mention, literature (especially 19th century American literature) can be extremely abstract and philosophical which teaches people to look deeper under the surface of the written word. It's amazing what you can take out of English. It doesn't get enough credit.

[ChotooMotoo]

Its a good major for a double major too. English + accounting, English + anything science, english + anything but philosophy or history is pretty marketable right out the door actually. Communication skills are hugely important. What's the use of your idea if you can't express it to anyone else? Teaching english is always a good skill, teaching english as a secong language is always in demand, probably always will be. There are many fields that require communication skills and a bachelors degree in something, you've got that covered with an English degree. Sure you may never use your degree for actual academic English or literature, but you would have a career and using your skills. My sister isn't using her actual hisotry degree, but without it she couldn't be where she is now either. Todays job market requires creativity and flexibility and the ability to re-invent and market yourself, focus on your skill set rather than a strict career label. Its about what you can do.

[EirinnMoChroi]

^ Definitely

Plus, English homework beats any other kind of homework. Like I said, I actually enjoy writing papers. lol. I would rather write papers over a math assignment any day of the week. *thumbs up*

And I can impress people with my recitation of Chaucer in Middle English

[ChotooMotoo]

Enjoy writing papers... uggghhh.... I enjoy researching papers, digging up articles for papers cuz that sets me off on nerdy tangents... goes to. Show there are all kinds of people with all kinds of talents. mad respect for people who like writing and find the exercise easy

[EirinnMoChroi]

ChotooMotoo, on 19 February 2012 - 07:40 PM, said:

Enjoy writing papers... uggghhh.... I enjoy researching papers, digging up articles for papers cuz that sets me off on nerdy tangents... goes to. Show there are all kinds of people with all kinds of talents. mad respect for people who like writing and find the exercise easy

Im jealous of the individuals who are good at both Those English-Biology majors really make me mad. hahaha.

[ChotooMotoo]

They make me mad too. I got a well deserved C in biochemsitry. I was over the moon about that C.

[Scarfy]

You don't have to be an English major to be a decent writer. Anyway, no need to get all defensive about it. It's good you found what makes you happy though. I know people in med school who still don't know what they want to do with their lives.

[BaronChairman]

Literature classes have their merits. I took a few of them myself. But to develop as a writer, it requires that you read a lot and write a lot. If you've seen Midnight in Paris, I agree with what Ernest Hemingway said in it when he told Gil "You're a writer. You make observations." And that's what writing is. Great writing is 90 percent observation.

[EirinnMoChroi]

Scarfy, on 20 February 2012 - 03:57 PM, said:

You don't have to be an English major to be a decent writer. Anyway, no need to get all defensive about it.

I'm not defensive about it, Scarfy. You asked me a question and I answered it. The only time I got defensive was when you straight up laughed at me for my choice in major which, in my opinion, is a very justified reason to get annoyed and defensive.

And no, you dont have to be an English major to be a good writer. My point is that an English major is not a waste and it's a real shame that the majority of people in this country think that in order to succeed after college, you must have a math or science related major. That's simply not true and it really bothers the rest of us who do not enjoy math or science related subjects and cannot thrive in that kind of environment.

[EirinnMoChroi]

BaronChairman, on 20 February 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Literature classes have their merits. I took a few of them myself. But to develop as a writer, it requires that you read a lot and write a lot. If you've seen Midnight in Paris, I agree with what Ernest Hemingway said in it when he told Gil "You're a writer. You make observations." And that's what writing is. Great writing is 90 percent observation.

I don't particularly agree with that. A good writer needs both the proper knowledge of the mechanics of writing as well as the ability to observe the world around them. I can observe all day long, but if I lack the language skills to properly express my observations, my writing may not be taken seriously. I believe the two go hand-in-hand instead of one being dominant over the other.

I say this as the kind of person who finds it hard to express myself in an academic setting. If I am blogging, it isn't so bad, but if I am trying to put forth a point in an academic setting, the blogging "voice" doesn't belong there if the speaker/writer wants to be taken seriously. Expanding on vocabulary and the mechanics of writing is a great way to fix that.

[BaronChairman]

Maybe, but only in the sense that you need to know what the rules are in order to break them. I've learned that a lot of the infallible rules of proper english writing tend to stand in the way of my ability to express what I truly want to say. I also find that a lot of professional writers, no matter what kind of writing they do, regularly break or ignore the rules.

I'm also convinced that James Joyce wrote Finnegan's Wake as a middle finger to a literature teacher who failed him a few too many times.

[EirinnMoChroi]

BaronChairman, on 21 February 2012 - 06:47 PM, said:

Maybe, but only in the sense that you need to know what the rules are in order to break them. I've learned that a lot of the infallible rules of proper english writing tend to stand in the way of my ability to express what I truly want to say. I also find that a lot of professional writers, no matter what kind of writing they do, regularly break or ignore the rules.

I'm also convinced that James Joyce wrote Finnegan's Wake as a middle finger to a literature teacher who failed him a few too many times.

I guess that's not really what I mean. What I meant to say is that one can be a bad writer yet be observational and vise versa. You need both. At least in my opinion.

[Purple_alien]

I think being an English major is cool. I would have gone that route, but I was more interested in news at the time. Thus me being a journalism major. Of course, I am not in that field at the moment, and probably will never be fully devoted to it. I am much too socially retarded. How can you be a good journalist when you have a panic attack before every board meeting? SMH.
As for writing, I used to be a great writer. I was writing regularly and I had my fans. Then, I got a really bad case of writer's block. 5 years ago. It's been rough.
There are SOME people who are good writers, but they seem to not wanna share their gift.

[EirinnMoChroi]

Purple_alien, on 22 February 2012 - 01:20 PM, said:

I think being an English major is cool. I would have gone that route, but I was more interested in news at the time. Thus me being a journalism major. Of course, I am not in that field at the moment, and probably will never be fully devoted to it. I am much too socially retarded. How can you be a good journalist when you have a panic attack before every board meeting? SMH.
As for writing, I used to be a great writer. I was writing regularly and I had my fans. Then, I got a really bad case of writer's block. 5 years ago. It's been rough.
There are SOME people who are good writers, but they seem to not wanna share their gift.

I hear you on the public speaking part. I get really nervous when I have to speak in front of large groups which is weird because I do presentations often. I have one coming up where I have to talk about Race and Islam and Inter-religious dialogue. Im excited but I'm also incredibly nervous and probably will want to run away the minute I see the amount of people there



I also really enjoy writing but I cant stand poetry and creative writing. haha. I rock essays but whenever I'm asked to write a poem or a short story, it takes me a really long time to get into the rhythm of it. It's weird becasue I used to love creative writing. I guess I just worry about sounding too "cliche" and amateur so I just avoid creative writing in general. I'd rather appreciate someone elses good writing. haha. Im also really weird about reading other people's poetry. I don't mind poems that tell a story but if a poem is just trying to tell an emotion or get all philosophical on me, I want to yell "GET IT OUT, ALREADY! Quit telling me about the trees!"

Journalism is awesome! I bet you had a blast with that major.

[BaronChairman]

EirinnMoChroi, on 21 February 2012 - 11:23 PM, said:

I guess that's not really what I mean. What I meant to say is that one can be a bad writer yet be observational and vise versa. You need both. At least in my opinion.

You could easily condense what I said earlier into "Read a lot, write a lot, observe a lot."

[ChotooMotoo]

BaronChairman, on 23 February 2012 - 06:22 PM, said:

You could easily condense what I said earlier into "Read a lot, write a lot, observe a lot."

but then she wouldn't be an English major

[BaronChairman]

ChotooMotoo, on 23 February 2012 - 06:27 PM, said:

but then she wouldn't be an English major

How do you figure? It takes english majors to boil a big, wordy statement and boil it down to a simple, bite-sized concept like that!

[EirinnMoChroi]

ChotooMotoo, on 23 February 2012 - 06:27 PM, said:

but then she wouldn't be an English major

well, gee, I don't know. What he described is exactly what I do.

Read a lot, write a lot, and observe a lot.

Except right now I'm sick to death with this incredibly cruel flu so I can't read at all. I had to crank out a really bad paper posing a question to the class about the text we are currently reading. It took me a good hour to write a one page paper, double-spaced. It's amazing what being sick will do to you.