MA/MFA in Creative Writing to PhD in English

[chellyfish_]

Hey all! (I went back a couple pages to see if there was a topic like this and didn't see something, but hopefully I'm not being redundant.)

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for transitioning from a Creative Writing MA/MFA into a PhD program in English.  Mine happens to be an MA, but consisted mostly of workshops and Craft of Fiction workshops, with me just peeping over occasionally into the English department to take Masters level classes.  My BA was technically English, but done on a Creative Writing track and not a Literary Crit/Theory track.  So while I know I must have been admitted for some reason, I'm feeling major imposter's syndrome.  I never got English-oriented support in either my BA or MA, so have no conference/publishing/manuscript study/etc experience or background. (I know. I KNOW.)

Does anyone have any advice for transitioning over from a heavily creative writing background to an English-intensive one?  I'm mostly nervous about being worlds behind my peers, and someone realizing they've made a terrible mistake (even though UCR obviously got all my transcripts, resume, and detailed background etc, and so knows my academic history).  I'm interested in literally any advice you have.  Know someone who went through a similar transition, did so yourself, or just have thoughts on it?  Book/anthology/theory/criticism recs that are fundamentals I should know about?  Anything you can think of! (Perhaps this will be valuable for other non-creative writers who are feeling underprepared as well, I hope.)

THANK YOU! 

[M(allthevowels)H]

This is almost exactly what I did! My BA was a creative writing emphasis, and my masters was an MFA with a fiction concentration. I haven't started yet either so I can't speak to how the actual transition will go. But to quell the impostor syndrome for my upcoming school visits I've been arming myself with reading. I'm finishing up Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters because at one of my visits I'll be attending a seminar on a similar topic. I hope to have this book on antebellum posthumanism finished before I have to sit down with the person who wrote it. I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS NECESSARY! Impostor syndrome is just lying whispers, and if you can just ignore them, do that instead. I'm just saying this has helped me reassure myself that I am on slightly more level footing. I'll also likely be making use of the theory recommendations in the Summer Reading thread for the same purpose.

[rrk686]

I'm doing this, too. Frankly, I think we have to come to terms with the fact that everyone, including people coming in with MA's, has gaps in their knowledge. I mean, why would we be going to school if we knew everything? The professors I spoke to at the program I'll be attending said that reading  a lot is helpful, but they also said that it could be useful to find out what's important to scholars currently working in your field. Take a look at recent issues of important journals, etc. They also said it could be worth learning to code, with Panther or R perhaps, to give yourself a skill that could be used in a "digital humanities" way. 

I will (try to) do both of those things myself, but I'm also keeping in mind that I have at least three years of coursework before I'm expected to have a dissertation topic, which seems like plenty of time. 

I think, also, as an MFA grad, it is fundamentally important to keep in mind what it is that you're doing. A PhD is a professional degree. It's training in how to be a scholar, mainly. That means it's important to keep in mind that you are now learning a trade different from creative writing (though not unrelated). That is, you are learning to do research and write in order to engage in the conversations that are important to other scholars in your field. I think if you keep that in mind,  your goal becomes clearer and you may not feel the need to go out and read a million books this summer necessarily. That said, I personally found The Craft of Research, edited by Wayne C. Booth, to be an incredibly useful introduction to what it means to do research writing, which is what our work as scholars basically is. I read this a couple of years ago, but I may go over it again and refresh myself.

Edited March 9, 2018 by RK092089

[superfluouswoman]

Looks like I found my tribe. I'm also freaking out about gaps in my knowledge. Though my BA is in comp lit, I feel like that was forever ago and the last three years of my life have been consumed by creative work. It feels like it might be a daunting task to make the switch. My MFA did have a few classes that were a little more academic but our final papers were always creative. I'll definitely check out some of the books you recommended!

[Melvillage_Idiot]

I did a Creative Writing minor as an undergrad, and while my MA was scholarly, about half my courses were CW and all my extracurricular time went to the university press, so while I'm not in exactly the same boat as you guys, I definitely feel this. My big worry was that even though I ultimately ended up doing scholarship, all those creative excursions would come back and do me harm...somehow.

Something I've really realized here lately (and this forum has been a big help with this) is that, like @M(allthevowels)H said, Imposter Syndrome is just lying to yourself. You got this! We all got this!