How to Become a Writer in Massachusetts with a BFA, MFA or Similar Creative Writing Degree

Written by Alex Dorian

townhouses in boston

The mid-19th century was a literary golden age in Massachusetts. It almost seems fateful that Louisa May Alcott’s father would join a club with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Maybe it wasn’t coincidence that Alcott’s family sold their Hillside homestead to Nathaniel Hawthorne, who astutely observed how “families are always rising and falling in America.”

To speak of Massachusetts’ literary scene is to speak of formative connections. After all, how could Alcott not become the writer she was after having grown up around Emerson, Thoreau, and Theodore Parker? Today, the Bay State is not dissimilar. It’s a weird effect: You’ll meet a stranger in Cambridge who played soccer with your cousin in high school. Maybe it’s the consequence of living in a compact state. In any case, it’s definitely a great place to start your career as a writer.

George V. Higgins: The Lawyer-Turned-Writer Who Captured Massachusetts’ Criminal Class

Everyone’s heard of “Little Women” and “The Scarlet Letter.” Chances are you even read them in high school. But have you heard of “Cogan’s Trade”? What about “The Friends of Eddie Coyle”?

Assuming you grew up in the Commonwealth, you may have seen one of these titles floating on your grandfather’s bookshelf next to a collection of Michael Connolly or Dennis Lehane titles. Maybe it’s beaten with overuse or collecting dust. That’s the effect Higgins has on you: You’re either pulled in and can’t let go, or you drop the story after the first four pages.

If nothing else, Higgins took a unique approach. About 90 percent of his prose is dialogue. That’s not an exaggeration. In stark contrast to Thoreau’s rich descriptions of the natural world, Higgins told you where you were in Boston as if he were giving you a set of directions. Then, he left it up to his characters to drive the story.

And these characters were largely based on the people he used to prosecute or represent in the courtroom. He worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts, and then opened up his private practice in the 1970s.

With those experiences, he decided to capture Massachusetts’ mob scene as it was: unglamorous and straightforward. Reading “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” isn’t like reading “The Godfather.” It’s as if you’re observing what happens to the dime-store hood you went to high school with 10 years ago. There’s no compound reminiscent of Sicily: just a seedy dive where someone got shot last week, but the world didn’t stop. The glam ubiquitous in “Goodfellas” is nonexistent in Higgins’ stories. Probably because, for the men in Massachusetts’ criminal underworld, such glamour was absent.

You can’t characterize Massachusetts as rich or poor; educated or uneducated. It’s a mix of both. It’s what makes being a writer in this state exciting. You could have a beer with a bioengineer and a hairdresser in the same bar. This environment allows you, the writer, to tap into all sorts of different people for inspiration. And that kind of experience with people will serve you well in your creative writing degree program, whether eating a brutal critique of your work or wrapping yourself in the warmth of praise from your fellow writing students.

Massachusetts’ Creative Writing Classes, Courses, and Workshops Can Prepare You for a Creative Writing Degree

Before pursuing a BFA or MFA, or other similar degree in creative writing, you should tap into the opportunities Boston, Worcester, and other cities throughout the state offer to aspiring writers. Like we said, maybe that involves going to a bar in a different neighborhood every night. That new friend could make for a character in your story.

What about when you want to get pen to paper? For some, getting the words down is easier among fellow working writers. Here are a few places you could park your laptop and get to work:

What about local writing groups? These circles will prepare you for a degree in creative writing in that they cultivate your ability to provide and accept constructive criticism. Exercise this part of your brain, and you’ll be worlds ahead of your classmates. 

One such group is the To Tell a Tale Writers’ Group in Worcester. Limited to 10 spots, the group meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month. It’s a great way to meet new writers and receive honest feedback on your work.

Then there’s the Mission Hill Writers Guild in Boston. It’s a non-exclusive club that meets every week at The Tavern of Tales in Mission Hill from 12:00 to 2:15. You can write and chat about your work. It’s a pretty informal assembly, which makes for some great literary critique.

Writing Colleges in Massachusetts Offering Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Creative Writing Provide a Path to Becoming a Writer

After getting your feet wet in the Massachusetts’ writing community, you can pursue a creative writing degree. The state’s known for its prestigious universities. Some would argue there’s no other place to receive a higher education.

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Other Bachelor’s Degrees in Creative Writing in Massachusetts

Bard College at Simon’s Rock

DIVISION OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

bard college at simon's rock

Brandeis University

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

brandeis university

College of the Holy Cross

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

college of the holy cross

Emerson College

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BFA

Private School

emerson college

Hampshire College

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

Lesley University

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

lesley university

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

massachusetts institute of technology - mit

Salem State University

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Public School

salem state university

Simmons University

DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE AND WRITING

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

simmons university

Suffolk University

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Bachelor – BA

Private School

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Other Master’s Degrees in Creative Writing in Massachusetts

Bay Path University

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Master – MFA

Private School

bay path university

Boston University

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Master – MFA

Private School

Emerson College

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Master – MFA

Private School

Harvard University

HARVARD EXTENSION SCHOOL, HARVARD DIVISION OF CE

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Master – MFA

Private School

harvard university

Lesley University

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Master – MFA

Private School

lesley university

University of Massachusetts-Amherst

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND FINE ARTS

Accreditation: NECHE

Degree: Master – MFA

Public School

university of massachusetts amherst
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