Larkin’s Blog

It was certainly a big decision to make: to give up a well-paid full-time IT Consultant position. But that is what I will be doing this coming September as I start the MSc in Creative Writing at University of Edinburgh.

In the end it was not a difficult decision to bring my career in IT to an end (not that I rule out doing a bit in the future to make ends meet). I take my writing seriously and I would like to do it justice. For too long I was working that 40 hour week, studying 2 courses part-time, and doing part-time tutoring on the side. I was never going to have sufficient energy to devote to my writing.

Choosing Edinburgh was not difficult. I have never been there, but the city has a great reputation for art and culture, eating and drinking, and more. And the University of Edinburgh is world-renowned, achieving position 23 in the Times Top 200 World Universities ranking. That’s 26 positions higher than Trinity College, Dublin, the highest Irish-ranked university. The course, with its focus on the fiction genre and a bit of relevant literature studies thrown in is ideal. Also, the option to progress directly to their PhD in Creative Writing is enticing.

And the competition? I applied to many universities throughout the UK and have received several offers (Swansea, Portsmouth, Lincoln, Roehampton), with others requesting interviews and others still reviewing my application (including my writing portfolio, which appears to have stood up well). However, I did not need to hear back from anyone else as my decision is made.

And there it is: as of September 2009 I will consider myself a full-time writer. It will be up to myself to write and write and submit for publication… and to promote myself wherever I can to raise a profile.