For the last two years, I have been working towards an MA in Creative Writing with the Open University, as I discussed in this space in October 2024. That post was written shortly after I submitted my End of Module Assessment (EMA), a 15,000 word project which in my case was three chapters of my work-in-progress memoir. At the end of my reflections, I said this:
Pass or fail, the last two years have been a tremendous experience. I’ve worked with a massively talented group of writers, for whom anything is possible. I’ve learned about myself and made myself vulnerable. I’ve learned so much.
Of course, it is easy to say that before the result comes through. Do I still feel that way now the module results have been announced? Well, let me share a quote from the feedback I received which described my work as follows:
“A very engaging piece of writing with an interesting and relevant topic that conveys its message well.”
Other comments described my EMA as “laugh out loud funny” and “clever and immediately interesting”, so I’m delighted to report I have Passed with Merit.
I scored 77% for the project, which suggests that there were some areas where I could have improved. So, what were they?
Well, attempting to analyse my life whilst also explaining why being autistic informed my (mis)adventures was always going to be a challenge. I mostly managed it quite well but not always according to the examiner; “[the text] is at times a little clunky how the text moves from adventures/experiences to explaining”.
They also felt the middle chapter, which discussed my working life, “could be pulled in more as a section to save it from becoming slightly baggy so as to makes it as narratively tense as the earlier sections”. Which is fair enough; that part was the least fun to write so it makes sense that it is might be the weakest section of my EMA.
The course has been a catalyst for change
Looking back at the pieces I have written, the reading habits I have formed and even the type of posts I publish on this website, every element of the creative process has evolved over the last two years. I suppose that’s the point; I wanted to develop my craft and test myself. Studying with the Open University wasn’t the only test I faced along the way. Being hospitalised for nearly a fortnight, transitioning out of full-time employment to become an unpaid carer and autistic burnout all challenged me along the way.
Then, during the EMA, our fourth child was born, This should have been a moment of enormous joy, but the whole experience was incredibly stressful. Our daughter’s first few days were spent in NICU and the emergency surgery required to bring her in to the world left my wife ill. At that point, I seriously thought about deferring my final assessment for a year but we pulled together as a family. Mother and baby are doing well and the results I have achieved in my studies speaks for itself.
So, now what?
Now that I have obtained an MA in Creative Writing, the obvious next step is to keep writing. I have a memoir to finish for a start! I am also enjoying making better use of my blog, particularly now my work has pivoted away from football and is focussed on more personal topics, such as my experiences as a late-diagnosed autistic parent. I am learning about myself and my neurotype every day. If writing about this new knowledge helps me to continue my development as a writer whilst also providing comfort and support to just one person, then every minute of the study programme I have just completed will have been worthwhile.