no wait, don't panic!

there is a diverse and talented group of writers visiting this site, and i have always wondered how education plays into genre...

some of you are still in the education loop as i type (and extremely good considering your life experience & ages).

does a preference for a particular course of study push you in a direction - and does specific knowledge have an undeniable effect on your choice of topic?

isaac asimov could never have written marooned off vesta without some scientific knowledge rolling around in his noodle - in fact, i'd guess he could not even have conceived the story.

i had adhd before the term was invented, so i can tell you that i am an official scatterbrain... my preferred courses of study were: english (lit), biology, physics, chemistry & history.

hmm... i guess that's everything isn't it...

spent 4 years in army rotc, followed by 4 years in the Marine Corps...

i would guess that's why i can't seem to settle down on just one genre...

who's next?

Well I prefer to learn about history and science... mostly history. I write mostly science fiction, but some of them have roots in historical events.

As for my education it is mostly history or english related, with an emphasis on non-american cultures. America's history is shallow compared to Europe or Africa or Asia, to me anyways.

Well, in the two years, I have learned a lot. Especially in my Biology II and World History/Geography. And I am still learning.

Helps me right out more realistic and plausible deaths for my characters, and selecting settings for the story to take place.

In my opinion, the works of others have greatly impacted me in what I right about and by reading or watching some of their material, I know a good amount about different subjects. Arthur C. Clark, Stephen King, S.D. Perry, Khoto Hirano, to name a few.

I think personality drives one to choose a genre, not educational background.

Education sure helps, though, if you're a hard sci-fi writer like Asimov, or any other sort of genre writer, for that matter.

I'm totally bummed that school happened again this year.

Ze Queen

i love to write, but i hate school so much! I'm usually not in it, though, (usually suspended). I like to learn science and history, though. English is my best class. (Oh, God, I can't even think how many times i got in trouble for the content in the stories i have to turn in for homework, lol)

english was my favorite - although you wouldn't be able to tell judging by my technical skills...