At 02:40 PM 12/12/2004 -0800, Steve Brust wrote: >If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't take creative writing in >college (which I didn't anyway), but I would take a whole lot of >history. But that's just me. In addition to all the fun that comes from learning interesting tidbits about history, which can always be reused in creative writing, I'd also recommend looking at schools with good history programs. History classes won't teach you how to write dialogue, develop characters, or build dramatic structure, but they will get you used to pumping out 20 page papers like clockwork. Since many writers say that the only way to learn how to write well is to do a lot of writing, history classes make for an excellent starting point, as well as forcing you to learn how to write clearly and with well thought out arguments (a skill that will prove useful in many career paths). There are lots of schools with good history programs, but I'll throw in a plug for my alma mater, Brandeis University. In addition to having one of the top ranked American History programs, Brandeis also has an excellent Medieval and Renaissance studies program (which can be appealing to aspiring fantasy writers). Charley Sumner Brandeis '91 "In my fantasy world, we have pie." Satchel Pooch from Get Fuzzy