Yo, Author, You Using That Higher Ed?

This Week's Topic:

What aspects of my formal education do I actually use as a writer?

Does daydreaming during lectures count? No? Well then, believe it or not, I use more of my Master's of International Commerce & Policy than I do my Bachelor's of English with a focus in Creative Writing.

Wait, wut? Yup, you read that correctly. If you're a regular reader of the blog, you've endured my opinions on the uselessness of higher ed in creative writing and being a novelist.  

How do my studies in International Commerce & Policy (MAICP) show up in my work? World-building and political intrigue. Wanna know how to knee-cap a neighboring government without using an army? MAICP. Want to understand how an international governing body makes laws to satisfy the masses but can neither implement nor enforce those laws? MAICP. Baking loopholes into trade contracts to exploit them and ruin an industry/economy/gov't party? MAICP. Need to implement an external conflict of man-made famine? MAICP supplies cause and cure! Want organizations bullying each other into submission? MAICP for the blueprint! How about creating a villain who uses the tactics of US lobbyists to screw over the protags? Say it with me, everyone, MAICP!

When it comes to the economics and policies of running or destroying an empire, MAICP is there for me. 

Quite possibly not the endorsement expected by the Alumni Association. 😇