If you want to write, write. I've got novels to my name. They're web published and I'm fulfilled. You can do the same. I recommend avoiding grad school in english for the simple reason that it teaches you to have peer approved opinions of writing, not writing itself. It will make you INSUFFERABLE. The kind of person who turns up their nose at Gibson, Banks, or Bear. Reading the good stuff, then writing your own, and sharing in a decent writing group where people will provide useful criticism is key. I've been in one of those groups for a decade on Usenet. Its where I met Desu. Grad school for english is like walking school for athletes. What's the point?
Never worry about getting the approval of those insufferable idiots in publishing. They're buggy whips: obsolete. Write for yourself, and if you can swing it, a general audience. If you want to write literary scifi and need some examples, try reading some good examples. I recommend "Neuromancer" by William Gibson to start with. That's an excellent example right there. Excellent use of language. Next up is Iain Banks, probably "Consider Phlebas" would be a good start, but most of his Scifi is very well written. Then write a short story of your own, go for 20 pages. Write it first, complete with errors till you fill out the story. Then edit it later. Editing is less important. People who focus on spelling errors need to get laid more often, imho.

Key thing is write if you want to be a writer. If you need to understand people better, get a part time job where you meet lots of different people and study them. Its not so uncommon to find a waitress who writes after hours. I know one. She's my editor, the only editor I know who's worth a damn. Anyway, write. Grad school is for sissies.