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Start Writing Fiction
The Open University via FutureLearn Help
This course may be unavailable.
Discover the rituals and approaches that successful fiction writers use
On this online course, established writers – including Louis de Bernières, Patricia Duncker, Alex Garland, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Tim Pears, Michèle Roberts and Monique Roffey – will talk about how they started writing.
You’ll consider the rituals of writing and keeping a journal; learn how to develop your ideas; reflect on your own writing and editing; hear writers talk about their approach to research; and start turning events into plot.
You’ll also have the opportunity to review the work of fellow writers and receive comments on your own, learning to read as a writer and respond to feedback.
This course is intended for those with an interest in starting to write fiction or improving their fiction writing, and does not require any previous experience of studying this subject.
Please be aware that participation in this course involves reviewing work posted by other learners. You may find some material used in these stories is of an adult nature (e.g. language, sex, violence) and although captured in context, may offend. Learners on this course are instructed to place warnings at the top of their work to indicate use of such content.
Recommended for learners age 16+.
- Starting to write fiction
- Introduction
- Keeping a notebook
- Other writers
- The habit of writing
- Do it your way
- Observation and imagination
- The blank page
- Writing is editing
- Reflecting on what you have written
- Editing your work
- Writing is your training
- Building your story
- Keeping a writer's notebook
- Character and plot
- Ideas for stories
- Creating convincing characters
- Character and conflict
- Types of character
- Sources of character
- Developing and portraying characters
- Revealing characters
- Portraying characters
- Writing a first draft
- Reading as a writer
- Learning from reading
- Learning from fellow writers
- Your final story
- Sharing and reflecting on writing
- Reflecting on your own writing
- Carry on writing
Derek Neale
- united kingdom
Related Courses
Start writing fiction: characters and stories, rl stine teaches writing for young audiences, related articles, 10 best creative writing courses, massive list of mooc-based microcredentials, 100+ futurelearn courses that still offer free certificates.
4.1 rating, based on 21 Class Central reviews
4.7 rating at FutureLearn based on 929 ratings
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Start your review of Start Writing Fiction
- Clifton K. Prince 8 years ago The content looked like it would be OK to good, but I departed from this course after the second week for two reasons: First, I found it to be beginner, a much lower level than I had expected. It is geared toward encouraging the inner artist (ke… Read more The content looked like it would be OK to good, but I departed from this course after the second week for two reasons: First, I found it to be beginner, a much lower level than I had expected. It is geared toward encouraging the inner artist (keep a journal; notice the telling detail and record it; try to stick to a schedule; just do it! etc.). I had (incorrectly) anticipated instruction on how to create good beginnings (the "starts") for my works of fiction ("Start Writing Fiction" meant "Initiate a Work of Fiction Well" to me), but this course only offers (vague) instruction on how to begin a writing career ("Start Writing Fiction" means "Initiate the Act of Being an Author of Fiction" to them). My mistake ... Second, I found the discussion platform prohibitively disorganized. There are too many participants, not enough sorting out among all of us, and yet total dependence on this un-sorted mish-mash as the primary means of instruction and interaction. The web-pages of discussion offer only one page for each assignment or lecture topic. Onto this page ALL two-thousand-plus enrolled students will post one-paragraph-long responses. The responses might be useful suggestions, or other students' submitted assignments, or responses to your own submissions, or answers to question prompts, or any of a number of other stupid or smart thoughts. The responses appear one after another, seldom responding in any meaningful manner to the statements immediately before or after them. It's open-mike night at a Narcissists' convention -- each speaker arrives, grabs the microphone, says his or her pet saying, and departs, having been actively encouraged to ignore everyone else. Some good students try to seek one another out, and try to interact a bit more, so it depends on dumb luck as to whether you get a decent answer to a question, or a decent response to a submission. The discussion board has almost no search-find capability, only minimal (and hard to discern) indication of sub-threading, no function to start a new thread, no option to entitle or format comments, no tracking in order to return to certain topics or discussions except the simple "follow a person" toggle. Most of the rather simple, typical functions of nearly all competent internet bulletin boards are lacking from this discussion board. It's just, "put everybody's comments here one after another in the order they were typed and make a big list of them." I found that I could only skim what portions of the commentary happened to be at the top of the page whenever I happened to log in. Even then, if I did find something I liked or wanted to stick with, I still couldn't figure out how to involve myself in those discussions since they were rapidly eclipsed for me by newcomer statements, and therefore were eclipsed for anyone else viewing the page as well, thus preventing both sides of the conversation from finding out what was said next in their conversation. It's like trying to watch television while sitting on the remote control's "channel switch" button. The channel continuously changes no matter what you're trying to watch, on and on, most frustrating! It's a single-thread discussion with two thousand other people and no means of sorting out the conversations to which I might wish to pay heed. The technology exists (cf. "php bulletin board" duh!) for easy improvement. What's more, the main -- nay, ONLY -- method of feedback on student submissions comes via this discussion board. That makes the television-remote metaphor even worse, for it's like trying to hold a telephone conversation with a channel, while sitting on the remote and constantly switching channels, such that no matter what you're trying to watch, it continuously changes, and yet you and it were trying to respond to one another! Not just frustrating, but, to me, irresponsibly incompetent. Consequently, though I suspect that good instruction could have been had through this course, I could not find it, hidden as it was behind thousands of unsorted unrelated serial contributions. Monologues in silos, needle in haystack. Glad I didn't pay money for it. I dis-enrolled. I wouldn't want to take another course that was distributed on the same discussion platform unless the provider first significantly changed the board to more adequately allow for stringed, ongoing, mutual interactions among students. The php-bulletin-board software is free, and out there, already. Helpful
- Pat Bowden @pat 2 years ago This course takes learners through many aspects of writing such as developing characters, observing and describing details, finding inspiration, writing and editing. It includes some peer reviews which can be varying in quality. I was lucky enough to have some of my writing reviewed by a reviewer who gave very helpful and positive feedback. Helpful
- AA Anonymous 7 years ago I registered with Futurelearn on the suggestion from my wife. I've been writing for many years and thought a lightly-structured course like this might help to get back to basics. What I've found is a course that sets people up to be limited in the… Read more I registered with Futurelearn on the suggestion from my wife. I've been writing for many years and thought a lightly-structured course like this might help to get back to basics. What I've found is a course that sets people up to be limited in their writing outlook. For an 8 week course it still focuses on character creation right into its 6th week. The 7th and 8th being washy ideas on how to collaborate and give feedback to other writers. At the outset I saw the benefit of a discussion forum style approach but quickly understood that most people (including myself) where just shouting into null space as most people dont bother to provide feedback. It feels like this course lacks any real form of curricula at all. I wouldn't suggest that anyone looking to be a writer, unless you want to punch out a Mills & Boon romance that over emphasises character descriptions. Am I ever glad I'm not paying for this course. Helpful
- AM Arshia Malik 10 years ago Excellent course for beginners who feel overwhelmed by the technicalities of story telling and the nuances that go into getting a plot together. The reviews and discussions forums were amazing and the feel of the course generally enabled me to start writing my first novel. Helpful
- MC Marilyn Cule 9 years ago I'm doing this course for the second time and finding it invaluable. A writer for many years, it still gives me ideas and discoveries which I would not have pursued otherwise. This is not only thanks to the course presentation and content but to the discussions which follow each section of the course. I highly recommend it irrespective of what stage you are at as a writer. Helpful
- AA Anonymous 9 years ago Awesome class. Helped me out so much with the format and structure that story telling requires. Discussions were amazing and overall i feel it really did help me grow as a writer. Helpful
- EE Erik 6 years ago I'm sure there might be something worth gleaning from this MOOC, but after the second week I had to drop it. You get no feedback from peers, the content is watered down and doesn't really challenge me in a way to stretch myself for my goals. Helpful
- LN Leo Naves 9 years ago great one, amazing ways to do and to know. Thank you P.S: I love that and I thinking to do other, work and study forever. Helpful
- Isidora Dumitrov 4 years ago The course offerese a lots of tools for beginners, specialy on how to create a character and bit on setting. It offeres some technical knowledge too. However educators are not present at all, what was main negative. Helpful
- AA Anonymous 3 years ago A rather simple introduction to the very fundamentals of writing fiction. Hopefully, there will be more substantive information and material as the course progresses. Helpful
- AS Ardiningrum Wiratri Safira 8 years ago Helpful
- MG Maria Gramma 8 years ago Helpful
- CE Christina Engers 8 years ago Helpful
- Lloyd Wakefield 7 years ago Helpful
- RV Regina Vogl 7 years ago Helpful
- CC Cristina Cotofana 7 years ago Helpful
- AA Anonymous 9 years ago Helpful
- Olga Pligavka 9 years ago Helpful
- SS Sarath 9 years ago Helpful
- BB Brett 8 years ago Helpful
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The Purpose of this Guide
This is a guide to resources available to the OU community and beyond for those who write fiction, poetry, personal narrative, and other forms categorized as Creative Writing. It points to interviews with writers, blogs and books on the creative process, organizations for writers, and helps you browse the shelves of OU's collection.
The guide was created and is maintained by Liorah Golomb , Humanities Librarian at the University of Oklahoma. I welcome your suggestions and comments! Happy writing!
Pieter Claesz - Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill (1628). Image from ARTstor database.
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Creative writing: a workbook with readings.
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Anderson, Linda ed. (2005). Creative writing: A workbook with readings. Abingdon, UK: Routledge and The Open University.
'Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings' is a complete writing course that will jump-start your writing and guide you through your first steps towards publication. Suitable for use by students, tutors, writers’ groups or writers working alone, this book offers: * a practical and inspiring section on the creative process, showing you how to stimulate your creativity and use your memory and experience in inventive ways; * in-depth coverage of the most popular forms of writing, in extended sections on fiction, poetry and life writing, including biography and autobiography, giving you practice in all three forms so that you might discover and develop your particular strengths; * a sensible, up-to-date guide to going public, to help you to edit your work to a professional standard and to identify and approach suitable publishers; * a distinctive collection of exciting exercises, spread throughout the workbook to spark your imagination and increase your technical flexibility and control; * a substantial array of illuminating readings, bringing together extracts from contemporary and classic writings in order to demonstrate a range of techniques that you can use or adapt in your own work. 'Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings' presents a unique opportunity to benefit from the advice and experience of a team of published authors who have also taught successful writing courses at a wide range of institutions, helping large numbers of new writers to develop their talents as well as their abilities to evaluate and polish their work to professional standards. These institutions include Lancaster University and the University of East Anglia, renowned as consistent producers of published writers.
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Creative Writing
Pursue your M.A., and craft your story, with a concentration in Creative Writing
Explore Creative Writing Graduate Studies
How it works.
At the graduate level, students may choose to concentrate on creative writing within the broader areas of Rhetoric and Writing Studies (RWS) or Literature and Cultural Studies (LCS). We offer areas of concentration in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry.
For the M.A. with a creative writing emphasis, RWS and LCS students choose their seminar courses from Advanced Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry. Additionally, our Special Topics in Creative Writing offer in-depth concentrations in a variety of forms. Over the course of two years, students work one-on-one with our nationally-recognized creative writing faculty to produce a creative writing thesis comprised of publishable work in their chosen genre(s). Our creative writing faculty includes National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Honorée Fanonne Jeffers , American Book Award-winner Rilla Askew , and National Poetry Series Award-winner Jake Skeets .
How You Will Be Funded
Of course, in addition to taking an intensive array of courses, at OU you will be supported financially by teaching and learning in our in our award-winning First-Year Composition program and/or working in our world-renowned Writing Center . Many students also take advantage of unique funding opportunities including research assistantships and working in our composition office.
Explore Graduate Student Funding
What You'll Create
Graduate students work closely with their faculty advisors, selected from our award-winning creative writing faculty, to develop a thesis showcasing their work as creative writers. The MA creative writing thesis may be a novel excerpt; a collection of short stories, creative nonfiction, or poetry; or a combination of genres, resulting in projects such as:
- A collection of short fiction set primarily in Southwestern Oklahoma featuring disparate narrators as they explore and replicate the experience of the contemporary woman during stages of adolescence and young adulthood. In 2021, Rekindled won the prestigious Mark Allen Everett Southwest Award , judged by Kelli Jo Ford.
- An excerpt from an historical novel set in the late 1960s, grounded in little-known historical events in Tulsa and Norman. The novel features dual protagonists: a young, Black closeted lesbian woman recently hired on as a reporter for a Tulsa news station and a young white woman who aspires to become an anchor.
- A collection of creative nonfiction in which the author reckons with her personal history, the complexities of family and heritage, the shaping forces of environment and place, and her own disabilities and feminist worldview.
- A creative non-fiction exploration focused on overcoming trauma and managing mental illness from the perspective of a Black, multiracial man.
- A collection of linked stories focusing on themes such as family/broken family, Indigenous displacement, addiction, loss, and healing.
Join a vibrant community of creative writers. Our small seminar and pro-seminar courses offer students a close working relationship with our incredible faculty while facilitating critical creative writing workshop opportunities.
Our creative writing community works to bring writers and creators to campus, providing opportunities to learn from and make connection with folk from all stages of their professional, creative careers.
Our Faculty + Interests
Honorée fanonne jeffers.
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is an award-winning poet, essayist, and novelist. Her debut novel The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois was an Oprah Book Club selection and received the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
Professor Jeffers’ Website
Rilla Askew
Rilla Askew is known for her award-winning historical fiction and creative nonfiction. Noted titles include Prize for the Fire; a collection of essays, Most American: Notes from a Wounded Place; and her American Book Award-winning novel, Fire in Beulah.
Professor Askew’s Website
Jake Skeets
Jake Skeets is an award-winning Diné poet, novelist, and creative nonfiction writer. His debut collection of poetry, Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers, received the National Poetry Series Award, Kate Tufts Discovery Award, American Book Award, and Whiting Award.
Professor Skeets’ Website
Join our Learning Community - Applications are Due January 5
General english department application requirements.
- A sample of critical or scholarly writing , no more than 25 pages long. This may be an excerpt from a longer work, such as a senior thesis. It should, however, be clear of grading comments and should preferably be in your expressed area of concentration.
- A 1-2 page personal statement about what you’ve done in English or in related fields, why you want to study English, and, particularly, why you think the University of Oklahoma is an appropriate place for you to do it. We want to know what your scholarly interests are, and what areas of concentration you are planning to declare. If you aren’t sure yet what you plan to do in English, that’s fine, but we want to know that you have some idea of the possibilities.
- Three letters of recommendation . On your online application, you will be asked to provide emails for three references, who will be contacted by the University with a request for a letter of recommendation. Request your references to comment specifically upon (1) your qualifications as a prospective graduate student (literary/rhetorical judgment, writing ability, originality, diligence) and, if you are applying for Graduate Teaching Assistantship, (2) your qualifications as a prospective teacher (ability to organize, enthusiasm, responsibility, objectivity). If possible, referees should use the online reference system, but if they prefer, they may send hardcopy letters directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions (731 Elm Avenue, Room 318 Norman, OK 73019).
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Also, be sure to check out our English Graduate Studies FAQ .
Interested in Applying for a Graduate Degree with a Creative Writing Concentration?
To apply for the M.A. with creative writing emphasis, applicants should submit a 20-page sample of fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry with their application materials. For more information on the standard application materials, check out our general Graduate Studies page .
Apply to the OU English Graduate Program
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7 free online creative writing courses that you can enrol in right now
As a form of expression , a means to escape the reality, and a medium to communicate a larger ideology, the act of writing can serve different purposes. And no matter what your reason to put pen to paper, or keys to screen, these virtual lessons could help you develop the techniques you will require on your creative journey. Here, find out all the free online courses you can join to begin now.
Creative Writing Specialisation
Covering three major creative writing genres—short story, narrative essay and memoir—the course will help you master the techniques of putting your ideas on paper as clearly as possible. So if you’ve been meaning to work some engrossing features in your already existing plot, or better highlight the setting of your story, or simply articulate in a stronger fashion, let this lesson be on your shortlist. In case you’re just starting out, the course is equally rewarding.
Write Your First Novel
Have you been wanting to pen down your thoughts and weave them into a well-written novel? Go for this virtual course where you will learn an end-to-end approach to producing a work of fiction. Through a stepwise process that will culminate in your individual production of a 50,000-word book, the learning course will provide you all the important pointers right from the top.
Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest
Complete with video lectures, online readings, peer reviews and guest appearances from renowned authors, the course will offer an all-inclusive guide to creative writing for students and young aspirers. Apart from that, you will also explore the cultural significance of notable works , analyse the ways in which art and words interact, and become familiar with standard elements of a narrative, that include dialogue, point of view, theme, plot and so on.
Write A Feature Length Screenplay for Film or Television
Whether your point of interest is serious dramas, romantic comedies or thrillers , the free virtual course will zoom in on every aspect of screenplay writing so you’re able to pursue the genre you want. Following in a well-structured process, you will have produced a pitch-ready script by the time the four-week programme is over. Along with learning how to create a basic idea and write loglines, you will be studying the Three Act Story Arc, and much more.
Memoir and Personal Essay: Write About Yourself Specialisation
Here, four published memoirists and essayists let you in on the tricks and tools of writing about yourself. Be prepared for professional tips, prompts, reading challenges and exercises among other interactive activities. Unlike many other courses where you will be producing a large body of work at the completion of the programme, here, you will be constructing a portfolio of work to use as valuable components later.
Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop
These lessons support the school of thought that poetry isn’t just a means of expression. Rather, using it for just that, is like “using the internet just for email”. If you too are willing to think beyond that, and take up the art to bring about a change in people’s thought and ideologies, the course is for you. Learn to use the several tools of poetic composition, study the works of contemporary poets and, of course, try your own hand at the skill.
Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences
In a world that believes in not just up-skilling, but also cross-skilling, this transmedia course serves to be an extremely well-rounded one. The description on the website states, “Transmedia storytelling is the practice of designing , sharing, and participating in a cohesive story experience across multiple traditional and digital delivery platforms - for entertainment, advertising and marketing, or social change.” So learn to develop expansive narratives and optimise your writing for mobile devices, social media communities, virtual and augmented realities and more.
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Elements of Creative Writing
(3 reviews)
J.D. Schraffenberger, University of Northern Iowa
Rachel Morgan, University of Northern Iowa
Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright Year: 2023
ISBN 13: 9780915996179
Publisher: University of Northern Iowa
Language: English
Formats Available
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Learn more about reviews.
Reviewed by Colin Rafferty, Professor, University of Mary Washington on 8/2/24
Fantastically thorough. By using three different authors, one for each genre of creative writing, the textbook allows for a wider diversity of thought and theory on writing as a whole, while still providing a solid grounding in the basics of each... read more
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
Fantastically thorough. By using three different authors, one for each genre of creative writing, the textbook allows for a wider diversity of thought and theory on writing as a whole, while still providing a solid grounding in the basics of each genre. The included links to referred texts also builds in an automatic, OER-based anthology for students. Terms are not only defined clearly, but also their utility is explained--here's what assonance can actually do in a poem, rather than simply "it's repeated vowel sounds,"
Content Accuracy rating: 5
Calling the content "accurate" requires a suspension of the notion that art and writing aren't subjective; instead, it might be more useful to judge the content on the potential usefulness to students, in which case it' s quite accurate. Reading this, I often found myself nodding in agreement with the authors' suggestions for considering published work and discussing workshop material, and their prompts for generating creative writing feel full of potential. It's as error-free, if not more so, than most OER textbooks (which is to say: a few typos here and there) and a surprising number of trade publications. It's not unbiased, per se--after all, these are literary magazine editors writing the textbook and often explaining what it is about a given piece of writing that they find (or do not find) engaging and admirable--but unbiased isn't necessarily a quantity one looks for in creative writing textbooks.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 4
The thing about creative writing is that they keep making more of it, so eventually the anthology elements of this textbook will be less "look what's getting published these days" and more "look what was getting published back then," but the structure of the textbook should allow for substitution and replacement (that said, if UNI pulls funding for NAR, as too many universities are doing these days, then the bigger concern is about the archive vanishing). The more rhetorical elements of the textbook are solid, and should be useful to students and faculty for a long time.
Clarity rating: 5
Very clear, straightforward prose, and perhaps more importantly, there's a sense of each author that emerges in each section, demonstrating to students that writing, especially creative writing, comes from a person. As noted above, any technical jargon is not only explained, but also discussed, meaning that how and why one might use any particular literary technique are emphasized over simply rote memorization of terms.
Consistency rating: 4
It's consistent within each section, but the voice and approach change with each genre. This is a strength, not a weakness, and allows the textbook to avoid the one-size-fits-all approach of single-author creative writing textbooks. There are different "try this" exercises for each genre that strike me as calibrated to impress the facets of that particular genre on the student.
Modularity rating: 5
The three-part structure of the book allows teachers to start wherever they like, genre-wise. While the internal structure of each section does build upon and refer back to earlier chapters, that seems more like an advantage than a disadvantage. Honestly, there's probably enough flexibility built into the textbook that even the callbacks could be glossed over quickly enough in the classroom.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
Chapters within each genre section build upon each other, starting with basics and developing the complexity and different elements of that genre. The textbook's overall organization allows some flexibility in terms of starting with fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.
Interface rating: 4
Easy to navigate. I particularly like the way that links for the anthology work in the nonfiction section (clearly appearing at the side of the text in addition to within it) and would like to see that consistently applied throughout.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5
A few typos here and there, but you know what else generally has a few typos here and there? Expensive physical textbooks.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
The anthology covers a diverse array of authors and cultural identities, and the textbook authors are not only conscious of their importance but also discuss how those identities affect decisions that the authors might have made, even on a formal level. If you find an underrepresented group missing, it should be easy enough to supplement this textbook with a poem/essay/story.
Very excited to use this in my Intro to CW classes--unlike other OERs that I've used for the field, this one feels like it could compete with the physical textbooks head-to-head. Other textbooks have felt more like a trade-off between content and cost.
Reviewed by Jeanne Cosmos, Adjunct Faculty, Massachusetts Bay Community College on 7/7/24
Direct language and concrete examples & Case Studies. read more
Direct language and concrete examples & Case Studies.
References to literature and writers- on track.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 5
On point for support to assist writers and creative process.
Direct language and easy to read.
First person to third person. Too informal in many areas of the text.
Units are readily accessible.
Process of creative writing and prompts- scaffold areas of learning for students.
Interface rating: 5
No issues found.
The book is accurate in this regard.
Cultural Relevance rating: 4
Always could be revised and better.
Yes. Textbook font is not academic and spacing - also not academic. A bit too primary. Suggest- Times New Roman 12- point font & a space plus - Some of the language and examples too informal and the tone of lst person would be more effective if - direct and not so 'chummy' as author references his personal recollections. Not effective.
Reviewed by Robert Moreira, Lecturer III, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 3/21/24
Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama. read more
Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less
Unlike Starkey's CREATIVE WRITING: FOUR GENRES IN BRIEF, this textbook does not include a section on drama.
As far as I can tell, content is accurate, error free and unbiased.
The book is relevant and up-to-date.
The text is clear and easy to understand.
Consistency rating: 5
I would agree that the text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework.
Text is modular, yes, but I would like to see the addition of a section on dramatic writing.
Topics are presented in logical, clear fashion.
Navigation is good.
No grammatical issues that I could see.
Cultural Relevance rating: 3
I'd like to see more diverse creative writing examples.
As I stated above, textbook is good except that it does not include a section on dramatic writing.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter One: One Great Way to Write a Short Story
- Chapter Two: Plotting
- Chapter Three: Counterpointed Plotting
- Chapter Four: Show and Tell
- Chapter Five: Characterization and Method Writing
- Chapter Six: Character and Dialouge
- Chapter Seven: Setting, Stillness, and Voice
- Chapter Eight: Point of View
- Chapter Nine: Learning the Unwritten Rules
- Chapter One: A Poetry State of Mind
- Chapter Two: The Architecture of a Poem
- Chapter Three: Sound
- Chapter Four: Inspiration and Risk
- Chapter Five: Endings and Beginnings
- Chapter Six: Figurative Language
- Chapter Seven: Forms, Forms, Forms
- Chapter Eight: Go to the Image
- Chapter Nine: The Difficult Simplicity of Short Poems and Killing Darlings
Creative Nonfiction
- Chapter One: Creative Nonfiction and the Essay
- Chapter Two: Truth and Memory, Truth in Memory
- Chapter Three: Research and History
- Chapter Four: Writing Environments
- Chapter Five: Notes on Style
- Chapter Seven: Imagery and the Senses
- Chapter Eight: Writing the Body
- Chapter Nine: Forms
Back Matter
- Contributors
- North American Review Staff
Ancillary Material
- University of Northern Iowa
About the Book
This free and open access textbook introduces new writers to some basic elements of the craft of creative writing in the genres of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The authors—Rachel Morgan, Jeremy Schraffenberger, and Grant Tracey—are editors of the North American Review, the oldest and one of the most well-regarded literary magazines in the United States. They’ve selected nearly all of the readings and examples (more than 60) from writing that has appeared in NAR pages over the years. Because they had a hand in publishing these pieces originally, their perspective as editors permeates this book. As such, they hope that even seasoned writers might gain insight into the aesthetics of the magazine as they analyze and discuss some reasons this work is so remarkable—and therefore teachable. This project was supported by NAR staff and funded via the UNI Textbook Equity Mini-Grant Program.
About the Contributors
J.D. Schraffenberger is a professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of two books of poems, Saint Joe's Passion and The Waxen Poor , and co-author with Martín Espada and Lauren Schmidt of The Necessary Poetics of Atheism . His other work has appeared in Best of Brevity , Best Creative Nonfiction , Notre Dame Review , Poetry East , Prairie Schooner , and elsewhere.
Rachel Morgan is an instructor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. She is the author of the chapbook Honey & Blood , Blood & Honey . Her work is included in the anthology Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in American and has appeared in the Journal of American Medical Association , Boulevard , Prairie Schooner , and elsewhere.
Grant Tracey author of three novels in the Hayden Fuller Mysteries ; the chapbook Winsome featuring cab driver Eddie Sands; and the story collection Final Stanzas , is fiction editor of the North American Review and an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches film, modern drama, and creative writing. Nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize, he has published nearly fifty short stories and three previous collections. He has acted in over forty community theater productions and has published critical work on Samuel Fuller and James Cagney. He lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
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- Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
- One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
- You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
- For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
- MA in Creative Writing
This qualification is an opportunity to develop your skills as a writer in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and scriptwriting for film, radio and the stage. You'll be able to write in a genre of your choice and experiment with at least one other through practical and inspiring activities. You’ll work towards producing a substantial piece of your own creative writing to a professional standard. You'll also hone your practice through sharing, reading and critiquing the writing of your peers in online forums. You’ll work towards producing a substantial piece of your own creative writing to a professional standard.
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- Develop writing skills and awareness of approaches to writing
- Progress and hone sophisticated writing skills in at least one genre
- Gain a sound knowledge of, and ability in, a secondary genre
- Engage in sharing, critiquing and reviewing a variety of writing by your peers.
Study for free We’ve a limited number of scholarships available to UK students for the 2023/24 academic year. If you’re passionate about creative writing, you could be eligible for an Open Futures Scholarship. To apply, visit our Creative Writing Scholarship page. Applications close on 24 July 2023.
How to register
Select the module you will study first, read the full description, and follow the instructions to register.
To gain the 180 credits you require for this qualification, you must study the modules in the order shown below and pass part 1 before progressing to part 2:
Compulsory modules | Credits | Next start |
---|---|---|
| 60 | 05 Oct 2024 |
| 120 | 05 Oct 2024 |
Please note that MA Creative Writing part 2 (A803) is worth 120 credits. Module fees for postgraduate modules are based on the number of credits you study. Therefore the fee for this 120-credit postgraduate module will be double that for the 60-credit module MA Creative Writing part 1 (A802).
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.
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- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
If you’ve successfully completed some relevant postgraduate study elsewhere, you might be able to count it towards this qualification, reducing the number of modules you need to study. You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible, before you register for your first module. For more details and an application form, visit our Credit Transfer website.
On completion
On successful completion of the required modules you can be awarded the Master of Arts in Creative Writing, entitling you to use the letters MA (CW) (Open) after your name. You will have the opportunity of being presented at a degree ceremony.
If you leave the programme before you qualify for a degree you can qualify for a Postgraduate Certificate in Humanities (C20) after successfully completing 60 credits.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us . This description was last updated on 19 March 2024.
You must hold a UK honours degree (or equivalent), preferably with at least a 2:1 classification. Although your degree does not need to be in Creative Writing or a closely related subject, you will need some knowledge of the subject to successfully complete this qualification, as the MA in Creative Writing assumes all candidates have the knowledge and skills usually acquired by pursuing the subject at undergraduate level. Please note that this is not a qualification for those who are just starting to write creatively
If your degree is not in Creative Writing or a closely related subject, we strongly recommend that you read the preparatory work indicated on the MA Creative Writing part 1 . Alternatively, you could undertake our open-access creative writing courses on OpenLearn and FutureLearn to ensure your skills (writing, reading, editorial, reflective, analytical) are at an appropriate standard.
If you don’t have a Creative Writing degree, please also make sure that you provide evidence of your experience of writing when you apply – whether through short courses, workshops, or publications.
How long it takes
Most students study the MA in Creative Writing part-time, completing 90 credits a year over two years. Typically, this means 20–25 study hours each week.
You must complete the MA in Creative Writing within 10 years.
Career relevance
If you wish to pursue a freelance writing career this Masters degree will equip you with necessary writing and editorial skills, as well as equipping you with a raft of highly valued transferable communication and collaborative skills necessary to the modern writer’s usual portfolio of occupations.
If you are aiming for an academic career in higher education, this qualification will provide a route towards a higher level research or writing practice degree (e.g. PhD), which is essential for such a career. A Masters degree can help to enhance your career prospects as a teacher in secondary and higher education (HE); most HE creative writing teaching now demands an MA in the subject.
If your aim is to enter professions associated with the media, culture, creative or knowledge industries, or if you already have a career in one of these areas and are seeking a further qualification as a means of career development, then a Masters degree, supplemented by relevant skills and experience, can prove invaluable. This degree is pertinent to those careers that directly call upon knowledge of the craft of writing, editing and critiquing (for instance, journalism, publishing, copywriting). It may also be relevant for careers that demand skills in the creative use and analysis of texts of various sorts, critical thinking and organisation, and understanding of culture in a broad sense.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
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- Online Courses /
10 Free Creative Writing Courses Online with a Certificate
- Updated on
- Feb 6, 2024
Anyone can take creative writing courses online. These courses are meant for beginners who want to give a chance to their creative flair. After completing a creative writing course, students can find career opportunities in journalism , editorial, copywriting , blogging, advertising , proofreading, ghostwriting, screenwriting , and book writing. Most of the creative writing courses can be completed in a day or a few weeks. Moreover, they are available free of cost. The virtual lessons cover tips and tricks that can be useful in the creative journey of an individual. Keep reading to learn more about free creative writing courses online.
Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop | Best poetry workshop |
Creative Writing | Best introductory course on creative writing |
National Centre for Writing Online Courses | Several short creative writing courses |
The Craft of Storytelling | To learn the art of storytelling |
How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline | To learn how to write a novel |
Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series | Best for learning scriptwriting |
Skillshare Online Creative Writing Classes | Several creative writing courses |
Oxford Online Courses in Creative Writing | Diploma in creative writing |
Start Writing Fiction | Introductory course on fiction writing |
Free Online Creative Writing Courses | Best free creative writing courses with certificates |
This Blog Includes:
Sharpened visions: a poetry workshop, creative writing specialization, national centre for writing online courses , the craft of storytelling, how to write a novel: structure & outline, script writing: write a pilot episode for a tv or web series , skillshare online creative writing classes, oxford online courses in creative writing, start writing fiction, free online creative writing courses, top 10 free creative writing courses online.
Here is a list of the 10 free creative writing courses online. Some of these courses come with certifications and others do not. We have provided the fee details, course level, etc for your reference.
CalArts is offering one of the leading creative writing courses online. This Poetry Workshop covers a total of 6 modules in which students will learn about metaphor and other formulas of difference, abstraction, image, rhyme, rhythm, poetic lines, and revision strategies. The course is meant for beginners and can be completed within 8 hours. A certificate is available. However, payment has to be made for the same.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 8 hours |
Fees | Free (audit) |
Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website: https://www.coursera.org/learn/poetry-workshop
Check out the top universities for creative writing courses
Wesleyan University ’s Creative writing course is one of the top creative writing courses online. This is a 5 module series that consists of topics such as Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot, The Craft of Character: The Craft of Setting and Description, Craft of Style, etc. The course ends with a capstone project that students must complete. The course is meant for beginners. The drawback? The certificate is only available post-payment.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 1 month at 10 hours a week |
Fees | Free (audit) |
Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/creative-writing
The National Centre for Writing is offering one of the finest creative writing course online. All of these courses are self-paced and can be completed within a short period. Some of the free courses available on this platform are First Steps in Short Form Poetry, New Ways with Short Form Poetry, How to Write Unreliable Narrators, How to Write Young Adult Fiction: Characters and Conflicts, and Writing Science Fiction: World Building. The drawback? These courses do not come with a certificate.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | Varies |
Fees | Free |
Certification | No |
Website: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/
The University of Alaska is offering another excellent free creative writing course online. This a 4-week course that helps a student learn to tell stories that the audience wants. The curriculum includes topics such as Finding good stories, Using The “Ice Road Trucker” effect, Building the dramatic arc, Designing story structures, Strategizing delivery, ending the story, etc. The course is self-paced and its audit is available for free.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 4 weeks |
Fees | Free (audit) |
Certification | Yes (INR 9,886) |
Website: https://www.edx.org/learn/storytelling
Check Out These Book Writing Courses that Will Make Your Imagination Flow!
The University of British Columbia is offering the course ‘How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline’ The program is best for those who want to learn the fundamentals of story structure. The curriculum includes topics such as Character and World-Building, The Big Architecture: Story and Structure, Three-Act Structure and Scene Design, Troubleshooting Common Problems, and Transition to Writing. The program includes a writing assignment and a final task that students must complete.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 6 weeks |
Fees | Free |
Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website: https://www.edx.org/learn/novels/
Michigan State University is also offering a free creative writing course online. The course is best for those who want to learn scriptwriting skills for a TV or web series. A total of 5 modules are available in this course. Students will learn everything from developing a TV concept and writing the pilot episode to polishing their script. Any basic word processor is sufficient to take this course. Students will need to dedicate 1-2 hours of study, and 30+ hours of active project work.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 21 hours |
Fees | Free (audit) |
Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website: https://www.coursera.org/learn/script-writing
Skillshare is another great platform offering free creative writing course online. People can choose a creative writing class based on their interests. All of these courses are taught by experts in the field. Some of the available courses include Copywriting For Beginners: How To Write Web Copy That Sells Without Being Cheesy, Character-Driven Story Development for Your Novel or Screenplay, and Storytelling 101: Character, Conflict, Context & Craft, among others. No certificate is available after course completion.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | Varies |
Fees | 7 days of free trial |
Certification | No |
Website: https://www.skillshare.com/en/browse/creative-writing?sort=popular&page=1
Want to learn business writing skills? Read About the 7 Free Online Business Writing Courses with Certifications
The Oxford University Department of Continuing Education is offering one of the best free creative writing course online. Students can choose from a short online course in creative writing and a Diploma in Creative Writing. The short courses have live-time weekly classes. The credit earned from this course is transferable toward the Certificate of Higher Education – a part-time undergraduate course. On the other hand, the Diploma in Creative Writing can be completed in 2 years. It covers 4 areas of literary activity. For example, prose, drama, etc.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 2 years part-time (diploma) |
Fees | Free |
Certification | NA |
Website: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/online-courses-in-creative-writing
The Open University Start Writing Fiction course is a free creative writing course online. The program is meant for those who want to learn the strategies for writing fiction. The curriculum includes topics such as character development, setting, and genre. This is an introductory course that requires 12 hours of study. A certificate of participation is available post-completion of the course.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 12 hours of study |
Fees | Free |
Certification | Yes |
Website: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/creative-writing/start-writing-fiction/
Alison is one of the top websites offering free creative writing course online. These courses are meant for beginners and can be completed in a few hours. Some of the creative writing courses available on this platform include Understanding Poetry Writing, How to Write and Publish a Novel, Creative Nonfiction Writing, Screenwriting, and Writing for Young Readers. The course comes with free certifications.
Level | Beginner |
Duration | 2-5 hours per course |
Fees | Free |
Certification | Yes |
Website: https://alison.com/tag/creative-writing
Related Articles:
The British Council is offering a course called ‘Creative Writing for Adults – Module I’. This course is completely online and can be completed within 9 weeks. A B2 English level is needed to take this course. The fee is INR 10,000.
There are several free writing courses for beginners. For example, Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop by CalArts, and Wesleyan University’s Creative Writing course. Alison also offers several free writing courses for beginners.
Harvard University only offers 1 free online creative writing course. This is called the ‘Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking’. This is an introductory course that requires the student to dedicate 2 – 3 hours per week. The course audit is free.
Hope this blog provides you with all the important details, for more information about such courses, visit our online courses page .
Blessy George
Blessy George is a Content Marketing Associate at Leverage Edu, boasting over a year of experience in the industry. Her expertise lies in crafting compelling content tailored to online courses, making her a go-to source for those navigating the vast landscape of digital learning. In addition to online classes, she writes content related to study abroad, English test preparation and visas. She has completed her MA degree in Political Science and has gained valuable experience as an intern.She is known for her extensive writing on various aspects of international education, garnering recognition for her insights and contributions. Apart from her professional pursuits, Blessy is passionate about creative writing, particularly poetry and songwriting.
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Stanford Online
The creative habit: cultivate a daily writing practice.
CSP-XCW19WA
Stanford Continuing Studies
Creativity comes naturally to us from childhood, but “real life” often gets in the way, with critical voices and practical concerns suppressing the impulse to put our ideas on paper and make art. Even if you can barely remember the last time you wrote anything beyond an email, a text, or a grocery list, the seeds of creativity are still deep inside you and need only a little coaxing to flourish again. Writing just a little every day takes away the anxiety of the blank page and makes you more observant, more in touch with your creativity, and as a result, happier and more fulfilled. Every weekday, for five weeks, you will receive a prompt, from which you should freewrite for 30 to 60 minutes (or whatever you can spare). Weekends will be off, with optional short prompts for those wishing to sustain momentum. The daily prompts will encourage you to try creative nonfiction, fiction, and simple poetic forms. You may always approach a prompt from a different genre or angle. This course is for those who want to write without inhibition and have fun without an evaluative component. You may submit one 500-word piece each week for gentle instructor feedback, if you wish, and you may post your writing in a thread to give and receive peer feedback. We will forge a creative community and find the quality of heightened awareness that comes from using creative writing as a way of being more present in the world.
Malena Watrous Writing Certificate Lead and Creative Writing Coordinator, Stanford Continuing Studies
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Creative Writing: Track 1
The tracks on this album offer an invaluable insight into a wide range of techniques and practices surrounding Creative Writing. Writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Ian McMillan and Tanika Gupta talk openly about their approaches and attitudes to all aspects of writing from original concept to final drafts and productions. Writing for stage, print, television and radio is discussed in engaging and articulate detail. This material forms part of The Open University course A363 Advanced creative writing.
Track 1: Tanika Gupta on Voice
Prolific author Tanika Gupta talks about stagecraft, highlighting the importance of voice and comic idiom in her writing.
- Read a transcript of this track - you'll need a PDF viewer, such as Adobe's free Adobe Reader
- Download this track from iTunes - you'll need Apple's free iTunes software
- See details of the Open University course this album comes from
- Discover more from The Open University and iTunesU at open.edu/itunes
Tracks in this podcast:
Track | Title | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Prolific author Tanika Gupta talks about stagecraft, highlighting the importance of voice and comic idiom in her writing. | |
2 | Playwright Helen Blakeman sees setting as integral to a play’s success and highlights the supporting importance of factors such as structure and voice. | |
3 | Playwriting master Alan Ayckbourn reveals how he develops and connects ideas for his plays, and the meticulous process of structuring and ‘building’ a script. | |
4 | Ayckbourn's approach to redrafting and rewriting scripts, and how dramatic ideas and twists emerge. | |
5 | Alan Ayckbourn's work as a director, and how this informs his writing. The economy of playwriting, and the writer’s awareness of the limitations of the stage. | |
6 | Drawing on his intimate knowledge of the theatre, Alan Ayckbourn offers an insight into the varius methods of staging, drawing a link between his own work and theatre in the round. | |
7 | Renowned writer David Edgar discusses his ideas on Aristotle’s unities, linking this to ways of adapting existing works. | |
8 | Novelist and playwright Jane Rogers talks about the transition of one of her novels, Mr. Wroe’s Virgins, into a four part television series. | |
9 | Jane Rogers talks about her work as a novelist, and the methods of storytelling and voice she employs. She brings together various forms and approaches, such as the use of cinematic editing techniques, in her novels | |
10 | Jane Rogers talks about her work in terms of viewing herself as a contemporary novelist. She draws links to literary greats, and techniques like 'the unreliable narrator'. | |
11 | Dorothy Sheridan, director of the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex, talks about the archive in terms of a research tool and a repository of unique material. | |
12 | Author Liz Jensen talks about her novels and how they develop in terms of storyline, plot, character and voice, How she often rejects planning in favour of a more organic approach to her work. | |
13 | Novelist Liz Jensen talks about narrative viewpoints, and their benefits and shortcomings in terms of storytelling. | |
14 | Poet and presenter Ian McMillan takes a light-hearted look at the use of repetition in his poems. | |
15 | Ian McMillan talks about the importance and use of surrealism in his poetry. | |
16 | Hilary Mantel talks about the importance and influence television and film have had on her development as a writer. The paragraph as the basic building block of fiction, and how this can generate a successful narrative. | |
17 | Hilary Mantel uses examples and a reading from her own novel Vacant Possession, to examine the use of rhetoric and rhythm, and how they can seed ideas in a reader and build up the relationship between reader and text. |
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- Originally published: Monday, 10 November 2008
- Body text - Content : Copyright The Open University 2008
- Audio/Video tracks: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 The Open University 2008
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Discover these free English Literature and Creative Writing courses on OpenLearn.
This free course, Start writing fiction, will give you an insight into how authors create their characters and setting s. You will also be able to look at the different genre s for fiction. If you identify as being from a Black background, you could be eligible to study our MA in Creative Writing for free.
This free course, Creative writing and critical reading, explores the importance of reading as part of a creative writer's development at the postgraduate level. You will gain inspiration and ideas from examining other writers' methods, as well as enhancing your critical reading skills. Examples will cover the genres of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and scriptwriting.
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This Practical module helps Develop your Creative Writing in genres such as Fiction, Poetry, Biography, Autobiography or Travel Writing.
Introduction to creative writing Introduction to creative writing teaches you skills central to three of the main forms of creative writing: poetry, fiction and scriptwriting. Throughout this online short course, you'll learn methods for appealing to the senses, strategies for building characters, and ways to create compelling dialogue.
This is a guide to resources available to the OU community and beyond for those who write fiction, poetry, personal narrative, and other forms categorized as Creative Writing. It points to interviews with writers, blogs and books on the creative process, organizations for writers, and helps you browse the shelves of OU's collection.
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Abstract. 'Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings' is a complete writing course that will jump-start your writing and guide you through your first steps towards publication. Suitable for use by students, tutors, writers' groups or writers working alone, this book offers: * a practical and inspiring section on the creative process, showing ...
Additionally, our Special Topics in Creative Writing offer in-depth concentrations in a variety of forms. Over the course of two years, students work one-on-one with our nationally-recognized creative writing faculty to produce a creative writing thesis comprised of publishable work in their chosen genre(s).
All modules in Creative Writing Learn to write fiction, poetry, biographies and drama for the stage, radio and film. Or start with being inspired by literature from Shakepeare through to present day writers.
Offered by Wesleyan University. Covering three major creative writing genres—short story, narrative essay and memoir—the course will help you master the techniques of putting your ideas on paper as clearly as possible. So if you've been meaning to work some engrossing features in your already existing plot, or better highlight the setting ...
This free and open access textbook introduces new writers to some basic elements of the craft of creative writing in the genres of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The authors—Rachel Morgan, Jeremy Schraffenberger, and Grant Tracey—are editors of the North American Review, the oldest and one of the most well-regarded literary magazines in the United States. They've selected ...
This free course, Creative writing and critical reading, explores the importance of reading as part of a creative writer's development at the postgraduate (MA) level. You will gain inspiration and ideas from examining other writers' methods, as well as enhancing your critical reading skills. A diverse range of examples will cover the genres ...
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This free course, Writing what you know, will help you to develop your perception of the world about you and enable you to see the familiar things in everyday life in a new light. You will also learn how authors use their own personal histories to form the basis of their work.
These MOOC-Packs are deliverable online creative writing courses, ready to use out-of-the-box, available immediately, for all teachers and students who need to transition to online courses. A MOOC-Pack provides a MOOC's core content, packaged with a how-to guide and extra instructional materials. Using a MOOC-Pack, anyone can lead a writing class or a study group.
MA in Creative Writing. Course code: F71. This qualification is an opportunity to develop your skills as a writer in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and scriptwriting for film, radio and the stage. You'll be able to write in a genre of your choice and experiment with at least one other through practical and inspiring activities.
Learn free creative writing course online and can start writing fiction, poetry, or journalism or improve your written English by learning creative writing.
MA in Creative Writing. This qualification is an exciting opportunity to develop your skills as a writer in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and scriptwriting for film, radio and the stage. You will be able to write in a genre of your choice and experiment with at least one other through practical and inspiring activities.
The daily prompts will encourage you to try creative nonfiction, fiction, and simple poetic forms. You may always approach a prompt from a different genre or angle. This course is for those who want to write without inhibition and have fun without an evaluative component.
Creative Writing: Track 1. The tracks on this album offer an invaluable insight into a wide range of techniques and practices surrounding Creative Writing. Writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Ian McMillan and Tanika Gupta talk openly about their approaches and attitudes to all aspects of writing from original concept to final drafts and ...