Creative writing: Intermediate

Duration: 10 weeks

Price: £190

Suitable for: those with some writing experience

Course start dates:

  • TBC
  • TBC

Introduction

This course is for those people who have written already and have some understanding of the process. It may be that you want new stimulus or to re-cap on certain topics such as dialogue or characterisation. This course includes tutor feedback on your work, an online conference, and an online forum; all useful ways to connect with your tutor and other writers on the course.

Course overview

Over 10 weeks we’ll look at:

  • Characterisation – strong characters, dialogue and its uses
  • Framework - plot, story structure - exploring beginning, middle and end
  • Rooting the work, setting strong scenes; creating pace and mood
  • The writer’s voice and points of view

There are up to 3 exercises each week. A warm-up to get your fingers moving and a main exercise that uses video, audio and photographs as prompts.

Specific topics are developed. For example, dialogue. You’ll explore how it can be used to help move plot forward, create immediacy and strengthen characterisation. Most weeks there is a 3rd short exercise which consolidates the subject we’ve covered.

You’re encouraged to submit up to 1000 words fortnightly, based on any section of the session. You may wish to use your feedback slot for ongoing work. Your tutor will provide you with approximately 500 words of written feedback the following week. Feel free to add 2 or 3 short questions for your tutor to address when reading your piece. Feedback highlights the strengths and possible alterations to consider. At week 5 you’re invited to participate in a live conference with tutor and other course members, where coursework may be shared and discussed. Please note that the deadline for the tutor to receive your work is always by noon on Sunday.

Weekly topics

Week one reintroduces the magpie’s box. Using a collection of images and sound extracts as inspiration, this session aims to prompt looking closely at our surroundings and people.
How your characters express themselves has a great effect on the tone of your story. This session looks at how characters express themselves and how that can serve your story.
Description can make or break a piece, depending on quality and quantity. The exercises in this session look at creating balance by concentrating on what serves the story.
This session covers a broad range of issues which can problematic for writers. You will explore practices that help identify problems.
While plot is what happens in your story, the structure is how you order what happens. You will explore ways to control pace, create hooks and keep a consistent hold on the storyline.
Structuring work might include flashback, dialogue and changing points of view. The exercises address ways to structure your work and pose questions (hooks) to keep your reader’s attention.
You’ll want to transport your reader into the world you’ve created. This means rooting the fiction in ‘real life’ and placing them there. This week are about creating an authentic world.
Dialogue is an adaptable tool to establish characters, move plot forward, work with flashback and inject immediacy; personality and air into stories. Audio examples are used in this session.
The end of a story can be positive, negative or somewhere in between. In all cases, even in that of a cliff-hanger, you need to control the work so that the reader is sure you know what you’re doing.
Reworking your writing is an essential part of improving and spotting problematic areas which can let the work down. For this session you’ll need lots of coloured highlighters. It’s time for scrutiny…

Price: £190

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About

Write It Now provides online creative writing courses designed to help you develop your imagination, confidence and skills as a writer of fiction. The courses include online conferences, a forum and personalised tutor feedback.

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