Creative Writing for Beginners

Whether you want to write an intense crime novel, a glorious fantasy adventure or an achingly tragic romance, The Writers’ Academy’s Creative Writing for Beginners course can help equip you with all the literary tools to start writing your own fiction.

The course is run entirely online: there are no live lectures or tutorials, or set times to log in, meaning you have the flexibility to study wherever and whenever best suits you.

 

 

Next Start Date 22nd January 2018
Delivery Online
Tutors Barbara Henderson and Guy Mankowski
Duration 10 weeks – 5-10 hours per week
Price £499 – You can make a payment in full, or in two monthly instalments
Future Course Dates 2018 12th March, 7th May

 

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Weekly Activities

A professionally prepared series of weekly activities will guide you through essential topics including Character, Plot, Point of View, Description, Dialogue, Voice and Setting.

Inspiring Content

Written content from established Penguin Random House Editors and informative videos featuring accomplished authors, including Robert Goddard, will provide you with expert knowledge.

Experienced Tutors

During the course, a qualified Tutor will provide you with guidance, support and individual feedback and will be available to answer any questions that you may have as you progress.

Weekly Overview

Week 1: Character

Learn about and experiment with character development.

Week 2: Plot

Explore how Character and Plot are inextricably linked, and how a character’s actions and reactions drive a story.

Week 3: Point of view

Who is telling your story has a crucial effect on the reader’s experience of it. Experiment with writing in the first person or the third person, or from one character’s point of view or that of several characters.

Week 4: Description

Reflect on how to present the world of your story and its inhabitants in an exciting and emotionally rich manner.

Week 5: Character Revisited

Revisit the relationships between your characters and how they interact with each other. These interactions allow you to further develop your characters, and thus allow the reader to learn more about them.

Week 6: Dialogue

Learn the principles of writing plausible yet engaging dialogue.

Week 7: Voice

Explore how to give your narrators lively, compelling and diverse voices.

Week 8: Setting

Master how to present a dynamic world within which the characters interact and struggle.

Week 9: Beginnings

Discover how to start a novel, and what should be revealed, hinted at or withheld.

Week 10: Extended Assignment

Put what you have learnt so far into practice by writing an extended piece of fiction.

Course Features

The Perfect Introduction

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the techniques involved in the process of creative writing, equipping you with the skills required to begin writing your own fiction.

Expert Insights

Get exclusive access to insider writing tips and invaluable industry knowledge from bestselling authors, such as Audrey Niffenegger and Chuck Palahniuk.

Exclusive Content

Engage with subject experts by accessing weekly editor’s content, author videos and much more, to discover how professional writers and editors tackle typical writing problems.

Q&A Sessions

Pose questions to selected authors and editors and discover how they approach topics such as Description, Dialogue and Setting.

Weekly Podcast

Listen to weekly podcast introductions outlining all aspects of creative writing from author Henry Sutton.

Exclusive Discounts

All our writers receive an exclusive 40% discount on all Penguin Random House books, plus 25% off all ProWritingAid Premium licenses.

Contributors

Chuck Palahniuk
Fight Club
Audrey Niffenegger
The Time Traveler's Wife
Gillian Green
Publishing Director, Ebury Fiction
Jocasta Hamilton
Publishing Director, Hutchinson
Harriet Allan
Fiction Publisher, Random House New Zealand
Sarah Rigby
Senior Editor, Hutchinson
Becky Hardie
Deputy Publishing Director, Chatto & Windus
Meru Gokhale
Editorial Director, Vintage Books, Random House India
S. J. Watson
Before I Go to Sleep
Jane Casey
The Missing
Rowan Coleman
Dearest Rose
Robert Goddard
Long Time Coming
Jane Lawson
Fiction Editorial Director, Doubleday
Helen Dunmore
Talking to the Dead
Henry Sutton
My Criminal World
Alison Hennessey
Senior Crime Editor, Harvill Secker

READY TO GET STARTED?