Weekly workshop-seminar sessions will engage students in identifying and exploring the basic principles of successfully writing and reading prose fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Class discussion time will be given over to topics such as dialogue, character development, point of view, and structure. A reading list of contemporary prose fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction texts will be used as the basis for discussions and as example technique texts and as the springboard for in-depth critical analysis.

During workshop-seminars, students will engage in peer assessment, providing oral and written critiques of classmates’ creative writing (submitted on a rotating basis). Weekly tutorials (rota basis)  will also be provided to allow for further detailed, personal critique and ongoing development of an individual student’s creative writing and practice.
Students will also work as part of an editorial team, alongside the module tutor, to produce a group publication, featuring creative writing work by all group members.

The module aims to:

Teach the basic principles of writing prose fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction using a mixture of reading, writing, peer appraisal and group project work.

Provide students with an opportunity to gain experience of critiquing, reviewing and appraising written work, from creative and critical analysis perspectives, applied in both individual and group-focused settings.

Enable students to gain greater proficiency and abilities in intensive, in-depth and extensive creative writing and reading.

Extend a student’s capacity for creative and critical self-reflection and further develop a student’s aptitude and abilities in independent analysis, judgement, critical evaluation and thought, in conjunction with progressing redrafting, revision, research and note-taking skills.

Develop team work, time management and project management skills.

By the end of the module, students will have developed their creative writing skills, increased their technical writing abilities and gained a better understanding of the creative process. They will gain proficiency in analysing and discussing the work and writing of others, and learn how to more effectively communicate concrete ideas, abstract concepts and information using the written word, as well as other media forms.

Through engaging with the Core reading materials via their own reading and writing practice, alongside the workshop-seminar teachings, they will develop a deeper understanding of, and ability to discuss, the key elements of different forms of creative writing, such as issues of genre, point of view, narrative structure, and technical features.