MLitt Module

EN52025: Creating Writing

Module Organiser: Kirsty Gunn

Credits: 40

“Creating Writing” aims to develop your creative writing and can be continued, if you wish, into “EN51016” and then as the basis for a Dissertation in Creative Writing.

So, in many respects, it is the core element of our writing programme at Dundee, establishing key writing practices and approaches that are designed to explore your creativity and help you to discover the sort of creative project for which you are most suited.

The programme will be delivered in a combination of practical workshops, seminars and individual tutorials.

Teaching

The Module is taught in three four-hour writing practice workshops, three twohour “Wordcraft” seminars, two individual one-hour tutorials and a Final remarks session at the end of Semester.

Kirsty Gunn teaches prose and Jim Stewart teaches poetry. An actor from the Dundee Repertory Theatre is invited to come and address the students on issues of voice, rhythm and cadence in writing – whether or not one is writing for the stage. All sessions combine practical exercises with a consideration of written texts and the sharing of work is encouraged in read-through times in class, as well as through our Writing Buddy system and Literary Salon series.

The Workshops will lay down the foundations of practical writing – so that you may produce a regular body of work over the weeks to come – while the “Wordcraft” seminars are designed to have you pay attention to some of the key features of poetry, whether or not you are a poet. Finally, the individual tutorials allow for the close scrutiny of your creative skills and encourage developing imaginative reach and range – so you may have a new and exciting perspective on your creative work.

Timetable

The basic timetable is as follows:

Week One:
Workshop: Introduction to New Writing Practice (4 hours)

Week Two:
“Wordcraft” Seminar: Why Rhythm Matters (2 hours)

Week Three:
Workshop: Accessing Creativity (4 hours)
Literary Salon at the DCA

Week Four:
“Wordcraft” Seminar: Where Images Come From (2 hours)

Week Five:
Workshop: Keeping Writing “Live” (4 hours)

Week Six:
Writing time – no class^*

Week Seven:
Individual Tutorials (one hour)
Literary Salon at the dca

Week Eight:
Writing time – no class^*

Week Nine:
Individual Tutorials (one hour)

Week Ten:
Writing time – no class^*
Literary Salon – student led

Week Eleven:
“Wordcraft” Seminar : “Sound Worlds”

Week Twelve:
Final remarks

* nb when no classes are scheduled, students are expected to meet with their Writing Buddies and/or the group to appraise their work and develop exercises set in Workshops.

Assessment

Work throughout the Semester is geared towards identifying and developing your own distinctive writer’s voice and themes, and by the end of the Semester you will be more comfortable and proficient at describing these than you were at the outset.

To this end, assessment comprises both submission of the creative work and an essay describing your journey towards creating that work – and breaks down as follows:

To be submitted at the end of Semester:

One unified working draft manuscript (a sheaf of poems, short story/stories, extract of a novel, non fiction etc) up to a limit of 6,000 words (80%)
One critical essay reflecting on how that work sits in the context of other writing and work undertaken in Semester One. Total 2,500 words (20%)