Practicing Creative Writing module (EN22007)

This module helps you build a ‘writer's toolkit’ in a broad and open sense that is also accessible, even if you haven’t studied creative writing before.

You will develop and deepen your engagement with writing methods in a range of forms and genres, including the important skills of editing and responding critically to your peers’ work.

You will have a chance to work with prose (fiction and non-fiction), poetry, and/or drama, and we’re excited to press against the boundaries of these categories with you.

What you will learn

In the module, you will:

• learn tools and techniques to make you a better writer, including thinking about dialogue, word order, writing from your own experience, and extra-linguistic effects (e.g. punctuation, pauses, and the space between words)
• do weekly writing exercises to get you started thinking creatively and experimenting with different forms of writing
• give and get constructive feedback from your lecturers and peers

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• create a substantial portfolio of new writing in a form of your choosing
• edit and refine your work, taking on board feedback from a range of perspectives
• write critically and reflectively about your own writing practice, and situate this practice alongside other literary and cultural works

Assignments / assessment

• creative portfolio (60%)
• writer's manifesto 800 words (30%)
• workshop submission (10%)

This module does not have a final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

• lectures
• guided writing exercises
• invited guest speakers (professional writers and creative practitioners)
• writing workshops