Lesson Structure:   Creative Writing BWR103

There are 10 lessons:

1  Introduction

• What is creative writing
• What’s different about creative writing
• Information and creativity
• Creative genres
• Forms of Writing
• Form
• Structure
• Purpose
• Creative Writing resources
• What is needed for success
• The business of writing
• Getting published
• Self publishing
• Vanity publishing
• Terminology.

2  Basic Creative Writing Skills

• Words and their proper use
• Types of language
• Informative language
• Persuasive language
• Imaginative language
• Literal language
• Figurative language
• Formal language
• Colloquial language
• Parts of language (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, plurals, possessive nouns & pronouns, gender, adjectives, articles)
• Common grammatical errors (fragmented sentences, run on sentences, comma splices, dangling modifiers).
• Run on sentences
• Irregular verbs
• Whom or who
• Pronouns and Antecedents
• Punctuation
• Creating and critiquing
• Generating ideas
• Developing ideas
• Narrative theory
• Storyline
• Narrative structure
• Settings or scenes
• Mood or atmosphere
• Time
• Voice
• Point of view
• Creative reading.

3  Using Consise Clear Language

• Slice of life fiction
• Conciseness and Succinctness
• Understanding ambiguity
• Causes of ambiguity
• Doubt and ambiguity
• Hinge points and ambiguity
• Defamiliarisation.

4  Planning What You Write

• Writing routine
• Establishing a theme
• Organising ideas
• Paragraphing
• Writing a synopsis
• Titles
• Developing objectives.

5  Writing Fiction

• Elements
• Clues
• Signs
• Common errors
• Scope or Range
• Theme problems
• Authenticity problems
• Tone problems

6  Writing Non-fiction

• Creative non fiction
• Scope
• Developing ideas
• Narration
• Story line
• Deduction
• Induction
• Classical Development
• Chronological development
• Analogy
• Cause and effect
• Classification
• Comparison and contrast
• Definition
• Analysis
• Developing a profile
• Interviews.

7  Newspaper Writing

• What to write
• Scope
• News values
• Writing guidelines
• Regular columns
• Fillers

8  Writing for Magazines

• Scope of magazine writing
• What publishers want
• Magazine articles
• Travel writing
• Writing for public relations
• Selling your work.

9  Writing Books

• Themes
• Consistency
• Believability
• Variety
• Getting started
• Getting a contract
• Book publishing
• Non fiction books
• Fact finding

10 Special Project

• Organising a portfolio to sell yourself

Learning Goals:  Creative Writing BWR103

• Describe elements and forms of creative writing.
• Develop skills that will help you generate, evaluate and communicate ideas. Discuss the functions of clear writing, and the art of revealing and concealing in writing.
• Establish theme and structure as planning tools.
• Identify and discuss various forms of fiction writing and publishing opportunities.
• Analyse different non-fiction genres to determine key elements and strategies.
• Analyse different forms of creative writing commonly found in newspapers.
• Analyse magazine articles to determine what makes a good feature article.
• Discuss the main elements of book writing, including theme, organisation, and weaving different narrative threads into a unified whole.
• Prepare a portfolio of creative writing ready for submission and of future ideas.

Practicals:

• Analyse three texts to identify their genres, describe their layout, and any key elements;
• Locate a vanity publisher and a well-known publisher and obtain information on their submitting requirements;
• Write part of a newspaper feature article in 3 different ways, using 3 different types of language to create different impressions;
• Critique a piece of your own writing (250 words or more), noting its good points, its weaknesses;
• Develop one short scene for three different storylines, letting the setting, characters, dialogue and action show what is happening, what might have gone before, and what might follow;
• Make notes on two authors’ uses of concealing and revealing (transparency and ambiguity), and analyse their effectiveness in each case;
• Describe a place or person in your life from two completely different perspectives;
• Rewrite an assignment in a different voice;
• Use defamiliarisation to make a common object appear mysterious, or dangerous, or alien;
• Discuss the organisation of texts, considering why the authors might have organised their texts this way, and discuss how the structures contribute to the overall effectiveness of the text;
• Write a first draft in 3 hours, without editing;
• Edit the draft for structure, clarity, flow of ideas, content, mood, voice etc.;
• Edit 3 items of your writing (include one short story) for clarity and succinctness; explain your changes;
• Research likely publishers for one of your stories and submit it;
• Construct outlines of fiction stories using the first and last sentences of published works;
• Conceive different non-fiction writing projects for specific publishers, and explain your choices;
• Write three outlines for non-fiction pieces, modelled on the outlines of your three creative writing readings;
• Interview someone in preparation for writing a profile on that person. Explain why you think that person might be of interest to others.

Learn how to write fiction and non-fiction for profit or pleasure. Learn how to structure magazine or newspaper articles, short stories, books and more. Polish up your grammar skills with our concise, easy to follow study method. Receive constructive guidance every step of the way from professional journalists and writers.

HOW TO ESTABLISH A THEME

Every piece of writing, no matter whether it is a novel or a business letter, should have a dominant theme or underlying idea. In a business letter and in technical writing, the theme should be immediately obvious and clear and should be stated.

In a piece of creative writing, it might be gradually revealed through the development of the work and may only be fully apprehended by the reader at the very end. Nevertheless, the theme should be present from the beginning and should exist as a unifying thread through every chapter or paragraph.

Every piece of the writing should, in some way, relate to that theme. It is what unifies a piece of writing and lets it stand alone as a meaningful expression.

The theme of a creative piece may never be directly stated. For instance, the underlying theme of Boris Pasternak’s Dr Zhivago is personal integrity, being true to one’s self in thought and action.

This is never stated, but is exhibited in the behaviour of the main characters, each of whom draws upon hard-won inner truth for the strength and courage to maintain integrity in a vicious, chaotic, and seemingly unprincipled world.

In a novel, we often find that a theme branches out into several sub-themes. Because of its length, the novel allows for this kind of interweaving of themes and ideas.

So, in Dr. Zhivago, there is plenty of room for developing a critique of the rise of Communism, of war and aggression in general, of different kinds of power, and of love. But these must and do return in some way to the dominant theme, to enrich our understanding and experience of that dominant idea.

In comparison, the short story or poem might focus entirely on one theme, though even then, there are usually subtle or even overt references to other ideas and themes, for no one idea or experience is self-sufficient, but inevitably relates to and rests on other ideas and experiences.

We can develop themes any means, and often through a variety of means, such as:

• thoughts and speech of characters
• actions of characters
• contrasting societies or generations within a society
• identifying shared values and experiences between groups or generations
• ways to dealing with and coping with the environment
• symbolic use of landscape and nature
• repetition of ideas in different forms
• repeated symbols or cultural items
• contrast of values.

One way to plan your writing is to establish a central theme, then consider how to develop it, and how to display its complexity and facets through different sub-themes. Ask yourself, “What do I want to say?” Then ask yourself over and over, “What else do I have to say about that?” This constant meditation on a theme can yield a rich trove of ideas.

To understand how themes are developed, read several short stories and novels that you really like. Notice how the theme is introduced, and how it is developed. Also, do some exercises with free association.

This process requires you to simply observe what thoughts, images, memories, people, events etc. come into your mind when you focus on an idea. For instance, let us say that you are thinking to write on the theme of personal responsibility. Rather than trying to consciously develop that theme at first, just jot down every image or word than comes into your head.

Everybody will come up with a completely different and personal collection of items, for no two of us have lived the same life or experience it in the same way. The results of a free-association exercise like this can give you the seeds with which to ‘grow’ and express your theme.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

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Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
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Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

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Qualifications

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A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

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A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.