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| Courses for Writers
By Richard Grayling We are slowly building a list of courses for both fiction and non-fiction writing. A course will only be added here once we have tried it personally or comes highly recommended by someone we know. There are no affiliate links on this page so we are not making money out of any of these courses - therefore, you can be assured our views are unbiased.
 Open University (UK)
Having done one of the OU's courses personally I can thoroughly recommend them for content, workload and the professionalism of the tutors. The OU currently have a few courses on offer for Fiction writers - below are details of two of them. OU A174: Start Writing Fiction
Details of course Cost: £145 Duration: 10 weeks This course is written by a novelist and is supported by an audio CD containing interviews with several novelists talking about their own inspirations and methods. The course consists of five blocks.
Setting out will show you how to keep a notebook as a seed-bed of ideas, how to discover 'your kind of writing', and to learn by doing. It will encourage you to read as a writer, learning techniques, 'tricks', and solutions from other writers.
Genre and subject-matter identifies the many different genres and cross-genres in fiction-writing and also suggests possibilities for finding your themes.
Plot, narrative, and time defines the difference between plot and story and looks at the impact of different time-frames on your stories.
Point of view helps you decide who is telling your story; to whom; and with what degree of reliability (how much does your teller know, and are they telling the truth?)
Beginnings explores and gets you to practise ways of 'hooking' the reader at the outset of your stories. "I thought the course was brilliant. All the materials were provided in advance, the tutor was fantastic and immensely helpful, and the course was divided in to five clear blocks. I'd definitely recommend this course to anyone looking to build confidence in their writing skills or improve their writing technique." Sammi Hide OU A215: Creative Writing
Details of course Cost: £550
Duration: 1 academic year
Course content: Creative writing process which allows you to develop and acquire new skills and a polished approach to your writing. We study fiction writing, poetry, life writing and quite importantly going public (all those tips which can help you avoid the pitfalls of publishing life).
Also successful completion can work towards a Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing. The course is structured around five parts. The introductory part, The Creative Process, focuses on how to become a writer by developing good writerly habits. It examines a range of strategies including clustering, morning pages, and keeping a writer’s notebook, as well as statements from writers about their own approaches and practices. Part 2, Writing Fiction, introduces the main aspects of narrative including story structure and genre; showing and telling; character; point of view; and place and time. In Part 3, Writing Poetry, the role and function of poetry are discussed, demystifying the image of poets as romantic geniuses or as wilfully obscure. The main formal strategies and poetic devices are introduced, including lines; line breaks; enjambment; rhyme and half-rhyme; varieties of metre; stanzas; and forms. Part 4, Life Writing, looks at biography, autobiography, travel writing and autobiographical fiction. Some of the central issues raised by life writing are discussed, including the nature of memory and forgetting, the performance of the self, and the representation of others. There are suggestions for finding subject matter, with an emphasis on the importance of childhood, early memory and symbols. The final part, Going Public, outlines the requirement for professional presentation of manuscripts. You will be encouraged to build up an understanding of audience and market.
"I have found that the confidence gained on my previous distance learning course (Introduction to Writing) has helped with this as it is quite demanding both of time and imagination. Though it is not compulsory. I have a great tutor who seems on the ball and approachable. His feedback is comtemporary and encouraging. Having the on-line support of an active tutor group is good for feedback and alleviating the feelings that writing can be a lonely world sometimes". Reb Bearn
 Blue Ocean Publishing/Cambridge Blue
Blue Ocean Publishing offers two courses for serious writers, Proof Reading and Copy Editing. Both are distance learning courses. Distance learning Proof Reading course details
The course includes the following aspects: How proof reading fits in the publishing process
What proof reading is and isn’t
British standard proof correction symbols and how to use them
Common mistakes to look out for
Checking edited copy and marking up
Checking proofs and marking up
Making checklists
Training yourself
Getting work
Pricing:
For a fee of £100, 3 marked assignments are included with the above.
For a fee of £130, 6 marked assignments are included with the above.
A certificate is awarded on completion of the course.
Distance learning Copy Editing course details
The course includes the following aspects
The role of the copy editor
British standard copy editing marks
Working to house style
Content editing
Marking up
Grammar and punctuation
Structural issues
Layout and style
Artbriefs and photobriefs
Tables and figures
Cutting and expanding texts
Notes, references and end matter
For a fee of £250, 6 marked assignments are included with the above.
A certificate is awarded on completion of the course.
For more details please go to the following site: http://www.blueoceanpublishing.biz
Tell them we sent you! Creative Writing - Children's Books and Stories
Helen Edwards 16th November 2007
Led by Margaret Nash - in assoc with Milton Keynes Council The Course
A one-day workshop on Creative Writing – Children’s Books and Stories, led by Margaret Nash, a successful children’s author.
The course covered, amongst other things, character, description, dialogue, plot and presentation. Picture books and young adult fiction were looked at in detail.
Verdict
It was encouraging to be with like-minded people in a creative environment. It was a small and intimate group, which meant that it wasn’t quite so scary when I had to read my work aloud. Even so, it was tough sharing my work and hearing (constructive) criticism face-to-face. That said, reading your work aloud, if only to yourself at first, helps you to hear what works and what doesn’t work.
It was also difficult having to write to order. We were set a variety of writing exercises, and given a certain amount of time in which to complete them. It kept us focussed, however, and it was surprising what work we produced.
Overall, I enjoyed this course and found it useful. Here are some tips I picked up along the way:
General
• Do your market research. You need to get your target age group right. Browse the children’s department in your local library and in bookshops. Read as many children’s books as you can. Make a note of why you liked or disliked a particular book, and what you think worked well. Speak to children you know, and think back to your own childhood and what you enjoyed reading. You could also seek advice from primary school teachers and children’s librarians.
• Character is everything; you need to like your character and want him / her to succeed. If you don’t, how can you expect children to?
• The third person omniscient viewpoint is a popular choice when writing for children.
• Description should appeal to the senses. Use the best verb you can, and try to be original; avoid clichés.
• Show don’t tell.
• Tighten your writing. Make every word count.
• Avoid ending with, ‘It was a dream,’ or similar.
• Don’t patronise children, or moralise to them.
Picture Books
• You need to think in pictures. Each page will move the plot along and will have an accompanying illustration. You do not need to draw the pictures yourself; notes will be sufficient.
• Your beginning needs to grab your young reader’s attention immediately. Research introductions in popular picture books.
• Text in a picture book works well if it has rhythm. Rhyme is not required, unless you’re very good at it.
This course was run by Milton Keynes Council, see: http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/adulteducation/home.asp
Writing Course: Novel In A Month by: Dan Strauss As with most “struggling authors”, we seem to have stumbling blocks that keep us separated from what we love the most; writing. It can be writer’s block, which in my case; this article didn’t find its way to paper until I could get my mind unblocked. Then, there are numerous daily activities, family, work, and deadlines to meet, all of which interfere with our writing. So, how do we overcome these issues? When can we see the results of our hard work in writing and then in print? I started with a writing coach. I received bits and pieces of feedback on one or two literary works, but that wasn’t satisfying my urge to get my novel completed. I am a subscriber to writer’s digest, a complete and up to date website that has a wealth of information regarding agents, writing tips, and writing courses. After reviewing a few different courses, I chose Novel in a Month, by Dan Strauss. If you’re the type of person that needs to stay focused, accountable, and organized, this is the course for you. First, let me clarify that you must be committed. The steps in this course require consistent follow-through and a strong desire to see your literary prose in final form. As it states by the title, if you stick with it, your novel can be written in just 30 days. Secondly, this course helps keep you stay focused and on track. Getting your ideas and thoughts organized is one of the pitfalls authors find themselves in during the writing process. I found the step by step (week by week) guide helped me tremendously. Dan as filled this course with exercises, ideas, advice, and straight forward instructions on how to complete your novel. Are you still interested? This course comes in a CD .pdf format, which is easy to read and sort through. It is copyright protected and requires a password each time you log in. This protects anyone else from being able to use it, if for some unlucky reason, it is lost or stolen. I feel really great about that. There is also a help center that you can email questions about the course, instructions to get started, or even resend your password if it got lost in your spam folder. I might suggest writing it down in a safe place as soon as you get the introduction email with your order confirmation. To top it off, Dan has a few bonus files included with the course. Ever wonder how to get free publicity or even celebrity endorsements? Has research for an agent been eating up your writing time? Yes, he has added a list of the best agents in the US and UK and gives great insight to the process of marketing your novel. He also has tips on fine tuning your fiction and working through dialogue. There are other downloadable items within this course to help you along the way. His main focus, however, is for you to write, write, and keep writing. Ok, if that hasn’t enticed you to buy this course, then I suggest you consider another great aspect of this CD. For whatever reasons you just can’t find the time to write or you’re stuck in the fold of your own ideas, rest assured, the information will never go out of style or become obsolete. It’s there for you whenever you want to get started. Enjoy the journey to writing success. There is nothing more rewarding than a completed project and seeing it finally in print.
Good luck writers!
Tonya
If you have any courses you feel would benefit Struggling Authors then please contact us with details and we will review thoroughly before posting | |
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