Novel Writing For Beginners

 

 

Next Start Date: 7th February 2016
Delivery: Online
Tutor: Cherry Mosteshar and various (see our team of editors for some of those who will contribute to the course)

Duration: 11 Weeks
Price: £579

 

 

What you can expect:

 

No matter what genre you want to write in, Creative Writing for Beginners will help you with the skills you need to begin writing.

Throughout the course you will receive weekly activities covering topics that include creating believable characters; perfecting your plot; choosing the best point of view; writing interesting and exciting description; getting the dialogue right and creating a convincing voice and setting.

Each week you will be sent written guidance from our team of published authors as well as video talks featuring writers from all genres who share their expert knowledge about writing, getting published and promoting your work.

Every student will have a dedicated tutor who will provide you with advice, support and feedback and will be available to answer any questions.

 

The Course Structure:

 

Week 1: What do I what to write?

 

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback, one-to-one advice via email.

You will be given exercises that will help you assess your writing and establish what it is you want to say. No matter what genre you write in (and we will help you discover that too), knowing what you want to say and what you want to achieve by being a writer is essential. We will help you discover whether you want to write to highlight an issue, become famous, make money or change the world. No matter what, we will help you discover your inner writer.

 

Week 2: Plot

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback.

 

Learn about and experiment with plot development. Week two is all about developing a story line, planning your story arc, and deciding on the characters that will play out your story.

 

Week 3 and 4: Character

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback, video.

 

Who are your main characters, what do they want and how do you get them to become real? Once they are real to you, how do you translate then that onto the written page? We will help you get inside the world of your character and know them inside out. Who are your minor characters and how do they fit into the world you have created? We will also help you explore how your characters are linked to your plot and how they drive the story forward.

 

Week 5: Point of view

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback.

 

Through whose eyes are you telling the story? This is one of the most important decisions you have to make when writing, and it is perhaps the most difficult decision you will make. Exercises will help you explore if you want to write in the first person or through a third person narrator. From one character’s point of view or from more than one character’s point of view.

 

Week 6: Description

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback, one-to-one advice via email

 

We look at how to present the world of your story and its occupants and help you craft this world so it is original and fresh. Many readers say they skip the descriptions, but if done correctly they will see your world without even realising you have stepped away from the plot.

 

Week 7: Dialogue

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback, video

 

If your characters don’t sound authentic they will not connect to the reader and you will never pull your audience into the world of your book. We will help you learn the principles of writing believable and engrossing dialogue.

 

Week 8 and 9: Voice

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback, video

 

Explore how to give your narrators lively, persuasive and diverse voices. Revise your decisions on characters and look at their voice within the story.

 

Week 10: Setting

 

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback

A strong setting is almost a character in its own right and it should have a soul that grounds the story. We will show you how to reflect different moods, how to change and influence people and events through setting alone. Here you will learn how to present a dynamic world within which the characters interact and struggle.

 

Week 11: Assignment

 

Method: Written material, exercises with feedback, one-to-one advice via email

Put what you have learnt into practice by writing an extended piece of fiction.

 

COURSE READING LIST:

 

To be a great writer you need to be a great reader. You will get a reading list of books that best reflect the lessons in the course.

If you are in doubt please contact us through our Contact Us page or telephone us on 01865 238066/01865 358737 for more information

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