Writing as a Creative Process 

Overview 

Inspiration often seems to strike by accident, so this course looks at ways to make you more accident prone. It also looks at ways to help those accidents evolve into finished pieces of writing.

With the help of writers past and present, we’ll look at the creative process and how to nourish it, how to generate material, how to develop, deepen and expand your ideas, and how to create a writing structure and environment that works for you. In the process, you’ll write a short story and keep a process journal.   
  
The course is suitable for beginners who might be trying to write creatively for the first time and for more experienced writers who are keen to develop new techniques and improve their writing skills further. This online learning course enables you to study from home and participate in an online community of other students learning about creative writing. The module is delivered through Blackboard, our online learning environment.

Programme

Activities and tasks will be embedded into each unit so students can practise the techniques they have learned and develop their skills. Students will be encouraged to share their own work and participate in discussions on Blackboard. Alongside the learning materials on Blackboard the tutor will be on hand via email to answer any queries and provide guidance throughout the course. They will also participate in the online discussions.    

• Unit 1 - Introduction. 
• Unit 2 - The Place of Creativity.  
• Unit 3 - Where does a writer get their ideas from?  
• Unit 4 - Fairy tales.   
• Unit 5 - Place and Character.
• Unit 6 - Structure and Plot.
  
• Unit 7 - The Reader.  
• Unit 8 - Drafting and Editing.   

 Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:   

1. Demonstrate and understanding of the various approaches to the creative process and the philosophies that underpin them.      
2. Apply, and experiment, with different creative methods to generate various writings.  
3. Demonstrate an ability to edit own work, including structure, together with an associated understanding of the editing process as vital to the production of creative texts.   
4. Critically reflective on their own creative process and outputs, and that of others.  

Assessments 

1. Written piece of creative fiction (1200 words; 60% of the overall mark).  
2. Critical reflective commentary (800 words; 40% of the overall mark).   

Reading Suggestions 

Reading suggestions will be offered throughout the course. 

Entry Requirements 

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements. 

What Do I Need? 

As this is an online course, you would need the following: 

• Internet access.
• Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also be of benefit.
• Use of the Chrome web-browser where possible.