Stage one
You will study these modules:
Creative Practice: Introduction
This module introduces you to a key element in the practice of creative writing at university: the writing workshop. You will gain confidence in presenting your own work for criticism and will develop skills in providing your own thoughts and feedback on the work of other students in a supportive and creative environment. You will use drafts from set exercises in group discussion - small groups, whole class and one-to-one consultations with your tutor - in order to refine and present your writing in a portfolio of original creative work.
Creative Practice: Poetry, Prose and Life Writing
You will further develop your analytical and reading skills, and work on an extended piece of writing to include in your portfolio. You will be encouraged to exploit the potential of the workshop environment to present and discuss your own writing, receive feedback and develop collaborative, creative and critical relationships with other student writers. The module also requires close reading of student texts and extracts from published work, the development of a critical and creative vocabulary and an awareness of forms and structures.
And you’ll choose from these modules:
Focus on: Representation - looking at some key areas of language use and at creative writing from a writer’s point of view, with a particular emphasis on language awareness and the constraints and limitations of writing.
Writer´s Toolbox: Introduction - exploring issues relating to the writing craft, the internet and creative writing, task management and deadlines, research skills, elements of style, reading to a purpose, and evaluating sources creatively and analytically.
Stage two
You will study these modules:
Creative Practice: Writing Processes
You will focus on the processes of writing and produce original quality work in a variety of forms, including life-writing, poetry and prose. You will address the processes which are most useful for writers to be creative and to produce work of a high standard. You will also work on important areas such as theme, form and voice.
Creative Practice: Product and Placement
This module looks at writing as product. You will produce a piece of work - such as a poem, short story or non-fiction piece - to contribute to a group anthology of students’ work. You will be working collaboratively in a team to develop a printed or on-line magazine, taking on roles such as editor and designer.
And you’ll choose from these modules:
Writer´s Toolbox: Research and Investigation - a closer look at research in the creative process: as preparation for writing, as investigation for commission proposals pitched to editors and agents, or as part of funding applications.
Focus on: Narration - charting the historical development of narratives from the earliest known examples and from orality to literacy, including a reappraisal of the traditional fairy tale, an examination of early myth, and an analysis of Greek tragedy and comedy.
Focus on: Short Fiction - a practical workshop module which will introduce you to the writing, genre and history of short fictions and help you to find a voice and develop a personal style.
Focus on: Poetry - drawing on examples from published literature to prompt classroom debate and inspire your own original poetry which you will refine through group discussion and one-to-one consultations with your tutor.
Stage three
You will study this module:
Creative Practice: Professional Development
You will work on developing your creative writing to a professional standard, including creating your own poetry and prose. You will also branch out into related work, such as writing reviews, and writing for different markets and in different formats. Important writers such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf will be used in your creative writing exercises.
And you’ll choose from these modules:
Independent Study in Creative Writing - an opportunity for you to work independently on a portfolio of original work in any written form.
Focus on: Writing and Responsibility - a bridge to the world of the professional writer by preparing you for the moral, ethical and cultural issues of the writing life.
Focus on: Genre Fiction - helping you to extend your range of writing, to understand the challenges of achieving publication, and to develop presentation skills to a professional level.
Writer´s Toolbox: The Written World - questioning how the world we live in is constructed through writing, and the relationship between word and image in the ‘digital age’.