Join a 2nd Year group on the Creative Writing Programme 2023-2024
Currently we have places on:
The Creative Writing Programme (in-person) Monday mornings, 10am – 12.30pm
The Creative Writing Programme (blended) Monday evenings, 6.30pm – 9pm
(One year. One morning a week for 25 weeks per year)
We often have one or two places available on our 2nd year groups on the Creative Writing Programme and the Creative Non-Fiction Programme. You would be joining a group of writers who have already spent a year working together developing their work. If you have experience of working in writing groups or short courses at university level and have just started working on a novel, a collection of short stories or a work of historical or autobiographical storytelling, these courses will help you focus and develop your work in progress.
Overview of the Creative Writing Programme 2nd Year
In the 2nd year of the Creative Writing Programme you will learn about characterisation, dialogue and the ‘world of the story’, plot and story structure and you will explore the complex and dynamic relationship between your characters, your story and your reader. Throughout the year you will explore further aspects of narrative construction, including managing and researching longer narratives, ways of heightening tension and conflict and story resolution. You will be encouraged to read as a writer and will be shown ways in which you can develop and hone your critical and editing skills. In the writing workshops you will share, discuss and evaluate your work with the other writers in your writing group.
By the end the year you will have significantly increased your understanding of how to write good fiction, have developed a substantial body of work and have either finished your writing project or be in a position to bring it to completion.
The courses are delivered through weekly seminars in which you will develop your writing technique through practical exercises, readings, discussion of published work and group discussions led by your tutor on different aspects of the writing process. The courses are supported by an interactive learning site where you will have access to notes and summaries of seminars and exercises and a Writer’s Forum in which you can post your work, read the work of other writers in your group, share information about events and contact your tutor.
Over the course of the year as well as your classes, critical feedback from your tutor and one-to-one tutorials, you will have the option to attend occasional Weekend Schools and, at the end of the year, to discuss any finished manuscripts you have with a publishing professional.
The second year of the Creative Writing Programme can either be taken as a blended learning or an online course
What these courses will do for you
These courses will develop your confidence and ability as a writer. Through discussion and experimentation, in practical work guided by your tutor, you will learn how to improve the quality of your writing; develop your creative and critical skills; organise and manage your work and develop a strong individual style.
These are ideal courses for writers who are working on a novel, a collection of short stories or a challenging piece of prose and are looking for structure, encouragement and feedback to help them achieve this.
Jess’s perspective
‘I’d been secretly writing short stories for years but lacked the confidence to show anyone else my work. The creative writing programme is ideal for developing confidence – it’s a combination of giving and receiving feedback from peers, great tutors with fantastic writing exercises, knowledge of theory, technique, and the publishing industry. My tutor, encouraged me to send off stories in the first term, and as a result I ended up with seven short stories in print in different publications. By the end of the programme I had almost completed my novel Snake Ropes. Through the Agents and Publishers Day on the programme I met an agent who liked my work. I now have a two-book deal with Sceptre and Snake Ropes was published in May of this year.
If I’d been asked a couple of months before starting the course if I’d ever feel able to write a novel, I’d have said no. Doing the Creative Writing Programme really helped me to realise my potential.
Jess Richards, author of ‘Snake Ropes’ and ‘Cooking with Bones’
Courses
Course three: Story Structure
Autumn Term
10 weekly writing seminars (Autumn Term), individual tutorial and Weekend School (Optional – December).
In this course you will explore a number of ‘classic’ plots and different approaches to narrative structure and consider the ways they can be utilised within different genres. You will consider the key turning points in the structure of a story; the importance of beginnings, middles and endings and transitional scenes in narrative; further ways of generating tension and conflict to create narrative drive and hold your reader’s attention; ways of focusing and connecting your writing to increase coherence and resonance and ways of managing the writing process so the narrative arc you create fully realises the story’s potential. You will also continue to make progress on your writing project and will give and receive criticism of your own and other’s work in progress. At the end of this term, you will submit work to your tutor for a written critical appraisal and will have a tutorial with them in January 2022.
Course four: Writing Workshops
Spring and Summer Terms
15 weekly writing seminars, plus Publishing Day (Optional – end of May)
This part of the course is designed to offer you further insights into writing technique especially in the drafting and re-drafting of texts. It will focus on the structural editing of key scenes as well as developing your editing skills and appreciation of sentence and paragraph construction. In the second part of the course, the writing workshops, you will focus your attention on critical appraisal of the writing process, both on the level of prose and the level of story. In this final part of the programme there will be a series of writing workshops in which longer pieces of work, written by you and other writers in your group, will be read and discussed. At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to discuss your work and possible pathways to publication with visiting publishing professionals and will submit a final long piece of work to your tutor for written critical feedback.
Overview of The Creative Non-Fiction Programme 2nd Year
In the second year of the Creative Non-Fiction programme the focus shifts from shorter scenes to longer narratives: you will delve into the meaning of memory and imagination; explore complex matters of form and authenticity; develop your understanding of life writing structure, and gain further insights into language, technique and style.
Throughout the course you will continue to explore aspects of character and setting, learning to negotiate memory and constructs of time in relation to life writing. You will be shown ways to enhance your own creativity, hone your critical and editing skills and develop your eye for good life writing. In the writing workshops, you will share, discuss and evaluate your work with the other writers in your writing group. By the end of the programme you will have significantly increased your understanding of how to write well, have developed a substantial body of work and have either finished your life writing project or be in a position to bring it to completion.
The programme is delivered through weekly seminars in which you will develop your writing technique through practical exercises, readings, discussion of published work and group discussions led by your tutor on different aspects of the writing process. All our courses are supported by interactive learning sites where you can access seminar notes and exercises as well as a Writer’s Forum in which you can contact other writers in your group, share work and information about events and contact your tutor. At the end of the programme you will be given the opportunity to discuss your work with visiting publishing professionals.
The second year of the Creative Non-Fiction Programme can only be taken as an online learning programme.
What these courses will do for you
This programme will develop your confidence and ability as a writer. Through discussion and experimentation, in practical work guided by your tutor, you will learn how to improve the quality of your writing; develop your creative and critical skills; organise and manage your work and develop a strong individual style.
This is an ideal programme for writers who want to write a memoir, autobiography or collection of short stories based on true events or who want to create an experimental piece of imaginative life writing and are looking for structure, encouragement and feedback to help them achieve this.
Courses
Course Three: Story and Form
Autumn Term
10 weekly writing seminars (Autumn Term) and tutorial
In this course you will explore a number of different approaches to narrative structure for life writing and consider what might govern choice of form. You will examine classic narrative structure, beginnings, middles and endings, transitional scenes and turning points but you will also look at the particular demands of shaping ‘true’ stories – taking into account matters of authenticity, integrity and the life writer’s intent. The role of prefaces and other framing devices will be discussed. Writers will be led carefully through the process of deciding on form – each writerwill consider their and/or their subject’s vulnerability, their readers’ expectations and the fulfilment of the story’s potential. You will also continue to make progress on your life writing project and will give and receive criticism of your own and other’s work in progress. At the end of this term, you will submit work to your tutor for a written critical appraisal and will have a tutorial with them in February 2022.
Course Four: Life Writing Workshops
Spring and Summer Terms
15 weekly writing seminars, plus Publishing Day (Optional – end of May)
This part of the course is designed to offer you further insights into writing technique especially in the drafting and re-drafting of texts. It will focus on the structural editing of key scenes as well as developing your editing skills and appreciation of sentence and paragraph construction. In the second part of the course, the writing workshops, you will focus your attention on critical appraisal of the writing process, both on the level of prose and the level of story. In this final part of the programme there will be a series of writing workshops in which longer pieces of work, written by you and other writers in your group, will be read and discussed. At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to attend Publishing Day where you will be able to explore different routes into publication with visiting literary agents and publishing professionals. In July you will submit a final long piece of work to your tutor for written critical feedback.
Key Facts
Venues
The Kemptown Bookshop, 91 St George’s Rd, Kemptown, Brighton
Online.
Maximum group size 15
Term Dates
Autumn: 3rd October – 16th December (Reading Week 24th – 28th October)
Spring: 9th January – 24th March (Reading Week 13th – 17th February)
Summer: 24th April – 26th May
Entry requirements
If you would like to join a second year course of either the Creative Writing Programme of the Creative Non-Fiction Programme, please contact the programme director, Dr Mark Slater. You will need to be working on a writing project and have previous experience of working in writing groups at this level.
Programme tutors
- Dr Mark Slater (director), Rosie Chard, Dr Hannah Vincent, Bethan Roberts, Jacq Molloy, Tammye Huf, Laura Wilkinson, Holly Dawson, Lulah Ellender
Fee
Creative Writing Programme (In-person or Blended Learning)
Total: £1,100 per annum
Fees can also be paid per term during the course. Further details will be given on application.
All tutors on the Creative Writing Programme have experience of teaching online and we have a secure and stable system for providing this service built into our website. You will need to ensure you have access to a computer/laptop connected to the internet with a video camera (most modern computers have one built in).