Creative Writing - MA

This module explores the creative connections between how we read and how we write. You will examine the ways in which writing becomes ‘creative’, and the different forms of reading that different kinds of writing require of us. Providing a fresh grounding in the practices and disciplines fundamental to the modern author, this module will also introduce you to research methods, concepts, scholarly standards and critical exegesis relevant to creative practice both within and beyond postgraduate higher education.

The module emphasises active, practical learning in its seminars and directed study time, with a focus on generating stimulating new material for you to work with. You will creatively experiment with the literary and artistic traditions available to you, engaging closely and imaginatively with the structure, technique, method, diction, and subject matter of other texts and artworks – and their formal, thematic, or historical relationship to works by other writers, artists and thinkers – developing your awareness of creative intertextuality and how your own writing participates in a living literary culture. With this in mind, you will also study the ways in which literary works are received and circulated today, and in particular the role of literary reviewing.

This module addresses core aspects of the discipline of creative writing, providing you with the key skills to develop your work in the literary forms of your choosing. The emphasis here is on generating material and refining your practice through close, guided attention to exemplary texts drawn from a wide range of literature. Discussion in class is accompanied by practical exercises in prose fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, script, and the differences and affinities between distinct kinds of writing. You will be encouraged to consider creative techniques and structures from comparative literary traditions, and the value of productive cultural interchange, in relation to your own practice.

In addition to focusing on fundamentals of story, narrative method, character, point of view, and dialogue, this module encourages you to experiment across the principal literary forms, and develop an active, adaptable, and participatory approach to contemporary literary culture. The module takes as its axiom the principle that, in creative writing, form is content, and focuses throughout on enhancing precision and accuracy in the use of language, and the importance of detailed editing and sensitive revision.

This module addresses the place of literary writing in contemporary society. It brings together both literary critics and practitioners, and encourages you to explore the creative relationship between the different forms of writing they employ. You will study a variety of research methods, both in literary scholarship and in creative writing, and examine the evolving ways in which the contemporary writer and thinker can pursue their work both in and beyond publication, including pitching and bid writing, working across different media, collaboration, and shaping your role in the public sphere. The ideas and methods canvassed in this module will support you in developing your Major Project and enhancing your professional development.

This module examines three forms of creative writing in rotation – fiction, poetry, and screenwriting – and enables you to select either one or two as specialist strands. Each strand offers a focused exploration of techniques and practices fundamental to the chosen form, supported by workshops, seminar discussion and independent study.

For the fiction strand, you will hone the essential elements of storytelling, including character development, establishing evocative and specific settings, balancing drama and exposition, managing story and plot, point of view, narrative voice, and stylistic and structural control. Through practical exercises and collaborative critical discussion, you will be encouraged to experiment with different ways of developing and shaping your writing, while working to produce either on a novel or a collection of short stories, edited and produced to professional standards. Classes will also explore practical elements of the writing life, including time management and routes to publication.

In the poetry strand, you will develop your range and technique as a contemporary poet, reader and thinker on poetry. You will enhance your knowledge and insight through seminars in which you will test and apply your understanding of poetry through a range of practical activities. These will include close readings of poems and discussion of work on the nature and practice of poetry. You will apply what you have learnt in composing new poetry, and in describing and justifying your own ideas concerning poetry – including the relationship between your work and the intellectual and poetic traditions in which it participates. You will also gain practical knowledge of publishing and performing your own work.

The screenwriting strand will teach you the structural principles involved in writing screenplays and provide you with the conceptual tools to critically examine your creative practice. You will explore various structural paradigms, analyse film and TV extracts, and learn methods for presenting and pitching projects. Practical activities, including script-to-screen comparisons and viewing feature film and TV drama extracts, will enhance your understanding of the screenwriting process and industry practice.

Throughout the module, you will have the opportunity to engage with your chosen form(s) of creative writing in a supportive and collaborative environment, guided by experienced practitioners and tutors. In this innovative context, you are encouraged to experiment with material across different genres in a process of creative cross-fertilisation.

The purpose of this module is to enable you to produce a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed project in creative writing.

This module is an opportunity to create work to the professional standard required of the discipline; to plan and initiate a larger project as an independent writer; to innovate, experiment, and develop further, as a writer; and to reflect critically on your work, situating your practice within the context relevant to your chosen medium.

At this stage, you are expected to work independently but you will receive one-to-one support from your supervisor, who will be familiar with your chosen form.