Fiction – Course Outline

Choosing a writing class can be bewildering. A quick survey online uncovers a crowd of options jostling for your attention: starter packs, beginner, intermediate and advanced programs, flash fiction, blog-writing, memoir, experimental fiction; sometimes it’s difficult to know which alternative will yield the best results. Frequently, these offerings are short on details. Here we set out exactly what the writing course entails, what you’ll be required to do, and what it is we’ll do for you.

                                                 The Programme

This class is a production class, which means it’s designed to facilitate the creation of a piece of fiction over the ten week period. In the first six weeks we’ll concentrate on the role of style, plot and structure( both narrative and chronological), dialogue and voice in a story. In the third week students will be asked for a brief outline of what they intend to write. In the fifth students are required to submit their first five hundred words, and from week seven to week ten submissions will begin and each student’s project will be work-shopped in class.

This class asks three things of a participant: to read, think, and write. Each week readings will be disseminated from the best authors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The texts will be selected on the basis of their ability to illuminate the topic under consideration that week. Writing classes are generally discussion-based, and this course encourages its participants to consider specific issues in the circulated texts and come to class armed with their own point of view. There are no expert opinions in writing classes. What each student thinks matters, because in the final analysis each author is the ultimate frame of reference for their own work. One of the most important benefits a writing class can offer is the opportunity to develop the habit of writing regularly. Practice and discipline are integral to developing your skills as a writer. In week one, two and four short writing tasks will be disseminated at the end of class that can be used a building blocks for your story. Submissions begin in week seven.

What’s Required of Us?

Here at Creativewritingcourses.ie we commit to providing a safe, convivial environment in our studio on the penthouse floor of a beautiful Georgian building overlooking Nassau St. and Merrion Square. We will provide interesting, thought-provoking stories each week to stimulate and inspire, and everything a student writes, whether an exercise or the main piece of fiction, will be returned with a thorough copy edit and detailed advise. Each student will have two one-on-one sessions with the tutor, the first in weeks 5-6, and the second in weeks 9-10. Classroom discussions will be led by the tutor in a courteous and considerate manner, and students and their work will at all times be treated with diligence and respect.

This class is open to anyone with an interest in writing fiction. The class is structured to accommodate both those who have some writing experience, and those who have nothing except a fascination with the subject and the willingness to apply themselves. If you have an idea for a short story and simply need the structure and deadline of a class to deliver it, or if you’re staring at the blank page in need of a creative jump start, this course, with its phased approach to submissions, can effectively transform an idea into print.

 Next Round Of Courses Begin 2nd Week of June. Book now on the link below or call 085-2341829.