Developing And Polishing Your Novel



Overview

Are you near giving up with your novel or struggling to finish? Perhaps you are half-way through but have lost sight of why you began. Maybe you have an idea but can't get started.  Maybe you simply feel overwhelmed and unsure which way to turn. Novels often fail because the writer puts their pen down in the face of seemingly insurmountable structural and /or technical challenges. 

Don't despair. Over a ten-week period, together we shall confront our stories and the way we are telling them. By returning to the basic elements of fiction and examining our own novels in the light of them, we will remember what it is we should be doing, and how to do it - even better. We will be looking to strengthen our story arcs, improve our prose and in the process, be reminded of why we love writing. 

 

Programme details

Courses starts: 22 Jan 2026

Week 1:  Introductions and simple storytelling

Week 2:  Beginnings 

Week 3:  Narrative point of view

Week 4:  Story v Plot

Week 5:  Characterisation and setting

Week 6:  Tension and suspense

Week 7:  Dialogue and silence

Week 8:  Structure

Week 9:  Themes and endings

Week 10:  Editing your novel

Digital Certification

Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) Points

Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. Please follow this link for more information on Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) points

Digital Certificate of Completion 

Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Please note students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.

Fees

Description Costs
Course fee (with no assessment) £300.00
Assessment and Accreditation fee £60.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

 

Tutor

Dr Daisy McNally

Daisy completed her PhD in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University in 2021.  She is also a graduate of the Bath Spa MA in Creative Writing and wrote her debut novel I See Through You (Orion, 2018) during that time. Daisy read English Literature at Durham and now teaches on our Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing at Oxford, as well as on a variety of summer and day schools. She is currently working on a new novel.

Learn more about Daisy, including her time as a creative writing student at the Department by reading her full profile.

Course aims

Through mentoring and tutoring, the developing novelist with a work in progress will be able independently to edit/advance the narrative of their novel. 

Course objectives:

  • To enable students to further develop their skills in writing fiction.
  • To improve students' understanding of the imaginative and technical possibilities of creative writing.
  • To enhance students' powers of critical thinking and skills in written and verbal forms of expression.
  • To further develop students' expertise, proficiency, and confidence in editing their own work and in commenting constructively on that of others, to a level appropriate to approach publishing professionals.
  • To plan and organise their work for the purpose of editing.

Teaching methods

Lecture and seminar. Handouts with extracts will be provided in class. There will also be opportunities to have passages from your novel workshopped.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • work independently but confidently as novelists;
  • comprehend the creative tools required to write strong fiction;
  • comprehend the creative tools required to edit their novels;
  • plan and organise their work.

Assessment methods

The course will be assessed by a 500 word synopsis of your novel, and 1500 words from it.

Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation will submit coursework.

Application

To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

Students who do not register for assessment and credit during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Level and demands

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support