Developing Your Novel

Overview

You’ve finally started writing your novel! But how do you get it to finished? And how do you know what ‘finished’ looks like?

This course takes a practical approach to the craft of developmental editing, using lectures and readings to present the theory behind the practice, and discussions and exercises to practice the theory. We will contextualise editing within the wider process of novel writing, divide the process of editing into component steps, and experiment with a collection of techniques and exercises that can make tackling each of those steps less daunting. We will develop the critical reading skills that will let you accurately assess what editing stage your work has currently reached, and synthesise all of these into a practical plan for turning the draft you have into the novel you want it to be.

This course is an ideal progression for students finishing our intermediate course Advanced Creative Writing, but would be equally suitable for anyone with an unfinished draft of a novel they want to bring to completion.


This course combines online study with a weekly 1-hour live webinar led by your tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.


Programme details

  1. The five stages of writing
  2. Scene development
  3. Novel Structures
  4. Structural development: genre, setting, point of view
  5. Structural development: sequence, logic, missing beats
  6. Compiling the first draft
  7. Stylistic development: pacing, dramatisation, balance
  8. Stylistic development: subtext, tension, consistency
  9. Troubleshooting creative blocks
  10. Your draft, your plan

Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this 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 you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £360.00

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 Sara Taylor

Sara Taylor is a product of Virginia and the homeschooling movement. She received her Masters in Prose Fiction and Ph.D. in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of East Anglia. Her novels, published by Random House, explore the social construction of identity, sexuality, and family. She acts as co-director and editor of creative-critical publisher Seam Editions, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.

Course aims

This course aims to:

  • Enable students to understand the purpose and potential of editing within the context of the writing process
  • Develop theoretical knowledge and critical reading skills to assess where one’s own draft is in the process and make a cohesive plan for its development
  • Enable experimentation with a variety of techniques and exercises in order to develop a personal toolbox of editing strategies.

Teaching methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.

All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.

Learning outcomes

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

  1. Understand the five stages of writing and be able to accurately assess what stage a work-in-progress has reached
  2. Articulate their purpose for a work-in-progress and create a plan for developing that work from its current to a finished state
  3. Demonstrate their ability to use a selection of techniques presented on the course and which align to their personal strengths in executing their developmental plan

Assessment methods

You will be set a portfolio of up to five pieces of work to complete over the duration of the course, one or more of which might be submitted for the purposes of feedback only and will not count towards your final outcome. The other pieces will be submitted for formal assessment at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

Level and demands

This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.

It is offered at FHEQ Level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments and for the weekly webinar. 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. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours, including those spent in classes.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements

IT requirements

Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.