Writing Characters

Overview

Strong, believable characters are the backbone of good fiction - they are the factor that will bring a story to life for the reader and keep them wanting to return to your fictional world. But how do we define a strong character, and how do we create one? 

This course is for people who want to work on building compelling characters, whether they've written a huge amount of fiction or none at all. We will look in detail at the different aspects of characterisation, from backstory to voice, from motive to physicality. In every session you will discuss these ideas and start writing character sketches, which over the course of 10 weeks will grow into your own fully realised character, ready to step into their story. 

This course is suitable for people who have a story in mind or simply want to develop their writing skills. 

Programme details

Course starts: 2 Oct 2024

Week 1: What makes a compelling character?

Week 2: Traits and flawed beliefs

Week 3: Backstory

Week 4: Motive and desire

Week 5: Being in the body

Week 6: Voice - dialogue

Week 7: Voice - narration

Week 8: Protagonists and antagonists

Week 9: What’s going to change?

Week 10: Life within and beyond the story

Certification

To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. 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.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £295.00
Take this course for CATS points £30.00

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

Ms Lucy Ayrton

Lucy Ayrton has an MA in Creative Writing from Warwick University, and is a novelist and performance poet. She has two novels published with Dialogue Books, and a third will be released in 2025. She wrote and performed two full-length spoken word shows at the Edinburgh Festival, which were respectively turned into a poetry pamphlet and a radio play. She also competed as a national finalist at the UK Poetry Slam. Lucy has taught creative writing at all levels up to undergraduate, and has taught for the Department for Continuing Education for three years.

Course aims

To provide students with the skills they need to create and develop rich, fully formed and compelling characters for use in a variety of literary forms, primarily prose fiction. 

Course objectives:

  • To foster students' ability to recognise what makes a compelling character in their own and other people's work.
  • To demonstrate various techniques in building and writing characters and how these can be used in combination.
  • To encourage the use of these techniques and the consideration of strong characterisation as part of a foundation for further fiction writing. 

Teaching methods

In each session we will introduce an aspect of character creation or development, which we will discuss as a group. We will then put the learning into practice with short writing exercises and peer feedback, both in a group and pairs. There will always be opportunities to ask questions and clarify the learning, as well as to try out new techniques and approaches in a supportive and positive environment.

Learning outcomes

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

  • Write a short piece of prose fiction featuring a clearly presented and well-realised character.
  • Explain the decisions they made in creating this character and the intended effect on the reader.
  • Be able to give feedback on the effectiveness of the characterisation in a peer's writing.

Assessment methods

This course will be assessed through one final piece of prose writing (1,500 words). There will also be the opportunity to share a 500-word piece of writing with the group, which will not be assessed. 

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard.

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting their final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

Application

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 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' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)

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.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. 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.