Writing Fiction



Overview

Our Writing Fiction course has been designed for those who know that they want to write novels or short stories, and who may already have made some progress in writing.

This course emphasises weekly reading and writing exercises, peer feedback, and tutor guidance. Tutors prompt and moderate discussions that centre on group learning rather than workshopping personal pieces of writing. Both assessed assignments receive detailed feedback from the tutor.

Few occupations are so wrapped up with myth and misconception as writing. This course aims to debunk the myths and through refreshingly practical and down-to-earth advice help anyone with the motivation to pick up a pen and write.

Writing, someone once said, is easy. You just sit down at the typewriter and open a vein. Few occupations are so bound up with mystique and mystery as writing. As a result, many would-be writers are deterred from starting; and those who start often misconstrue the difficulties they encounter as evidence that they are not cut out for the task. This course aims to debunk the myths and show that anyone with sufficient interest and motivation can write. In the company of an experienced tutor, the student learns the time-honoured techniques of good, old-fashioned storytelling and also acquires the confidence to deploy those techniques. There is a liberal supply of practical advice, down-to-earth wisdom and enjoyment; and not a whiff of Romantic agony! As the professional writers have known all along, the true secret of writing is to pick up a pen, sit down at the typewriter or computer, and open a packet of biscuits.

Listen to Malcolm Pryce talking about the course:

 

This course has no live sessions. You will study structured materials at your own pace each week. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:

Unit 1: Some preliminary demystification

Unit 2: How to get ideas

Unit 3: Character I

Unit 4: Character II

Unit 5: Plot

Unit 6:  With this first line, I thee wed

Unit 7: The fictive dream I - The big picture

Unit 8: The fictive dream II - The small picture

Unit 9: Traditional storytelling techniques

Unit 10: Happy ever after?

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.

Textbooks

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following books:

  • Lodge, D., The Art of Fiction (London: Penguin, 1992)
  • Mullan, J., How Novels Work (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)
  • Wood, J., How Fiction Works (London: Vintage, 2019)

Please ensure you are able to access copies of any required textbooks prior to enrolling on a course but please keep in mind that courses with insufficient students enrolled will be cancelled. The Department accepts no responsibility for books bought in anticipation of a course running.

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 courses 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. 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £665.00

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 Louis Greenberg

Tutor

Louis Greenberg is a writer and fiction editor with a doctorate in modern English literature. Under his own name and co-writing as S.L. Grey, he has published nine novels. Louis has studied scriptwriting, theatre set design and film finance, and various of his books have been in film development. An Advanced Professional member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and one of its professional skills tutor panel, Louis has edited for several major publishers and individual clients. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

 

 

Course aims

  • Debunk the misconception that you have to be someone special to write.
  • Show how important it is to cultivate the right mind-set first.
  • Take broad overview of the topography - from the blank page to revision and polishing, and what comes after.
  • Break the process of writing down into constituent parts and reveal the art and craft at work.
  • Give students the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and 'have a go.'
  • Give students the opportunity to put it all together and create a short piece of fiction.

Teaching methods

  • Guided reading of texts.
  • Guided use of existing websites.
  • Discussions of particular issues and responses to reading in the unit forums.
  • Written non-assessed exercises discussed by the group.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students will understand:

  • How real writers work as opposed to the myth.
  • How many effects in fiction are more the result of hard work than magic.
  • That all writers differ and there is no right or wrong way of doing it.
  • The fundamental nature of the fictive dream and how to use this understanding to write better fiction.
  • That good writing is a process of distillation.

By the end of this course students will have gained the following skills:

  • The ability to sail past doubt and dismiss misconceived notions of 'not being worthy'.
  • The ability to actively generate ideas rather than passively await their arrival.
  • The ability to practise writing like pilots learning flying in a flight simulator: by breaking it down into individual steps and practising them.
  • The ability to deploy time-honoured story-telling tricks & techniques to improve their fiction.

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due 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.

This course 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. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.

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

This course is delivered online; to participate you must to be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support