Student and tutor module reviews

The course builds on skills and knowledge taught in A215. If you are keen on writing drama and/or on developing your fiction writing this course will tick all the boxes. I have gained technical knowledge and a lot more confidence particularly in short story writing.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: September 2012

My main regret is that the course has finished. I have loved every minute of it. When I first looked at the description for the course, I almost rejected it. I consider myself as a poet and I could not see enough scope to write poetry. I decided to go ahead and am delighted I did - I feel the course has benefitted my writing in so many ways.

For TMA 1 I wrote a poem and thoroughly enjoyed turning it into a film script for TMA2. For TMA 3 I was able to analyse the work of a fellow poet and for TMA5, I wrote three poems and fortunately got my best mark. This was just as well as TMA5 is heavily weighted - 40%) of the OCA mark.
I could have written poetry for my ECA but my tutor encouraged me to try another screenplay. TMA4 and 6 were the most difficult assignments for me. While I was trying to think up a proposal - I worried constantly about getting started on the big TMA 5. After completing 5 - I felt creatively exhausted.

However, I did enjoy writing the ECA and am thrilled to discover I have obtained a distinction. I do wish my forum had been more lively - because it was so quiet it was difficult to find material for TMA3. Also, the Sample forum did NOT include poetry - which made the assignment very difficult.

I think that learning to write for the film has improved my poetry. I feel I have developed considerably as a writer - thanks to this course and a brilliant tutor.

Gillian Pell

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: August 2012

Loved this course, tutor was excellent, the blue book was very interesting despite constantly referring to the story violin lessons by the author. Recommend this course.

Course starting: October 2010

Review posted: March 2012

Having studied A215, I was very keen to take the Advanced Creative Writing course and I am so glad that I did. Your skills as a writer are expanded and the titbits that you pick up as you go along from the tutor, the course books and the online forum are priceless.

I still battled with writing poetry but it rapidly became a pleasant battle. I learnt many new skills and completely different ways of writing and approaching writing from my tutor, who was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and would highly recommend it to anybody who wants to build on what they have already learnt in the A215.

Suzanne Taylor

Course starting: October 2010

Review posted: September 2011

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. After A215 I wondered what was left to learn as the course had been so thorough but I wasn't disappointed.

Focusing more on Film/Theatre and novel writing techniques this is a hefty course that does require longer sustained periods of work and concentration as well as independance but at the end of it I had made a start and continue to work on a novel which thanks to the course and feedback of some amazing people I met on the course I am confident is a viable idea.

Some people struggled with the new techniques they were learning and my forum was pretty quiet but set against that was a great course structure the necessity of sustaining an idea over two and even three modules and a fantastic tutor. I would recommend anyone interested in writing who have done A215 to take this course.

Emma Louise Robson

Course starting: October 2010

Review posted: August 2011

If you enjoyed A215, then take this course. If you did not enjoy A215, then STILL take this course!

I struggled with A215, it seemed a little restrictive and I felt it forced me to write a certain way in order to gain a good mark, instead of allowing the freedom of the 'wildman'. A363, however, gives a little more flexibility. It flows TMA-to-TMA much more smoothly, so I didn't feel as though I was starting from scratch on each TMA, or rushing through chapters. It allowed me to develop on technique, which (in my case), resulted in a bump up in grade on each TMA.

My tutor was fantastic - a published writer himself with a great sense of humour and a real interest and engagement with his students and the forum. He always replied to posts and queries, even if they were not course related - he created a real 'social' dynamic to the group. His feedback on my work was so detailed, ok, not always positive, but always constructive - always very honest! (Preparation for the real world!)

I have to say, I didn't take part in the online forum as much as I probably should have - due to a slow laptop, and working on a computer all day at work, my patience was not always up to more reading online.

I agree with many other posts from A363 students, that having to commit to developing the story of the first TMA is a bit of a struggle; perhaps this is the only thing I would change. However, we were told from the start that TMA01 was to be developed into a play or film for TMA02, so I was able to keep the possibilities/limitations in mind.

If you like writing then take this course.

Even if you are not a 'writer', this course will teach you to analyse writers and writing in a whole new way.

I have studied 5 OU courses altogether. This was the most enjoyable.

Benita Stavrinou

Course starting: October 2010

Review posted: August 2011

Do not come to this course expecting A215 Part 2. In many ways the course is far less demanding; essentially you will need to come up with just three "ideas" - TMA1 is adapted in TMA2, TMA3 is a piece of critiquing, TMA4 is a proposal for the ECA, TMA5 is an original piece of writing, TMA6 is an extract from the ECA, and then there is the ECA itself. Hence only TMAs 1 and 5, and the ECA constitute, to my mind, "new" pieces of creative writing.

That being said, the challenge of adapting TMA1 into a script form is one that can stretch the abilities, and I evtually revised TMA1 the Story in light of what I had learned about my characters, and about the use of "camera work" in prose writing, in the course of TMA2.

Although the experience of the ECA (proposal, extract, revise and final version) may mirror what happens in the "real" world, I do feel that the course should, instead, have concentrated on sharpening writing skills by more emphasis on writing in general, rather than giving the students what amounts to a very expensive "valuable life lesson".

My tutor group was very quiet, not helped by a tutor who felt less than obliged to respond to queries, set online tutorials, or, indeed, return TMAs within anything like the recommended turnround time. The general forum was, however, buzzing; once "critiquing buddies" are made you will have all the help you need.

My final recommendation would be this.

If you merely want to repeat the experience of A215 - don't take this course. Find a Writing Group and share your writing with them.

If you need a good pass mark to achieve your required degree classification, don't take this course. The marking can be capricious, and the weighting is VERY heavily weighted towards just one TMA, so regardless of however well you might perform in the other five TMAs, TMA5 itself can ruin your overall grade.

If you want to learn how to use your writer's eye like a camera (and this will make an enormous difference to the quality of your writing) take this course, or buy a decent textbook at maybe 2% of the cost. If you want to try your arm at writing a script or two, take this course - or buy at decent textbook at 2% of the price. If you want to find out what it feels like to write a proposal and have it knocked back - don't take this course. Write a proposal, send it to a publisher, and get the genuine experience.

If you want to enjoy the company of writers who are all at the same stage of development as you are, then this really is the best place to come. There is very little so supportive, encouraging, and downright enthusiastic as a bunch of OU Creative Writing students.

Michael John Deller

Course starting: October 2009

Review posted: February 2011

A better course than the Level 2 Creative Writing course that I took last year. I attribute that to three reasons, i)No poetry, ii)I got a better mark, iii)Screen writing.

Whereas my taking Creative Writing courses was rather an idle decision largely based on my love of reading prose, never poetry, by the time I had completed this course I was beginning to have small dreams of writing a screen play. They have not yet come to fruition but nor have they gone away.

I certainly consume writing, books, TV, film and even news reporting in a far more active way. I have become a much more critical reader and viewer. To some extent this is a bit like being told that Father Christmas is a fiction but articles and editorials are full of creative writing attempting emotive manipulation in the guise of reasoned debate.

I am pleased that I took the course and it may yet pay for itself.

Course starting: October 2009

Review posted: January 2011

I took this course as a follow-on from A215, as part of the Open degree and the Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing. We had an excellent tutor and luckily the tutorials were local which meant I never missed one!

The course progresses naturally from A215 (which I think should be taken before this one because it provides the foundation for it) and goes into writing scripts for radio, stage and film. Like A215, the text is contained in one large book which makes the course easy to follow.

I had never written a script before of any kind and this was a big challenge for me - so when I wrote a film script and the tutor said I should do another, much larger one for the ECA it was a shock! However, I took the tutor's advice and produced one - all 37 pages of it (it needed to have 30 minutes' running time) and I was pleased to receive a grade 2 pass!

This course together with A215 provide an excellent package of creative writing learning - but I think the OU should go another step further and make this subject available at Masters level!

Julia Sandra Alisa Malkin

Course starting: October 2009

Review posted: September 2010

I took this in order to gain my Creative Writing Diploma, after successfully passing A215 (I am one of the lucky ones who did the required courses before 2011 when the diploma changes). I enjoyed it so much that if I could do it again and with the same tutor, I most certainly would!

It is a lively course, taking you into the realms of script writing, something I've never done before. It also introduces you to sestinas, villanelles, and the like; poetry forms I have to admit I never knew existed (and not being a poet as such, they can go back into non-existance thank you very much. {she says with a grin}).

The TMAs are at regular intervals, giving you enough time between each one, and you are well prepared for the ECA as some TMAs are focused on that end result.

I would say it is important that you have done A215, or have some experience in writing; knowing the formatting of manuscripts, for example, is a must-have knowledge, although your tutor will help of course.

Tutor? Nothing was too much trouble, and she approached us in a friendly, 'I'm on your side' manner.

When you enjoy doing a course,and when you are helped along by excellent support from both your fellow students and your tutor, you are more likely to succeed and I am pleased to report that I did, with a distinction!

Should you do this course? If you want to fully understand Creative Writing in all forms, YES!

Debra Phillips-Machin

Course starting: October 2009

Review posted: September 2010

I thought this course was brilliant! It follows nicely on from the Level 2 Creative Writing course and allows you to use the techniques you have learned and put them into practice. There is an internet forum instead of actually going to lectures which I don't really like but you don't even need to go onto the forum regularly in order to complete the course. By the end, it's great to think that you can actually write a play and write a critique of someone else's work.

I had the advantage of having a very good tutor who gave me some good, constructive criticism which allowed me to improve my work significantly and reflected my final result. The only downside for me was that the time between TMAs was quite long and I think the course could have been done over a shorter period.

Kim Brown

Course starting: October 2009

Review posted: August 2010

I would recommend this course to anyone who is serious about writing. It has its faults - the TMA requiring a forum critique is pretty bizarre and largely useless - but I learned a lot about submitting a novel proposal, getting the right voice for it and working it up into something which I was happy with.

As with most OU courses the difference is in the tutors. Mine was terrific - not a soft touch but challenging and encouraging at the same time. I'm now going on to do an MA in Creative writing, and although time will tell, I think I will be able to hold my own with the benefit of this course. The corollary of my initial comment is that this is not an easy course to those who just want to acquire some points, as you need a real, passionate interest in the subject.

Rod Bull

Course starting: October 2009

Review posted: August 2010

I came to A363 in its first year hoping to repeat the excellent experience I had on A215. Sadly the course just did not seem to click for me in the same way.

The emphasis is firmly on drama and although poetry is allowed in a couple of assignments there is scant encouragement to take this route.
Despite these reservations I do believe that my writing was enhanced by this course - the skills required to write dramatic dialogue for example were very useful.

Overall I wouldn't recommend this course as highly as A215 - it lacks the breadth and variety of challenge - but for those who want to study dramatic writing (whether for plays or screen) it offers some useful insights.

Course starting: October 2008

Review posted: July 2010

A course of ups and downs, a bit like listening to Wagner - long boring bits punctuated by ecstatic enjoyment.
I learned a great deal - much of it from fellow students. Without dedicated contribution to tutor group forums, the course would have been a great deal poorer. Many of the exercises were repetitive, and if I liked the material at the first time of use, I loathed it by the time I arrived at the end of all its exercises.


The TMA relating to critiquing and examining the progress of a piece of work chosen from a colleague's contributions to the tutor group forum was difficult for those with inactive forums. I was very fortunate in having a really active and sympathetic group. The order and timing of the TMAs meant that the only option to try out poetry was TMA5, by which time we had already committed to our ECA material. If the order of TMA3 and 5 had been reversed, students would have a pretty good idea of how their poetry would be received before settling on what to do for ECA. My highest mark of the course was for poetry, but too late to change my ECA choice.

Even allowing for these limitations, I thoroughly enjoyed the course, and have had several pieces published during and afterwards - testament to the effectiveness of the teaching and course materials.

Vivienne Blake

Course starting: October 2008

Review posted: January 2010

An excellent follow-on to A215 Creative Writing - I'm sure there are students who would get a lot from this as a stand-alone course, but I believe that it works best in conjunction with A215, where it builds to a real understanding of prose, poetry (probably the weakest section) and drama, for stage, screen and radio.

For me, the most impressive gear shift was from the tentative and polite group criticism of A215 to the no-holds-barred autopsies at the A363 stage - a much needed (and invariably correct) reaction to one's work. Rest assured, that iffy line you didn't get round to revising will be pounced on.

This may sound intimidating, but believe me, it's not. Just refreshing and inspiring - your fellow students want you to write to the best of your ability, and once you've taken the plunge and posted your work, you'll realise what an utterly invaluable tool these mutual critiquing sessions are. Add a great tutor to the mix, and your writing will improve exponentially.

Rodney Carson Sims

Course starting: October 2008

Review posted: January 2010