- An undergraduate course
in
Arts and Humanities.
Advanced creative writing
- On this page
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | A363 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
Advanced creative writing develops your writing ability by widening your generic range and developing your knowledge of style. The course works on the forms introduced in the Level 2 course Creative writing (A215) – fiction, poetry and life writing – and supplements these with dramatic writing, showing you how to write for stage, radio and film. You’ll explore how these scriptwriting skills might enhance your prose style, improve your writing across the range of forms, and further develop your individual style and voice. The course offers guidance on professional layouts for the dramatic media, and is a natural progression from Creative writing (A215).
Modules at Level 3 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
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What you will study
This course is structured in four parts. At the core of the course is a handbook that takes you week-by-week through methods, readings and writing exercises. This handbook covers the first three parts of the course. The fourth part is a period of independent study.
Part 1 of the course, Ways of Writing, looks at different approaches to writing. In particular it focuses on the influence of genre, contrast, research, revision and drama on writing style. Work includes readings and writing exercises in fiction, poetry, and life writing.
Part 2, Writing Drama, explores writing techniques for three dramatic media: stage, film and radio. It examines the conventional layouts and illustrates the narrative strengths and constraints of each medium. It will deal with dramatic principles connected to dialogue, subtext, status and exposition, as well as media-specific elements such as sets for the stage, aural contrast in radio and montage in film.
Part 3, Developing Style, looks at how some of the methods used in dramatic writing can improve fiction writing, life writing and poetry. For example, it looks at the connection between dramatic monologues and fictional narrators; it examines the connection between film techniques such as montage and the way fiction might be structured. This section goes on to explore writing approaches in wide-ranging fashion, covering poetic form, rhetoric and the use of analogy. You’ll focus on improving your writing style and voice in all genres.
Part 4, Independent Study, involves working on a larger project, culminating in the presentation of an end-of-module assessment comprising a substantial piece of creative writing in one of the forms taught in the module – fiction, poetry, life writing or drama.
As in Creative writing (A215), the emphasis is very much on practice through guided activities, although as the course progresses you will increasingly be expected to generate and develop your own ideas without reliance on the study materials. In comparison to the Level 2 course the emphasis will be on working independently to enhance and improve your writing style and voice. You will generate slightly fewer projects but these will be of more substantial length and you will spend longer developing, editing and redrafting your work. You will write a dramatic adaptation and explore the influence of drama on your work.
A DVD and audio CDs will provide you with excerpts from films, stage and radio plays as well as interviews with novelists, poets and scriptwriters.
Online tutor-group forums will enable peer-group discussion of some of your work. You will be expected to engage in these activities, giving impersonal and informed evaluations of your own and others’ work through constructive criticism. One of the TMAs involves writing a critique of the work of your peers, as posted on the online forum.
Entry
Advanced creative writing (A363) builds on the explicit skills taught in Creative writing (A215) and you will be expected to have successfully completed A215 or equivalent study before embarking on this course.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Visit our Services for disabled students website for more information, including:
- help to determine your study requirements and how to request the support that you need
- Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
- using a computer for OU study
- equipment and other support services that we offer
- examination arrangements
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Course book, study guide, audio CDs, DVD, online forums, website containing study planner, assessment materials, online exercises, audio recordings, further links and electronic versions of the study materials.
You will need
Audio CD player, DVD player
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance both via online forum and by telephone or email. There will be two face-to-face tutorials that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Teaching will also be via an online forum. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
The end-of-module assessment (EMA) must be submitted online.
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2013. We expect it to be available once a year.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.
Student Reviews
“The course builds on skills and knowledge taught in A215. If you are keen on writing drama and/or on developing ...”
Read more
“My main regret is that the course has finished. I have loved every minute of it. When I first looked ...”
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Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information read Distance learning explained.
Undergraduate
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | A363 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
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