English and drama

Advanced Writing Workshop: Process

Module code: Q2022
Level 5
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Workshop
Assessment modes: Portfolio

How to begin? It can be scary. This module helps you cultivate processes and practices to foster and guide creativity. “Forget inspiration”, writes Octavia Butler, “Habit is more dependable.”

We start with the imagination. How might we speculate on the future? How might we imagine worlds, both near and distant in time, space, and reality?

You will reflect on the mental and physical processes of creativity and consider:

• research methods used by writers, including archival and historical research
• how details can evoke the reader’s empathy and interest
• the use of formal constraints in creative writing – can limitations be productive?

We’ll explore questions around safety and challenging subjects, understanding and models of the mind, and perspectives and appropriation.

We encourage you to read and experiment with different forms and genres. Throughout, you’ll build a portfolio, developing your imagination and ways to harness your vision.

Writers discussed may include Italo Calvino, Stephen King, Bhanu Kapil, Nnedi Okorafor and Claudia Rankine.

Module learning outcomes

• Write creatively and imaginatively supported by helpful practices, including the inspiration of reading and listening to exemplary work.
• Experiment with writing creatively across different mediums and genres.
• Understand factors that may inform the choice of writing style.
• Develop confidence in close reading and analysis of texts, including one’s own.
• Situate writing in the light of multiple ways of knowing, including via the emotions, the senses, and an awareness of our differing embodiment.