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Writing courses

If you feel your writing could benefit from the help of an experienced eye or the kind of rigorous constructive criticism of dedicated fellow authors, a creative writing course could be just what you need.

CREATIVE WRITING COURSES

Many writers credit their success partly to the intensive focus and expert assistance available on writing courses and workshops.

What sort of writing courses are there?

From part-time courses run by adult education centres (there are currently over 7,000 available nationally) to week-long or longer residential retreats far from any distractions, there are a range of options to suit all kinds of lifestyle.

The Arvon Foundation offers a number of residential courses in various attractive English countryside retreats and an increasingly popular choice is to combine a writing course with a holiday, where a change of scenery and some rural peace can help the ideas flow. Ways With Words, who also run literary festivals, organise writing holidays to France and Italy, while Travellers’ Tales help would-be travel writers improve their work on trips to Morocco and Spain.

How much will it cost?

One of the barriers to enrolling on a writing course can be the cost, but some of the more well established courses offer help with fees – for example, the Arvon Foundation offers grants for teachers, voluntary workers and under-25s. Without grants, full-time courses can cost in the region of £3,000, so if that’s more than you are looking to spend then look out for the many workshops and shorter courses that are much cheaper

A more economical option (and one that can fit around your other commitments more easily) is distance learning. The Open College of the Arts runs a distance learning program for creative writing and The Writing College offers online learning.

How do I find a good creative writing course?

The best way to find a good course is to ask around: ask fellow writers on CompletelyNovel, or other members of your writing group. If you meet a published author whose work is similar to your own, find out if they benefited from studying their craft at a course or workshop.

If location is a key factor, you can search for a course near you on the map below, or browse the listings on the Literature Training website, in The Writer’s Handbook or The Writers and Artists Yearbook.