Creative Writing: Why Study with Us

How our teaching works

All of our courses and modules are highly practical, offering you the chance to be part of an interactive writing community. As well as detailed feedback from your tutor on your assessed work, you have opportunities to give and receive constructive criticism to work in progress through online workshops and discussions with fellow students. You will be taught how to glean writing techniques from all that you read, and to increase the range of your reading and writing.

Modules we offer

At undergraduate level we provide two 60 credit modules: Creative Writing, which includes fiction, poetry, and life writing, and Advanced Creative Writing, which continues development in fiction, poetry and life writing, and also teaches scriptwriting for radio, stage and screen. As a preparation for these level two courses, you might want to consider the level one courses, Discovering the Arts and Humanities (60 credits) or Cultures (60 credits) which introduces you to some of the principal skills of Creative Writing, including how to read as a writer and the essentials of structure, character construction, language, and setting.

Practical activities

If you would like to experience some of the practical activities that are the principal method of learning on our modules, see our sample exercises. If you would like a taster of some of our study materials, you can try this Free Open Learn Course and listen to some of our interviews with authors. See What our students say for some individual stories about how certain students have developed their writing and careers by taking the modules.

Creative Writing and your career

Some of our students go on to take our MA in Creative Writing or to pursue diverse careers including in teaching, publishing, content-making, court reporting, freelance editorial work, or research.

Below are details of two publications produced by our Creative Writing team.

A workbook for Creative Writing book cover image

Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings

The A215 workbook, Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings has been co-published with Routledge. It is used by other universities and has attracted worldwide sales.

‘A wonderful, invaluable resource, full of useful frameworks and ideas. Highly recommended.’ Irenosen Okojie FRSL MBE, Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature

‘Offers pertinent, perceptive and plentiful advice for those ﬁrst starting out or building their skills in creative writing. Enlivening chapter discussions rub shoulders with well-chosen readings to create dynamic conversations which it feels a pleasure to eavesdrop on.’ Andrew McMillan, Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University

‘A refreshingly practical book that invites writers at whatever stage to dive in and out with exercises, encouragement, information, reading and guidance.’ Yvonne Battle-Felton, ﬁction writer, University of Cambridge and Senior Commissioning Editor at John Murray

A Creative Writing Handbook

The A363 handbook, A Creative Writing Handbook, has been co-published with A& C Black. Its innovative approach to developing voice and style has been widely praised and adopted in other universities.

‘I find the substance of these chapters fascinating and pitch-perfect. What is beguiling about the writing is the style – these are not academic propositions; they are translations from experience and practice. [The handbook] sets a strong benchmark for the study and practice of Creative Writing in higher education.’ – David Morley, poet, critic and Professor of Creative Writing at Warwick University.

One of the most refreshing elements of this book is its focus on using dramatic writing techniques to revise other genres. This attention to dramatic writing does not prevent the handbook from being of equal use to any writer whose main interest does not lie in that form. The broad scope of this handbook makes it a valuable and stimulating resource for Creative Writers. (Writing in Education Issue 49 Autumn 2009).