Adventures in fiction I. Approaching fiction

Through discussion, personal exploration and the use of practical exercises, we shall be generating ways for writers to fuel their imagination and harness creativity to produce effective writing, with a particular focus on the art of story-telling. The students’ own writing, produced between sessions, will also be a key tool in developing creativity.

We shall be looking at strategies for initiating all types of creative writing, as well as exploring ways of rekindling and maintaining creativity. At the same time we shall be focusing on the more theoretical elements of storytelling by looking at how and why ideas for stories are effective. How do you choose which ideas to pursue, especially in the case of the novel? When you do have an idea with potential, how do you blend the need for a sense of structure with the spontaneity inherent in creativity? What are the characteristics of a good opening to a work of fiction? How do you create convincing characters through a process of empathy? What are the pleasures and pitfalls of research in a creative context? In finding ways of tackling these and other questions, we shall develop a stronger feeling for the ideas which may form the foundation of a novel or short story.