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Creative writing and critical reading

Course description

Course content, course reviews.

This free course, Creative writing and critical reading , explores the importance of reading as part of a creative writer’s development at the postgraduate level. You will gain inspiration and ideas from examining other writers’ methods, as well as enhancing your critical reading skills. Examples will cover the genres of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and scriptwriting.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

understand the importance of reading as part of a creative writer's development
engage analytically and critically with a range of literary and media texts
recognise how critical reading supplies writers with inspiration and ideas
understand through writing practice one or more of the taught genres of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and scriptwriting
engage with postgraduate modes of reading and writing practice.

First Published: 04/03/2019

Updated: 05/09/2019

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Creative writing

This module takes a student-centred approach to creative writing, offering a range of strategies to help you develop as a writer. The emphasis is highly practical, with exercises and activities designed to ignite and sustain the writing impulse. The five-part module starts by showing ways to use your memory and experience in your writing and build a daily discipline for your work. This is followed by the demonstration and practice of the three most popular forms of writing – fiction, poetry and life writing (which includes autobiography, biography and travel writing). The concluding part aims to demystify the world of agents and publishers, teaching you how to revise and present your work to a professional standard.

Modules count towards OU qualifications

OU qualifications are modular in structure; the credits from this undergraduate module could count towards a certificate of higher education, diploma of higher education, foundation degree or honours degree.

Browse qualifications in related subjects

Module code.

Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.

Study level

Study method, module cost, entry requirements, student reviews.

Fully enjoyed every moment. It has given me a better understanding of the creative process - structuring, editing, and how... Read more

This is a great module, with some excellent tutors. There is plenty of good material in the coursebook to help... Read more

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Explore our subjects and courses, what you will study.

This module is suitable for new writers, as well as for those with some experience who would like to develop their skills. It will help you to identify your strengths and interests as a writer by giving you the opportunity to write in a range of genres: fiction, poetry, and life writing. The emphasis is on finding your own direction and style through experiment, practice and constructive feedback. The module is designed not only for aspiring writers but for anyone with a strong interest in reading and writing who would like to deepen their understanding of the creative process.

The module is structured as follows: The introductory part, The Creative Process , focuses on developing a habit of writing. It examines a range of strategies to help you get started, including clustering, morning pages, and keeping a writer’s notebook, as well as discussions by writers about their own approaches and practices.

Part 2, Writing Fiction , explores the main aspects of narrative, including story structure and time, showing and telling, character and setting, point of view, and editing.

Part 3, Writing Poetry , introduces you to the basics of contemporary poetry, covering a variety of techniques for beginning poets. Topics include image and figurative language, the line in free verse, voice and diction, structure, rhyme and metre, the sonnet, and revising poems.

Part 4, Life Writing , looks at autobiography (or memoir), biography and travel writing. Some of the central issues raised by life writing are discussed, including the nature of memory and forgetting, the performance of the self, and the representation of others. Finding and researching subject matter and suitable forms are also explored.

The final part, Going Public , outlines the professional presentation of manuscripts and submissions to agents and editors, as well as finding outlets for publication.

At the core of the module is the module book Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings: 2nd edition , which takes you week-by-week through the five parts. The emphasis is on practice through guided activities, supported by literary examples by a diverse range of authors, including prose extracts, stories, and poems illustrating particular methods or strategies. The online study material contains audio, videos, animations and other interactive exercises to enhance your learning, such as interviews with writers discussing their inspirations and techniques and discussions with publishing industry professionals. Online tutorials offer additional opportunities to receive guidance and support from tutors.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor.

You'll have a tutor to help you with the study material and to mark and comment on your written work. You can ask your tutor for advice and guidance both in online forums and by email or phone. Your tutor also offers general support as you progress through the module book, which is the principal guide to your learning.

Your tutor will use a blend of methods that will include moderated online discussion forums and a number of real-time online tutorials that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Recordings of these tutorials will be available if you can't attend.

The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box.

Future availability

Creative writing starts once a year – in October. This page describes the module that will start in October 2025. We expect it to start for the last time in October 2033.

Regulations

Course work includes:.

No prior experience of creative writing study is necessary. This is an OU level 2 module and builds on the OU level 1 modules Discovering the arts and humanities (A111) and Cultures (A112) or The arts past and present (AA100) and Voices, texts and material culture (A105) (the latter two now discontinued). These OU level 1 introductory modules develop skills such as logical thinking, clear expression, essay writing and the ability to select and interpret relevant materials.

If you have not studied at university level before, you are strongly advised to study at OU level 1 before progressing to OU level 2 study.

If you're unsure about your English language skills and would like some additional support, you might like to try our Developing Academic English tutorials before registering on this module.

If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser .

Additional Costs

Study costs.

There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.

If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.

Ways to pay for this module

Open university student budget account.

The Open University Student Budget Accounts Ltd (OUSBA) offers a convenient 'pay as you go' option to pay your OU fees, which is a secure, quick and easy way to pay. Please note that The Open University works exclusively with OUSBA and is not able to offer you credit facilities from any other provider. All credit is subject to status and proof that you can afford the repayments.

You pay the OU through OUSBA in one of the following ways:

Register now, pay later – OUSBA pays your module fee direct to the OU. You then repay OUSBA interest-free and in full just before your module starts. 0% APR representative. This option could give you the extra time you may need to secure the funding to repay OUSBA.
Pay by instalments – OUSBA calculates your monthly fee and number of instalments based on the cost of the module you are studying. APR 5.1% representative.

Joint loan applications

If you feel you would be unable to obtain an OUSBA loan on your own due to credit history or affordability issues, OUSBA offers the option to apply for a joint loan application with a third party. For example, your husband, wife, partner, parent, sibling or friend. In such cases, OUSBA will be required to carry out additional affordability checks separately and/or collectively for both joint applicants who will be jointly and severally liable for loan repayments.

As additional affordability checks are required when processing joint loan applications, unfortunately, an instant decision cannot be given. On average the processing time for a joint loan application is five working days from receipt of the required documentation.

Read more about Open University Student Budget Accounts (OUSBA) .

Studying with The Open University can boost your employability. OU courses are recognised and respected by employers for their excellence and the commitment they take to complete. They also value the skills that students learn and can apply in the workplace.

More than one in ten OU students are sponsored by their employer, and over 30,000 employers have used the OU to develop staff so far. If the module you’ve chosen is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could approach your employer to see if they will sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees.

Your employer just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
You won’t need to get your employer to complete the form until after you’ve chosen your module.

Credit/debit card

You can pay part or all of your tuition fees upfront with a debit or credit card when you register for each module.

We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.

We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may wish to pay part of your tuition fee with a debit card and pay the remainder in instalments through an Open University Student Budget Account (OUSBA) .

For more information about combining payment options, speak to an adviser or book a call back at a time convenient to you.

Can you study an Access module for free?

Depending on eligibility and availability of places, you could apply to study your Access module for free.

To qualify, you must:

be resident in England
have a household income of not more than £25,000 (or be in receipt of a qualifying benefit)
have not completed one year or more on any full-time undergraduate programme at FHEQ level 4 or above or successfully completed 30 credits or more of OU study within the last 10 years

How to apply to study an Access module for free

Once you've started the registration process , either online or over the phone, we'll contact you about your payment options. This will include instructions on how you can apply to study for free if you are eligible and funded places are still available.

If you're unsure if you meet the criteria to study for free, you can check with one of our friendly advisers on +44 (0)300 303 0069 , or you can request a call back .

Not eligible to study for free?

Don't worry! We offer a choice of flexible ways to help spread the cost of your Access module. The most popular options include:

monthly payments through OUSBA
part-time tuition fee loan (you'll need to be registered on a qualification for this option)

To explore all the options available to you, visit Fees and Funding .

What's included

You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:

a week-by-week study planner
module materials, including the Introduction to the Module guide
audio, video and interactive content
assignment details and submission section
online forums and tutorial access
online exercises and activities
electronic versions of the module book in various formats
further links to online resources.

You’ll also be provided with a printed copy of the module book Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings: 2nd edition , which is the principal guide to your learning.

Computing requirements

You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.

Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.

To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).

Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.

Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.

It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.

If you have a disability

The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying A215 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.

To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our disability support pages .