Writing Books and Stories

Writing Books and Stories
Supported Home Study

Once you embark on this distance learning course, each piece you submit will be carefully reviewed by your specialist tutor and returned with comments, corrections and suggestions. Your tutor will examine the elements of theme, character, point of view, plot and scene and using your tutor's suggestions as a guideline you are sure to see your work greatly improve. You will also learn how to edit and rewrite your material and will come to realise how important this process is to the successful writer.

Get started today, and you can earn your Writing Books and Stories diploma in as little as six months, or take up to two years, if you prefer - the choice is yours.

Writing Books and Stories Course Outline

If you want a writing career, our tutor supported open distance learning Writing Books and Stories course provides the necessary knowledge, skills and qualification without disrupting your current lifestyle.

An Introduction to Creative Writing:

• Frequently asked questions
• The short story as an art form
• A guide to improving grammar and technical accuracy

Characters and Point of View:

• Two-dimensional words and three-dimensional characters
• Choosing point of view
• Story presentation
• Developing memorable characters
• Distinguishing main from minor characters
• Choosing the most effective viewpoint

Plot:

• Testing a story idea to see if it works
• Building and maintaining tension
• Shifts in viewpoint
• Flashbacks and other changes to point of view
• Connecting plots and sub-plots
• Preparing and writing important scenes
• Narrations that create strong plots
• Fiction others will want to read

Beginnings, Middles, Ends:

• Progressing from first sentence to last
• Hooking an editor in the first three paragraphs
• Building drama through effective prose
• Solutions to potential story problems
• Tried and true writing exercises
• Sharpening your skills
• Improving a story by rewriting

Scene and Structure:

• Scenes as revelation of plot
• The steps leading towards climax and conclusion
• Developing scenes to build a story's structure
• Properly using cause and effect
• Unfolding the main character's struggle
• Building a believable and revealing end

Theme and Strategy:

• Controlling and shaping the creative output
• Establishing a pattern for fiction writing
• Developing details into elements of a pattern
• Being aware of the "big picture"
• Imagining the reader
• Keeping the audience in mind when writing