Creative Life Writing

Course Details

Overview

During this Creative writing course, you will develop and improve your writing skills and connect with fellow writers to share stories from our lives with understanding and compassion.

Full Details

Who can join this course:
Adults with basic literacy, no qualification necessary.

Course Description:

We will begin the sessions with prompts for short writing exercises to carry out in the class for a limited time (5 to 15 minutes). After each round everyone who wishes to will take a turn to read aloud what they have written. No one else will see this work. We will discuss any issues raised.

We will analyse examples of autobiographical writing and discuss story-building techniques.

Students are encouraged to work on their own life writing at home. 

In each session one or two students will share (i.e. read out or ask someone else to read out) 500–1000 words of writing they are working on at home, and the group will offer in-depth constructive feedback. During our first class together we will work out a schedule for this. 

We will work towards the publication of a book of stories from the lives of members of the group. It is optional for students to publish their writing. There may be a small additional cost for this.

Who can join this course:

Anyone who can read and write. No qualifications required

Learning Objectives:

• develop and improve writing skills and produce publishable work
• connect with fellow writers and share our life journeys with understanding and compassion
• gain confidence with public speaking (reading aloud)
• gain an understanding of the publishing process
• (optional) produce a piece of publishable work
• gain useful perspectives on the experiences that have made up our lives

What students need to bring:

Pen and paper or laptop/tablet

Tutor Information:

Ros Weaver is a freelance journalist and writer with a background in the editorial world of magazines. She has contributed to the Observer, the Telegraph and various magazines. Before entering the world of the printed word, Ros lived in Italy and taught English as a foreign language (TEFL). Ros is currently working on a memoir titled Me and Men, having recently finished writing a novel.