About this programme
This MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is free for anyone to join and can be gone through at your own pace. There are a mix of articles, interviews, videos, and graphics, and lots of “click as completed” buttons to give it that Candy Crush dopamine-rush satisfaction.
It involves peer review exercises: sharing writing, getting feedback, and giving critiques. Therefore it asks participants to either be over 16, or to have permission from a parent or guardian.
However, participation from others depends on how many are currently doing the course. It first ran in 2016, and it has regular re-starts throughout the year.
I’ll put some of the pieces I write here to give you a sense of how I’m navigating it.
Course Coverage
★ Creation of fictional characters
★ Different sources of inspiration
★ Ways of presenting characters
★ Reading as a writer
★ Writing practice: exercises, research, observation, editing
★ Peer reviewing, critiquing , and the importance of feedback
Course Approach
The philosophy seems to be accessibility, both in presentation and content. It focuses on creating characters, and invites us to use existing life experiences and creative instincts.
This course teaches through:
- writing – by trying it yourself
- reading – novels and stories by established writers and also the work of your fellow learners
- developing powers of observations and using a writer’s notebook to generate ideas
- learning how, when, and why to edit and redraft your work
- listening to the experience of other writers and how they approach their work
- discussion with your fellow writers – about draft work, editing, and what you’ve read recently
Our teachers
Our course leader is Derek Neale, novelist, short story writer, University of East Anglia teacher and The Open University course developer.
There are also contributions from well-known writers, such as Alex Garland (whose novels and screenwriting I enjoy).
My approach
There are 8 weeks, each divided into three sections. Each week is estimated to take 3 hours, give or take (meaning that we can expect to spend more time to get things “right”). I am doing this alongside a job (and a blog), so I’ll probably skimp on the “rightness” to fit within my timeframe. Depending on the week, I can commit to 1-3 hours of coursework (with blogging on top).
Give it a spin yourself!
www.futurelearn.com/courses/start-writing-fiction