Overview

 

Have you ever heard that, in order to become a better writer, one of the most important things for you to do is read? Of course you have; we all have. The trouble is that just reading isn't quite enough - what's needed is another step: learning to recognise the techniques writers are using in the texts you read, and learning how to apply them to writing and editing your own work. This course focuses on helping you develop those skills: deep, close reading skills for writers.

Reading for Writers is comprised of eleven lessons. The lessons are focused on supporting you in developing close reading skills - but not necessarily the skills literary critics or reviewers might use - instead, this course focuses on the reading, analysis and reflection tools writers use.

Reading for Writers introduces you to the fundamentals of being a writer. Unlike other writing courses, we take a holistic approach to the idea of a writing life, working with you on what we think are the three main aspects of living your life as a writer: writing, reading and reflecting. The first two are pretty obvious: as a writer, you should be writing and reading regularly.

Reflecting connects reading and writing: it's our shorthand for the important work of talking and thinking about the reading you've done in a way that helps you improve your skills as a writer. In other words, the 'reflecting' part of a writing life is about being a wide-awake writer, tuned into the world, including the world of words.

You don't need to have any prior experience or knowledge to enrol in this course, although you may find it helpful to have a play around in our introductory online courses Playing with Poetry or Playing with Prose in order to familiarise yourself with Olvar Wood onLine (OWL).

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course, which is designed for beginners, as well as those wishing to refresh their understanding of the fundamentals of the writing craft. You will probably benefit most from the course if you have good, fast and reliable internet access, and up-to-date software, including either Firefox or Internet Explorer (we prefer Firefox, and you may find it more compatible with OWL).

Content

This course is comprised of 10 lessons, each of which is designed to take you about two weeks to complete, though you can take a more leisurely approach as you do have up to 6 months to complete the entire course.

1. Introduction: The Reading/Writing/Reflecting Cycle
2. Reading the Short Story - Part One
3. Reading the Short Story - Part Two
4. Reading Poetry - Part One (Closed Forms)
5. Reading Poetry - Part Two (Free Verse)
6. Reading Non-Fiction - Part One
7. Reading Non-Fiction - Part Two
8. Reading the Novel - Part One (The Great Gatsby)
9. Reading the Novel - Part Two
10. From Reading to Writing, and back again

Each lesson includes instructional material, interactive elements such as quizzes, discussion forums and a range of writing exercises based on the reading strategies and skills we've covered in that lesson.

At the end of the course - in week 10, we invite you to submit a piece of your writing (up to 2500 words) for in-depth, personal feedback. This is an opportunity for you to submit a piece of your own writing for feedback both from your peers in the course, and from the course mentor. This feedback will be in the form of written notes and will be focused on helping you identify the strengths and weaknesses in your writing, and on ways to move your writing forward. Feedback may include, where appropriate and relevant, advice about further reading, strategies for improving the work, potential markets for publication, etc.

There is no marks-based assessment in this course. This is partly because we believe that a focus on grades – on getting a good-enough grade, on writing something to please your teacher or peers – can block you from exploring your writing in an open, exploratory and experimental way. It can get you all tied up in knots worrying about grades, when what you could be focused on is the experience of learning something new, taking risks, and having fun.

The Readings

In order to gain the most out of this course you will be asked to engage with a range of material, including some poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Most of the readings for this course are available through the online interface as downloadable PDFs, word documents or webpages. In the final couple of weeks we recomend you read two novels. One is self-selected, and the other is F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. You should be able to find a copy of The Great Gatsby in your local bookshop or library, or borrow a copy from a friend.

The course tutors will also encourage you to read material outside the set readings, and will recommend works or authors in response to your interactions in the course, comments in the discussion forums, and/or any writing you post in response to the writing exercises.

Writing and Feedback

There are several opportunities in each lesson for you to submit your writing for informal feedback from both other writers in the course, and the course tutors. Feedback from the course tutors on your posts to forums and so on will not be in-depth, but will be personal and timely. You will not receive feedback on all of your posts or comments in the course, though you can expect to receive frequent, personal comments most of the time.

This is a writing course, and while the focus is on honing your reading skills, there are also several opportunities for you to share your writing. At the end of the course, you are also invited to submit up to 2500 words of writing - non-fiction, poetry or prose fiction - to receive detailed feedback from the course teachers.

How To Enrol

You can enrol in any course on OWL by going to the website, and clicking on the course title. You'll be guided through the process of creating a user profile and paying for your course (via Paypal).

If you'd prefer to have your user profile created for you (you can edit it later), and pay by either direct deposit or cheque, please contact us by email at admin@olvarwood.com.au