Chapter One courses are for writers who are serious about playing with words: writers who want to explore their craft through engaging with ideas about language and storytelling, gain feedback on their work from experenced writers and mentors, and develop friendly, supportive writing networks.
There are three courses at this level: Reading for Writers, Playing with Prose and Playing with Poetry. These courses have no assumed knowledge: that is, while they are designed on the assumption that you would like to improve and develop your writing, we don't assume that you have completed any training as a writer before now.
If you're wondering whether this is the right course and learning environment for you, you might wish to try out our free online Book Club, before you enrol, in order to familiarise yourself with the online learning environment, and get a feel for our approach.
Course 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
Course OverviewPlaying with Prose is an introductory course for writers who'd like to explore the online learning environment of Olvar Wood, have some fun playing writing games, and learn a little something about the craft of writing. Playing with Prose is for writers who wish to explore both fiction and non-fiction prose writing.
It is suitable for writers who have little or no previous experience, or for those wishing to refresh their skills.
Playing with Prose is made up of six lessons:
- introduction: the writer's toolkit
- words
- sentences
- paragraphs
- scenes
- stories
Each lesson includes writing hints and tips, reading suggestions, writing exercises and forums in which you can post your writing experiments, ask questions, and engage in discussion with the teaching team at Olvar, and with other writers who are visiting the site.
At the end of the course, you can submit up to 2000 words of your own writing and receive detailed, personal feedback.
We hope you enjoy Playing with Prose: we look forward to reading your work.
Playing with Prose is available for you to enrol in at any time. The course is self-paced; from the day you enrol you have a maximum of six months to complete the course.
Playing with Poetry is a short, introductory course for writers who'd like to explore the online learning environment of Olvar Wood, have some fun playing writing games, and learn a little something about the craft of writing. Playing with Poetry is for writers who wish to explore both closed form and free verse poetry.
It is suitable for writers who have little or no previous experience, or those wishing to refresh their skills.
Playing with Poetry is made up of six lessons:
- introduction: the writer's toolkit
- words
- imagery
- line
- stanza
- poem
Each lesson includes writing hints and tips, reading suggestions, writing exercises and forums in which you can post your writing experiments, ask questions, and engage in discussion with the teaching team at Olvar, and with other writers who are visiting the site.
You can enrol in Playing with Poetry at any time: the course is self-directed and not time-dependent.
During the course, the tutors and your peers will comment on the posts you make. At the end of the course, you will be invited to submit a poem or poems (up to 200 lines) for feedback from the course tutors.
We hope you enjoy Playing with Poetry: we look forward to reading your work.