Chapter Two courses are for writers who wish to explore a particular mode writing in more intimate detail. Each course in this chapter is introductory in the sense that while they are based on the assumption that you have some understanding of writing at a general level, there is no assumption that you are intimately familiar with the history, conventions or possibilities of the particular area of the course.
There are three courses in Chapter Two: Poetry, Fiction and Non-Fiction. Each of these courses includes 12 lessons, and two opportunities to submit work for feedback.
The courses in this chapter are focused on development of short, stand-alone works (short stories, articles, individual poems) or on proposals and sample chapters for longer works.All of the courses in OWL are based on our philosophy that writers thrive on a mixed diet of reading, writing and thinking. If you’ve never thought about your writing practice that way before, or you’d like to learn more about how to integrate your writing, reading and thinking, you might find our Chapter One course Reading for Writers useful for opening up your practice, exploring ideas around inspiration, writers block, how to ‘read like a writer’ and so on.
Fiction is a twelve-week course, comprised of twelve lessons and three opportunities for you to gain written feedback on your writing from the course tutors, and participate in peer discussion. The course also includes various opportunities for you to try out a range of writing styles and techniques.Taught by Nike Bourke and Donna Hancox, this course focuses on writing fiction, including both the short story and the novel. Each lesson includes a range of readings, a discussion of techniques used by a variety of writers, and opportunities for you to experiment with your own writing.
Fiction begins with an introduction to this broad genre, its history, forms and various genres. We’ll experiment with different structural and narrative techniques; ways of telling your story. The course explores creating memorable characters and establishing point of view. We’ll learn how to write powerful scenes and convincing dialogue.
Fiction also examines the importance of setting and ways of constructing three-dimensional landscapes. We’ll experiment with description and style, the craft of writing on a sentence-by-sentence level, and finding your own unique voice.
Fiction then takes a closer look at the craft of writing short stories and the genres of literary fiction, speculative fiction, crime fiction, and children’s fiction.
In the final lesson, we’ll explore writing a novel or novella length work
Overview Non-Fiction is comprised of twelve lessons and two opportunities for you to gain written feedback on your writing from the course tutors. The course also includes various opportunities for you to try out a range of writing styles and techniques, share your work with other writers and participate in various interactive online learning tools, such as discussion forums, chatrooms and wikis.
Taught by Dr Inga Simpson, this course focuses onnon-fiction writing, including articles, essays, criticism and reviews, as well as book-length projects. Each lesson includes a range of readings, a discussion of techniques used by a variety of writers, and opportunities for you to experiment with your own writing.
Non-Fiction Writing begins with an introduction to this broad genre, its history and various elements. We’ll then learn how to conduct effective research and develop ideas into interesting short pieces. The course considers the all important voice and style, and adapting these for different markets.
The course then explores different sub-genres and forms of non-fiction writing including articles and reviews, essays, literary criticism, historical, political, travel, food, nature and biographical writing. In the final lesson, we’ll take a closer look at what’s involved in writing a book-length non-fiction project.
OverviewPoetry is a twelve-week course, comprised of twelve lessons and three opportunities for you to gain written feedback on your writing from the course tutors. The course also includes various opportunities for you to try out a range of writing techniques and ideas.
Poetry focuses on both closed form and free verse poetry, inviting you to experiment with techniques for understanding and experimenting with a range of poetic devices. Each lesson includes a range of readings, a discussion of the techniques used by a range of poets, and opportunities for you to experiment with writing your own poems.
By the end of the course you will have developed a portfolio of poems in a range of forms and genres, and have gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and possibilities of a range of historical and contemporary poetic forms.