Confession time: I’ve only ever taken one creative writing course.

It was a short course with the Open University back in 2008, which left me inspired and with a notebook full of ideas. Some may still, one day, come to fruition!

But I would say I already had skills as a writer. I was working on my first book (A Deadly Rejection) and was reading countless ‘how-to’ books, becoming overwhelmed with information along the way. I was also a journalist and so knew how to tell a story with spelling, punctuation and grammar mostly in the right places.

So you might say I know a bit about what I’m doing – with four books on the shelf and another on the way later this year – and I’ve started thinking about what to do next to complement my writing business.

Then I saw a course advertised on Future Learn, entitled Introduction to Teaching Creative Writing, and I thought “This sounds perfect”. After all, I can share my love of writing and creativity with like-minded souls.

And creativity in writing is incredibly important. In fiction most of all, but even non-fiction needs to tell an engaging story, or it becomes very dull indeed.

Indie author with notebooks and a coffee on a table

How do you become a creative writer?

I think anyone can become a creative writer. After all, we all tell stories, whether that’s what happened at the weekend or an account of a football match. It’s all in how you tell the story. Some people naturally know what to include and what to leave out, but it can also be learnt.

As part of the course, I had to design a creative writing course, which really made me think about what people need to learn to be a creative writer. My focus is on people who want to write fiction, and novels in particular, so this is what I came up with:

  • Getting started generating ideas (using free writing and games).
  • Learning how to create robust characters using photos from magazines or catalogues and writing about who you imagine that person to be and what they do.
  • Creating a strong sense of place – using the same process with images of places and paying attention to how to describe them.
  • Developing a plot – putting your character into the place and describe what happens.
  • Crafting the opening scene by looking at examples from other writers.

My last session would focus on keeping on because this is where many people fall down. Writing can be very hard; it requires patience and persistence. But if you can master those two, then you’re onto a good thing.

So, what’s next?

I have no immediate plans to become a creative writing teacher, but I definitely see it in my future. Life is in a bit of flux at the moment, but once it settles down, who knows? Watch this space!