Introductory description

The Personal Writing Project is a fully assessed piece of independent, guided work to produce a substantial and original portfolio of either short fiction, an excerpt from a longer work of fiction, poetry, new writing for stage/screen, accompanied by a reflective and critical essay on the aims and processes involved.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

There is no syllabus. A series of one-to-one discussions should be held with the student at least four times a term.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• The main purposes of this module are to enable students to develop their practical and creative skills in a specific genre, and also their critical skills in exploring the aims and processes involved in their work and that of notable practitioners.
• They will also gain critical insights into the work of other contemporary writers and the processes of literary production.
• Producing a portfolio of creative writing;
• Examining critical concepts and practice in a genre of fiction or poetry or stage-writing or screen-writing;
• Understanding, through practice and discussion, the research needed for a larger scale creative work, and the structures and styles necessary for executing such a work;
• Conceptualising the student's own practice as a writer in relation to other writers' work and practice.

Indicative reading list

The supervisor will provide tailored reading lists appropriate to the project.

Subject specific skills

The main purposes of this module are to enable students to develop their practical and creative skills in a specific genre, and also their critical skills in exploring the aims and processes involved in their work and that of notable practitioners. They will also gain critical insights into the work of other contemporary writers and the processes of literary production. The module will assist the student in:

1. Producing a portfolio of creative writing;
2. Examining critical concepts and practice in a genre of fiction or poetry or stage-writing or screen-writing;
3. Understanding, through practice and discussion, the research needed for a larger scale creative work, and the structures and styles necessary for executing such a work;
4. Conceptualising the student's own practice as a writer in relation to other writers' work and practice.

Transferable skills

Demonstrate a practical and critical knowledge of one of the following genres in terms of subject, appropriate research, synthesis of materials, language, genre, form, narrative, character, and description, and of representative examples by published writers, namely: poetry, fiction, stage-writing and screen-writing.