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. There will be two group lecture-sized sessions in the first half of Term 1 (weeks 2 and 5), and then a series of one-to-one discussions should be held with the student at least three times a term.

Lecture 1:

• Writing Practice methods.

Lecture 2:

• Shaping ideas/ project pitching session.

Learning outcomes

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

• Conceive and realise a substantial creative writing project demonstrating sustained craft and voice
• Critically apply knowledge of form, genre, and craft to articulate an independent position in relation to relevant creative traditions and practitioners
• Design and execute an independent programme of research, integrating findings into creative and structural decisions
• Produce a sustained critical reflection that positions your own practice within a relevant literary or creative context

Indicative reading list

Reading lists can be found in Talis

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.