Creative non-fiction: a taster
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This is an taster course designed for beginning writers who want to dip their toe into the creative non-fiction genre for the very first time. Students will be encouraged to think creatively and imaginatively about their approach to writing their own creative non-fiction.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
What is creative non-fiction?
What key techniques are useful in writing creative non-fiction?
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Develop your understanding of the creative non-fiction genre.
- Constructively analyse creative non-fiction texts.
- Start writing your own pieces of creative non-fiction.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
No formal requirements except a good standard of literacy and a love of reading.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
- Analysis of short pieces in class through group discussion.
- Pair work and group work.
- Individual short writing exercises.
- Formal instruction from the teacher combined with group discussion.
All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit.
For classes longer than one day regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines.
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Writing materials.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
The Writing department offers a range of creative writing courses, including Autobiographical writing, Biography writing, Writing a memoir and The art of the personal essay.
All students are invited to join us at Late Lines, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to Between the Lines, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on Facebook and Twitter.
Julie studied at the University of Essex, the Central School of Speech and Drama and Dartington College. She has written several plays for young audiences for, amongst others, the Unicorn Theatre for Children. She currently writes articles about landscape, heritage and nature. Julie won the 2014 British Czech and Slovak creative writing prize for her personal essay about the Czech Poet and dissident Ivan Blatny.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
