Playwriting: a taster

What is the course about?

Playwriting is an ideal way to explore themes, events, and characters, and to re-ignite our imaginations. In this short, one-off taster session you'll have fun and express yourself through guided writing exercises, and try out your skills to produce some original writing.

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?

Some basic playwriting principles
Writing exercises to help you to discover ideas and characters for a play
Where to find further resources.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- Discuss a scene from a play with confidence
- Produce an original piece of creative writing
- Find resources to help you develop your writing further.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is an introductory course suitable for anyone who wants to try playwriting. You should have a good grasp of spoken and written English.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

- Interactive tutor presentation
- Guided writing exercises
- Group discussion

This course will be delivered online. There will be no work outside class.


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?

No additional costs.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

You can enrol on one of our longer playwriting course Ways into Playwriting. Or why not try one of our other introductory creative writing courses, such as Ways into Creative Writing: a Gentle Pace, Ways into Creative
Writing, or Ways into Poetry?

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.