Craft focus: voice in fiction
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What is the course about?
What do we mean when we talk about voice in fiction? This course will provide you with the opportunity to investigate this most elusive of craft elements, learning what voice means, and how you can develop one for your writing. This is an advanced concept, suitable for those with some experience of creative writing.
Students say: "I found the course helpful in encouraging me to find my own voice"; "Excellent! Really enjoyable and varied content"; "A packed day full of inspiring ways to get writing"; "I loved the writing exercises and workshopping.".
What will we cover?
- What is voice in fiction?
- Types of voice in fiction (narrative, character)
- Tone and atmosphere
- Style and identifying your voice as a writer.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Give and receive feedback with sensitivity
- Identify the components of voice in fiction
- Understand the role of sentence-level craft in developing 'voice'
- Generate prose with a distinct voice.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course focuses on an advanced element of fiction craft and is suitable for those with some experience of creative writing. You will need to be an enthusiastic reader of fiction with fluency in English.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Analysis of published work, in-class writing exercises, troubleshooting and tutor-led discussion and interactive presentation.
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 extra costs. Please bring writing materials.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Why not try one of our term-long courses in fiction such as Writing fiction, Short Story Writing or Starting your novel? If you feel ready to submit your work for rigorous constructive feedback, you can enrol on Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop.
Collect the other Craft Focus courses on offer to give key elements of your writing the special attention they deserve. You may also enjoy a Reading for writers course, or the Craft of fiction reading and writing group. There are lots of options to develop your fiction available via the online prospectus. If you need help finding the right one, just give us a call!
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.
Tasha Kavanagh has an MA in Creative Writing from UEA where she studied under Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain. She has worked as a film editor on features including 'Twelve Monkeys', 'Seven Years in Tibet' and 'The Talented Mr Ripley' and has had 10 children's books published. Her debut novel 'Things We Have in Common' was published by Canongate in 2015 to critical acclaim and was shortlisted for major prizes including the Costa 1st Novel and Desmond Elliott Prize. She is currently writing her second novel.
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.
