Creative writing: an introduction to writing for children

A stack of children’s books with colourful covers, set in front of shelves and background storage items

Course Dates

Key Features

Welcome week (Week 0):

Purpose:

personal introductions
introducing the course
useful reading
personal objectives

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

become familiar with navigating around the VLE and from VLE to links and back
tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sorted out any problems with the help of the eLearning Helpdesk
learnt how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
used forums to introduce themselves to other students
contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they are interested in the course, what they hope to get out their studies and also to respond to News item sent out on behalf of tutor

Teaching Week 1: Beyond The Secret Garden

This week we will look to understand that there are many different types of children’s books on the market and that children’s literature has evolved massively in the past hundred years.

Learning outcomes:

To have gained an understanding of how word count, content and vocabulary for different formats/age groups matter.
To have explored how tapping into your own childhood memories or experiences could help generate ideas and/or unleash your unique voice.
To have explored themes and ideas you might be drawn to.
To have generated new ideas for possible stories in a playful way.

Teaching Week 2: Creating Compelling Characters

This week we will look to understand what the process is to create a compelling character.

Learning outcomes:

To have discusse what makes a character compelling.
To have created a variety of characters using personal knowledge, research and imagination.
To have gained an understanding of why characters are important in all children’s books.
To have explored how to use dialogue for characterisation or to move the story forward.

Teaching Week 3: Genre and Location

This week we will look to understand the wide range of genres and forms used in children’s literature.

Learning outcomes:

To have gained an understanding of the common genres in children’s literature (fantasy, contemporary, magical realism, sci-fi, horror, issues-based narratives, funny books, non-fiction, etc).
To have explored location and setting in children’s literature.
To have gained an understanding of how location might link to character positioning, genre and tone.

Teaching Week 4: Structure and Plot

This week we will identify the usefulness of structure and to know what plot is and how to generate it.

Learning outcomes:

To have gained an understanding of what structure is and how it can help your story.
To have discovered ways to generate to plot.
To have explored how pace and tone can enhance a children’s story.

Teaching Week 5: Revising and Editing

This week we look to understand that writing a good book often comes in the rewriting and editing of that book.

Learning outcomes:

To have gained an understanding of what a structural (developmental) edit is (as used by agents and editors).
To have explored what line editing is.
To have identified next steps for a piece of writing and how old ideas can be recycled.