Creative writing: from first draft to final act
Take a journey of discovery through reading and writing range of genres and literary styles as a way of stimulating your own writing voice. Through weekly writing tasks, workshops, and discussions, you'll have opportunities to experiment with your own writing in a supportive and creative academic atmosphere.
Ready to get into fiction and performance writing? We look forward to welcoming you.
Why choose this course with us?
- Learn at Cambridge, whatever your experience: this is an open-entry course
- Access Cambridge teaching in a flexible format: part-time and online
- Gain a credited, Cambridge award: boost your learning and career opportunities
- Join our peer-learning and Cambridge alumni communities: connection and support, for life
Course Dates
Course details
Academic team
Course information
Course highlights
During this part-time online certificate course, you will:
- experiment with your own approach to creative writing
- develop key study and writing skills
This course will introduce you to different forms of fiction, such as the novel, flash fiction, screenwriting and short stories. Over the course, you will learn techniques and tools for writing fiction and explore the craft of writing for performance.
As part of our learning community, you will:
- Examine fiction through close reading of published work, and write your own
- study the structure of a range of novels to see how different authors have followed or subverted the ‘rules’
- discuss how authors achieve a particular style, from the tense atmosphere of a ‘police procedural’ to the more lyrical style of a ‘literary’ novel
- explore the tools and conventions used to create a play or radio drama, or to write for film or TV
- study a variety of scripts to gain a greater understanding of dialogue and pace, and use these skills to enhance other forms of writing
Course breakdown
This course will run from 09 October 2026 to 09 June 2027.
Exact teaching dates and times will be confirmed in the course guide upon enrolment.
Michaelmas term: Introduction to creative writing
9 evening classes usually on Tuesdays (6.30 to 8.30pm) starting from 9 October 2026 plus 2 Saturday day-schools (7 and 28 November) usually from 11am to 4pm (break 1-2pm).
- Course (unit 1) start date: Friday 09 October 2026
- Unit 1 end date: Wednesday 06 January 2027
This unit will begin by asking what may seem obvious questions, such as: what is the purpose of fiction? Why has it endured as such a popular medium? What is the relationship between plot and character? What makes a story compelling? What do readers look for when they open the pages of a novel or short story? What is the nature of the hunger that we, as writers, seek to satisfy? Should we write what we know or that which we seek to understand?
Lent term: Approaches to Long Fiction
9 evening classes usually on Tuesdays (6.30 to 8.30pm) starting from 4 January 2027 plus 2 Saturday day-schools (30 January and 27 February) usually from 11am to 4pm (break 1-2pm).
- Unit 2 start date: Monday 4 January 2027
- Unit 2 end date: Wednesday 24 March 2027
The aim of this unit is to introduce students to the challenges of writing longer fiction. The novel will be the main focus of this, although the novella and long short story will also be considered. Students will be invited to explore a range of works that reflect different aspects of these forms.
Easter term: Writing for Performance
9 evening classes usually on Tuesdays (6.30 to 8.30pm) starting from 29 March 2027 plus 2 Saturday day-schools (17 April and 8 May) usually from 11am to 4pm (break 1-2pm).
- Unit 3 start date: Monday 29 March 2027
- Unit 3 end date: Wednesday 9 June 2027
The aim of this unit is to introduce students to the “nuts and bolts” of writing for performance. Writing for the screen will be the main focus, although developing work for stage and radio will also be considered. Students will be exposed to a range of texts that explore and reflect different aspects of the writing process across the different platforms.
After the course
You may wish to take our other Certificate in Creative Writing: Creative Non-Fiction. Students who have successfully completed both Certificate courses can apply to be awarded the Certificate of Higher Education in Creative Writing, worth 120 credits at level 4. You may also be interested in progressing to our Diploma in Creative Writing: Advanced Fiction and Writing for Performance.
Entry requirements
There are no formal academic entry requirements for this course. It’s open to all learners who are interested in the subject.
English language requirements
Our courses are taught in English and require a good level of fluency. If English is not your first language, you’ll need to meet the requirements of one of the language proficiency tests below. You’ll need to complete your test and submit the results to our admissions team by 15 September 2026.
IELTS (Academic), IELTS for UKVI Academic, IELTS One Skill Retake
Overall score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in any component.
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL Home Edition
https://www.ets.org/toefl.html
Overall score of 92, with no element below 20.
(Please note that changes to TOEFL Internet Based Test and Home Edition mean that it will no longer be suitable for entry to Cambridge at Undergraduate level from 21 January 2026. Tests taken after this date will not be accepted.)
Cambridge English C2 Proficiency
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/proficiency/
Overall score of 176, with no element lower than 169.
As part of our open and inclusive learning environment, you can enjoy the world-class resources and expertise of the University of Cambridge wherever you are on your academic journey.
Our video-based teaching platforms offer a flexible way to access lectures, while our Virtual Learning Environment makes it easy to study and learn online and interact with your tutor and fellow students.
Our teaching methods include lectures, presentations by guest speakers and facilitators, and interactive and experiential learning activities. There will be assignments, reading and discussions to complete outside of classroom sessions to develop your craft.
You will demonstrate your learning using a range of assignments submitted at the end of each unit. There are details about how this course is assessed and each assignment in the course guide, which we will send you once you have enrolled.
Qualifications
This course is equivalent to half of the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree. It offers 60 CATS credits, which are recognised by higher education institutions and employers.
Hours of study
The award of academic credit is a means of quantifying and recognising learning and within the UK, one credit notionally represents 10 hours of learning.
This course attracts 60 credits, so you should expect to need to study for approximately 600 hours in total to complete all units successfully. However, it is recognised that students study at different paces and use a variety of approaches, so this is a recommendation, rather than a hard-and-fast calculation.
SEEC Credit Level Descriptors for Higher Education (2021) here.
Fees
The total fee for this course is shown above in 'Course details'.
To help you manage your finances more comfortably, you can pay the fee in instalments. For more information on payment options, and how to secure your place, see how to pay.
Funding
We're dedicated to reducing and removing financial barriers to learning. Visit financial support before applying to find out what options may be available to help you in your studies. You can explore external funding and stay up to date on our concessions and bursaries.
We're committed to supporting you in your learning journey, and we offer a variety of support opportunities to meet individual needs. Visit student support to find out more about how we can help.
