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Creative Writing

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Creative Writing

This practice-based course is meant for beginners in writing, and includes modules on writing process, image, setting, voice, characterization, story, etc.

  • No Rating
  • (0 Reviews)
  • 1 User Enrolled
  • ₨8,000.00
  • Course Includes
  • Access: Lifetime.
  • Resources: Lectures, Readings, Exercises, Writing...
  • Time: To be offered online.
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What you will learn

  • Genre specific lessons on poetry and fiction
  • The process of planning, writing, and revision
  • The skill to use the five areas of imaginative technique (image, voice, character, setting, and story)
  • Understanding of what creative writing is and how it is different from other types of writing

Course Content

9 sections • 45 lectures • 02h 50m total length
Introduction to the Course - by Dr. Muhammad
1min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson on creative writing and how it is different from other types of writing begins with the introduction of writing in general, its four major types and three styles. It then introduces creative writing and the role of the figures of speech in bringing what is called as literariness to it. The last section of the lesson briefly introduces the elements of creative writing.  

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Understand common differences between various types and styles of writing 
  2. Recognize creative writing as a distinct type of writing 
  3. Identify the role of figures of speech and elements of craft in creative writing 

Contents

This module will address the following topics

  • Writing
  • Four major types of writing
  • Three common styles of writing
  • Creative writing 
  • Figures of speech in creative writing
  • Elements of creative writing

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

Books: 

  • Burroway, Janet. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman
  • Bishop, W. & Starkey, D. (2006). Keywords in Creative Writing. Utah: University of Utah Press.

Websites:

YouTube

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Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
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Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
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Module 1: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
21min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson on principles of good writing begins with the introduction of good writing and traits of good writing. The main section of the lesson is the explanation of the following six principles with the help of examples: the clarity principle, the brevity principle, the active voice principle, the action verb principle, the principle of positive construction, the principle of parallel construction.  

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Understand the features of good writing and traits of a good writer 
  2. Recognize and apply the principles of good writing 

Contents

This module includes the following topics

  • Good writing
  • Good writer
  • Clarity
  • Brevity
  • Active Voice
  • Action Verbs
  • Positive Construction
  • Parallel Construction 

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

Books: 

  • Strunk, W. Jr. (1918). Elements of Style. Geneva, NY: Press of W. P. Humphrey.
  • Lucas, F. L. (1955). Style: The art of writing well. Cassell & Co. Ltd. 

Websites:

 

YouTube:

 

The Craft of Writing Effectively: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIzMaLkCaM

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Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
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Module 2: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
20min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson introduces image as an important element of craft. It also shows the difference between image and flat writing. Examples show how showing has an echoing effect on readers. The next section introduces the do’s and don’ts of creating images. The final section explains five types of imagery.  

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Tell the significance of an image and the show-not-tell theory
  2. See the difference between flat writing and the one which comes alive
  3. Use different types of imagery in their writing 

Contents

This module includes the following topics

  • An image and its significance 
  • the origin of show-not-tell theory
  • Flat writing versus image
  • Do’s and don’ts of image making
  • Imagery  

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

Books: 

  • Burroway, Janet. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman
  • Evory, Michelle Bonczek. (2018). Naming the Unnameable: An Approach to Poetry for New Generation. Geneseo: Open SUNY Textbooks. 
  • Ramet, Adele. (2007). Creative Writing: How to unlock your imagination, develop your writing skills – and get published. Oxford: Howtobooks. 
  • Geraghty, Margret. (2009). The Five-minute Writer: Exercise and inspiration in creative writing in five minutes a day. Oxford: Howtobooks. 

Websites:

 

YouTube:

 

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Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Module 3: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
14min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson is about voice and how to build it as the author's voice and character voice. It also introduces persona and the relationship of voice with point of view and diction.  

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Define voice, persona, point of view and diction 
  2. Set a direction to find their voice
  3. Write distinctive dialogues for characters

Contents

This module includes:

  • Voice and how to find it
  • Author’s Voice
  • Persona 
  • Character’s Voice 
  • Voice and Point of View 
  • Voice and Diction

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

Books: 

  • Burroway, Janet. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman
  • Derek Neale. (2009). A Creative Writing Handbook: Developing Dramatic Technique, Individual Style and Voice. Milton Keynes: A & C Black Publishers. 
  • Matson, Clive. (1998). Let the Crazy Child Write!: Finding your creative writing voice. Novato: New World Library.  

Websites

YouTube

mb
Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Module 4: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
23min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson defines character and its types, and discusses different strategies of developing it and ways of presenting it.  

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Identify different types of characters
  2. Understand various strategies of character development
  3. Know ways of presenting a character

Contents

This module includes:

  1. Character and its types
  2. Character Development
  3. Ways of Presenting Characters
    • Character as Desire
    • Character as Image 
    • Character as Voice
    • Character as Action
    • Character as Thought 

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

 

Books

  • Burroway, Janet. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman.
  • Pelican, Kira-Anne. (2021). The Science of Writing Characters: Using Psychology to Create Compelling Fictional Characters. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.  
  • Dunne, Will. (2017). Character, Scene, and Story: New tools from the dramatic writer’s companion. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Wolff, Jurgen. (2007). Your Story Coach: From Concept to Character, From Pitch to Publication. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. 

Websites:

YouTube

mb
Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
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Module 5: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
27min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson begins with defining setting and its types, and leads to showing different ways of describing and enhancing it i.e., by layering it into action, and using sensory details interlaced with a character’s point-of-view. Towards the end of it, the lesson highlights some of the roles a setting can play in creative writing, e.g. of showing emotions, creating conflict, and revealing backstory.  

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Define setting and its different types
  2. Display a knowledge of strategies of writing good settings 
  3. Recognize the role setting plays in creative writing 

Contents

This module includes:

  1. Understanding setting
  2. Types of Setting
  3. Describing Setting
  4. Enhancing Setting
  5. Using Setting to: 
    • Show emotions
    • Create conflicts
    • Reveal the backstory  

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

 

Books

  • Buckham, Mary. (2012). Writing Active Setting: Book 1 – Characterization and Sensory Detail. Port Townsend: Cantwell Publishing. 
  • Buckham, Mary. (2013). Writing Active Setting: Book 2 – Emotion, Conflict and Back Story. Port Townsend: Cantwell Publishing.
  • Buckham, Mary. (2013). Writing Active Setting: Book 3 – Anchoring, Action, as a Character and More. Port Townsend: Cantwell Publishing. 

Websites:

YouTube

mb
Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Module 6: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
19min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

This lesson begins with the general shape of story that is most frequently referred to in literature classes: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. It then introduces shapes of stories as drawn by creative writing experts in terms other than those given above i.e., Kurt Vonnegut’s five shapes of story and Janet Burroway’s three ways of presenting story. 

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Describe new shapes of story 
  2. Analyze stories in the light of Vonnegut’s and Burroway’s story shapes
  3. Write stories modeled on one of the shapes discussed 

Contents

This module includes:

  • What is a story?
  • Shapes of Stories
  • Kurt Vonnegut’s Shapes
  • The popular story
  • The boy-meets-girl story
  • The depressed person’s story
  • The Kafka story
  • The masterpiece 
  • Janet Burroway’s Shapes
  • Story as a journey 
  • Story as a power struggle
  • Story as a pattern of connections and disconnections  

 Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

 

Books

  • Burroway, Janet. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman. 

Websites:

YouTube

mb
Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
mb
Module 7: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
22min
Introduction - by Dr. Muhammad

Description

In this lesson, we will discuss different stages of writing and what a writer should keep in mind through the processes of writing and revision. The lesson also highlights the role revision plays in writing. 

Objectives

By the end of this module, the students will be able to:

  1. Describe processes of writing and revision 
  2. Use established questions and principles in their own writing 
  3. Workshop works of other writers in the light of Burroway’s questions

Contents

This module includes:

  • Pre-writing 
  • Choosing topic
  • Determining audience
  • Determining tone
  • Determining point of view
  • Exploring topic
  • Writing 
  • Title 
  • Writing a draft 
  • Developing the draft
  • Post-writing 
  • Revision
  • Editing 
  • Workshopping 

Instructional Strategies

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Reading (lesson, slides, readings from external sources) and other sources 
  • Writing activities
  • Lecture Video

Books

  • Burroway, Janet. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman.

Websites:

YouTube

mb
Lecture Slides - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Lecture Notes - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Reference Material - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Writing Activities - by Dr. Muhammad
mb
Module 8: Recorded Lecture - by Dr. Muhammad
23min

Requirements

  • SSC / O’ Levels or Equivalent. English language requirement (Intermediate or higher)

Description

Duration: 8 Weeks

Description:

This introductory level course is meant for beginners in creative writing and includes modules on the process and types of writing, and image, setting, voice, characterization, story, and two most popular writing genres i.e., fiction and poetry. The theoretical debates together with practical exercises will help the students develop skills in creating concrete images, using original voice, writing developed characters, and imagining useful setting.  

Grading Policy and Assessment:

University grading policies will apply.

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About the Instructor

instructor
About the Instructor

Muhammad Sheeraz Dasti holds a PhD in English and has authored a novel, Sasa, several short stories, and five books of academic and literary translation. He teaches Creative Writing, and World Literature in English at the Department of English and is currently the Head of Center for Language Teaching in the International Islamic University Islamabad. He can be best reached via email i.e., m.sheeraz@iiu.edu.pk.