Online Creative Writing Courses: An overview

Develop a writing routine and gain regular feedback on your work from an experienced tutor with an online creative writing course.

Our courses can be accessed from anywhere in the world, at any time. They include exercises, interactive Zoom sessions, hand-picked resources and regular tutor feedback, and you’ll share the experience with a small group of fellow students.

“The tutor was incredibly generous, encouraging and insightful.”

Our online creative writing courses are designed in partnership with the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at UEA

Click on a course type from the list below to find out more about the content of specific courses – including more about the course tutors.

Our online creative writing courses are designed in partnership with the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at UEA

Creative Writing Course Format: How our tutored online courses work

• Web-based
  • Our Creative Writing Online courses take place entirely over the internet. All you need is a computer and an internet connection.
• Duration
  • We run 12- and 18-week courses.
• Course format
  • The majority of the course is delivered in text form, making it easy to progress through the course chapter-by-chapter. 
  • Your knowledge will be developed through writing exercises and the analysis of samples of writing.

“Having someone read and feedback on my writing gave me focus and motivation.”

• Modules
  • The course is divided into fortnightly modules, each of which introduces an aspect of the craft of writing. 
  • Every two weeks you will submit an assignment to your tutor, who will then respond with constructive feedback and advice. Outside of those assignment deadlines you can progress through the lessons and exercises at your own pace.
• 1-2-1 feedback
  • You will have 1-2-1 feedback from your tutor and fellow students.
• Discussions
  • Forum-based student discussions are included throughout the course, providing an opportunity for students to interact with each other and the course tutor. To get the most out of the course, we recommend taking part in as many discussions as possible.

How much do your Online Creative Writing Courses cost?

Our starter courses for beginner writers are £475 – with discounted early-bird tickets priced £427.50.

Next-level courses for writers with some experience are £950.

See individual course details below to check the course you’re interested in.

Who are your tutors?

We work with a number of fantastic tutors to deliver our various courses. We bring in relevant expertise for various genres, styles and aspects of the courses as needed.

You can read more about our tutors on the course pages – browse them below.

“Excellent and constructive feedback from Helen Ivory. Enjoyed the high standard of poems posted by participants.”

Time: How long do your Creative Writing Courses take?

Courses run for 12 or 18 weeks and are split into several modules, which each last two weeks. Modules consist of multiple chapters and your progress is tracked throughout, making it easy to pick up where you left off.

Although a module is open for two weeks, you are not expected to dedicate that entire time to the course! Our online courses are designed to fit around a busy lifestyle and each chapter is conveniently bite-sized so that you can always be making progress. On average we expect most students to spend between 3-5 hours per week on a course (this time will be a mixture of reading, community discussions, exercises and assignments). This will vary from student-to-student and some modules may be more intensive than others.

Each module includes smaller exercises and a main assignment. How much time you spend on these is flexible and will depend on your own writing style and process.

Not sure about our more intensive courses? Why not start off with a shorter, self-paced course? Find out more about our short, self-paced courses. 

Equipment and software: What you need

You will need access to a computer and you will need access to the internet. 

You can view the study materials on a mobile device but we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer for working on assignments and taking part in community discussions.

“The course made me enjoy writing again.”

Important: Your web browser must be up-to-date to access the courses. We recommend using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

We use two platforms to deliver our tutored online courses:

• Teachable
  • This online course platform hosts our study materials and community interactions. You will be provided with a login for a Teachable account at the beginning of your course.
• Zoom
  • We use zoom to host any live tutored elements of the course. Please see the course-specific pages for full details.

Got questions?

If you have any questions, you can get in touch by emailing Vicki at learning@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk.

Browse our current creative writing courses