Creative Non-Fiction: An Introduction (12-week course)

Module one – Why write non-fiction

In this module, you’ll look at why you want to write non-fiction and think about what the specific type of non-fiction it is that you might be interested in writing. You’ll also look at the ways you can find a story and, for your assignment, you’ll work on the beginning 500-word piece of writing inspired by the world around you.

Module two – Research (part one)

This module begins to tackle the thorny world of research for a piece of creative non-fiction. You’ll be led through some different methods for beginning your research and you’ll learn some tips for making sure you don’t end up with a huge mess of material at the end. There’s not a marked assignment for this module but various writing exercises and also your first one-to-one meeting with the course tutor.

Module three – Research (part two)

In this module, you will focus on interviewing, a crucial skill for any non-fiction researcher whose work is set in the present day or needs to include living people’s memories of the past. You will also consider the ethics of interviewing, looking at how to balance your obligations to your interviewee and the reader. For your assignment, you will be asked to interview someone you are close to, to find out something you didn’t previously know about them.

Module four – Writing about people

In module four, you will look at how to create an in-depth portrayal of a character that makes the reader feel they know them – a vital skill across all fields of non-fiction, from travelogue to history. You’ll consider what makes up a personality and look at how to get inside your character’s head so that the reader empathises and appreciates their complexity.

Module five – Place

In this module, you’ll examine how to describe the locations that form your narrative’s settings, and how to manage the interplay of your people and places. You’ll discuss how they influence one another and drive the narrative arc of your story. For the assignment, you’ll write a biography about a person who defines a place, or write about a location that has a special significance for you.

Module six – Finding your voice and telling your story

For the final module, you will pull together everything you’ve learned to produce a 1,500-word piece of non-fiction on a topic of your choice. You’ll also look at how you might start to go about creating a book-length narrative, and the way the skills you’ve learnt in this course can transfer to long-form creative non-fiction.

Your tutor will read and review up to 3,000 words of assigned writing. Throughout the course, you will receive considered, constructive feedback to help you keep improving your craft.