Creative Non-Fiction: An Introduction (Beginner)

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 – 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 five – Writing About People (and Nature)
In Module Five 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. We will also briefly discuss writing about nature – and you will have the opportunity to engage in a writing exercise on this topic. There are also a couple of writing exercises concerned with writing about people that you try, though there is no marked assignment for this module. There is, however, your second one-to-one with the tutor.

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.