A Complete Guide to Creative Writing Courses at Oxford

In the era of constant competition where everyday new career option is finding its way into our lives, it becomes a vital need to keep ourselves updated with the coming opportunities. And one such career option is creative writing. Ever wondered how stan lee came to make his dream of Thor true or how Rajamuli made his imagination into reality. Well! the answer is simple, by surpassing the realms of normal technical contemporary writing and learning creative writing which encompasses the exploration of different genres across fictional and nonfictional, playwriting, prose, poetries, and much more. This is what you are going to learn in the creative writing courses at Oxford that we have mentioned in this article.

Wondering how to complete that novel or poem that has been kept inside the drawer? Is the kid inside of you still dreaming about how to be a writer or what to do after having a first script idea? Be it a student or a working professional, we have solutions for all, no matter which age, ethnicity, or gender you are; that little dream of being a scriptwriter, poet, or author can now live maybe a little closer to you, as this article will help you to know all about creative writing courses at Oxford.

But the question remains how to start? What needs to be your first step? Keep up with this post to know the courses to begin your writing journey. Now here is a list of pros and cons one should keep in mind before joining the Oxford creative writing course to take an informed decision:

Pros:

• Oxford is the historical university that has shaped so many brilliant humans like J.R.R Tolkien, Robert Mugabe, Imran Khan, lewis Carrol, and the list goes on. Most of them have performed exceptionally well in the field of writing.
• The Goodwill and prestige of this university have worked wonders for the students academically as well as professionally, as this gives them an edge over other professionals from the same field.
• Outstanding Faculties: Oxford has always been known for its faculties and tutors, and their way of teaching is always different than the conventional teaching trends. Apart from the normal regular tutors, there are various industry experts whom they invite for workshops and knowledge sessions to provide you with depth and length to your existing knowledge.
• Exposure: Being here will provide you with a lot of exposure and will enhance your personality in several ways. Students would get the opportunity to meet different people from different ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities. So, students can learn to develop diverse perspectives which gives them many enriching experiences.
• Selection Criteria: There is no pre-required degree for students to join the creative writing courses at Oxford. Graduates, non-graduates, or anyone can apply for the course. Just some passion and experience are enough.

Cons:

• For the people who are not from the UK, shifting countries can prove to be big stress as it could be a pricey deal due to extra living expenditure that they have to bear.
• Cost and the fees of the course can be quite expensive and bearing that expenditure can become a problem for many students, especially for those who are not earning in Dollars and may feel that they are not getting enough return on investment.
• Oxford does accept students across the globe but it should also be considered that not everyone can adjust well to the cultural changes well. 
• One might feel too burdened or stressed out due to the amount of work you would be asked to do just to the bare minimum from the course.
• Everybody responds differently to different environments. Some people cannot grow as writers in those uncomfortable and stressful situations, maybe you are someone who will grow better and faster in your native country or by working or assisting under some industry professional.

There are several programs offered by Oxford university for various levels of creative writers. For novices and professionals alike, no matter where you stand as a writer, the creative writing courses at Oxford has something to upscale your writing journey.

Find here the in-demand Creative Writing Courses in London

1. Part-time Courses:

We understand that not everyone has time to appear in the full-time courses or may not be able to leave their prior commitments just to pursue their passion as a creative writer. Some even have less time to give it to their art while others are not sure whether to take it as a full-time career or not and still be able to figure out their interests and pursuits in writing.

This is the option for them to opt for as it has flexible timings and shorter durations of approximately 1-2 months, with fees of approximately 500 to 600 pounds. In fact, the batches are kept with a limited number of learners to keep it more interactive among peers and tutors. There are almost sixty-seven different short-term courses provided by Oxford, designed for virtual learning and with no in-person classes.

All the classes are pre-recorded and given to the students, whereas the option of attending it face-to-face is also available to the students once a week. Some of the creative writing courses at Oxford are:

• Advance Writing Lives: 

It is for people with some prior experience and has a certain command over the English language. This course will give you insight into how writers transform their personal experiences into their writings, character arcs, and stories and how we can do the same.

• Trollope, Eliot, Dickens, and Hardy: 

Reading Victorian Fiction: Victorian age literature is very difficult and interesting, and not everyone can understand its depth and hilarity, so this course will help the writers reading and understand the mindset of the writer during the nineteen century and help them develop the same via the course.

• Writing Lives: 

It is helpful for writers who wish to learn how can you transform their truths into amazing stories and how to bring them into their write-ups, and how to go below the surfaces and understand the emotions.

• Critical Reading: 

This course will help the students in reading, understanding, and analyzing literary texts and teach them how to critically analyze texts.

• Writing Fiction: 

The aim of this course is to learn to write novels,  short stories, and other types of fiction. And also how to start writing the same as well as the development of different characters and putting different emotions into the same story and making it versatile.

• Nature Writing:

Victorian Village to Global Village: It helps the students explore different nature writings that have been developed over time and how to read them along with publishing your content.

• Brontes: 

Ever wondered how the Bronte sisters lived such normal lives yet made such beautiful and everlasting fiction? How they carved their ways in such a male-dominated world yet kept their creativity and imagination alive, and made their fiction survive through time and generations? This course is all about these, you will learn in-depth about them.

• Writing Drama: 

People love drama, and the feeling it arouses in humans is something that makes people come back to the theaters. The crux of any drama is the script, the direction, and the character formations and this course will teach you the same.

Apart from these, there are fifty-nine other courses available on creative writing courses at Oxford based on different specializations, and credits earned during these courses are even transferable to higher studies certificates.

You may also want to check the best Creative Writing Courses in Liverpool

2)  Undergraduate Writing Programs:

The undergraduate creative writing course is a two-year part-time program focusing on four parts, prose, poetry, drama, and analytical reading, and is available in two different modes. Online (with the short module in oxford) which will be held on 4 Saturdays till semesters one to five, two in term six, as well as offline weekend course asking the students to visit the university during the weekends.

Some of the benefits remain common like peer group interaction, reading sessions, and peer rating of the work written by you. The opportunity to work with the oxford is also a major advantage of the course but the main requirement is dedication and enthusiasm to write. A hardworking attitude and passion for writing is a mandate as this program will require you to put in at least twelve plus hours of writings apart from the classes, but the admission process is not very difficult.

It does not require any prior formal experience in writing and the only required thing is fluency in the English language and passion for writing. With this degree, one can even apply for a master’s program, and if you pass the criteria, you can be accepted into Oxford itself. Besides the weekend classes, one also gets the opportunity to meet guest lecturers from various fields of writing and to broaden the horizon to get a deeper understanding of the subject along with the workshops.

The fee for this creative writing course is 7000-12000 pounds. The presence of 7 days of summer school in the creative writing courses at oxford is also a key highlight of the course. Students get the opportunity to live their dreams and get a chance to work on their writing skills. In order to understand the craft better, the course provides private time for students to write.

Students can focus on the best out of their final year which includes various optional visits to various places such as literary sites and historical places. It also helps in the creation of a portfolio, this course will make you develop a portfolio of around ten thousand words as this course gives you plenty of time and permits you to get engaged in all different types of genres, starting from prose, and poetries to stories and scripts.

Various young authors and experienced faculties like Edward Clark, John Ballam, Frank Egerton, Beatrice Hitchman, Victoria Condie, Helen Jukes, and many more students get great insight into the industry which can help students find their routes in the most uncharted ways.

To apply for the course, go to the creative writing courses at oxford and click on the apply button where they will help you to register yourself and help you find the best option for you by considering various factors like profession, preference, nationality, and so forth and tell you about the best possible option and course you should opt for. The fee structure remains the same in both the creative writing courses at oxford, between 3000-6000 pounds.

Also Read: Creative Writing Courses in Birmingham

3) Masters in Creative Writing:

While a diploma and bachelor’s degree might be for beginners and for one who is just starting with their writing career, master’s in creative writing courses at oxford are for the one with prior experience as it will help them by giving them an edge to their careers. The assignments would include a high amount of writing like four 2500-word assignments, a creative portfolio of 7000 words and 7000 words critical extended essay, and one 4000 words critical essay in the first year. And the last year students get to experience the specialization in a particular field among the following based on their interests:

• Novel
• Short fiction
• Poetry
• Radio Drama
• TV drama
• Screen drama 
• Stage drama
• Narrative nonfiction 

This particular specialization will help them figure out their abilities and give them in-depth knowledge in their chosen fields as the assignments given to them will be rigorous and ask them to write 25000 words of prose fiction. Another ninety minutes of radio drama and poetry collection of 60-80 poems will help them to develop a strong portfolio along with the genre-related critical approach of their choices.

But students need not worry about how they are going to do that on their own as every student will be allocated a personal guide or tutor to help them throughout the course so that they will not leave hanging alone in the mid-air. If you’re still wondering which creative writing courses at oxford are best for you, don’t worry!

Here is the List of Factors You Should Consider While Deciding the Course for You.

COVID 19 :

No matter how much we wish to believe that we have passed that phase, the virus is still here, so before joining any course which would require you to move out of your city, consider all the possible situations you might be facing and how you are going to be dealing with the same.

Native Country:

Do keep in mind the native country you live in, all the different types of changes and challenges you might be facing if you have to change the country, and is that course really worth all the challenges.

Also, consider the fact that by being stuck in all those different challenges you will some way or the other be diverting your focus and attention from the course and might not be able to keep up with the workload that will be there. 

Course Structure: 

Before deciding on the course, look at the detailed course structure and check does it meet your requirements, and what amount of time you can give to the course that is necessary.

Completion Time:  

Take the class timings and the course timings as one of the important factors as it is going to influence your decision a lot. If you are looking for a part-time course or full-time course, align them with the current projects that you are working on and your prior commitments that cannot be left unfinished.

Fee structure: 

Sometimes paying back the education loan can become a big burden and you are going to lose a large chunk of your salary in paying back that loan which can become quite the burden afterward.

Must check out the top-notch Creative Writing Courses in Brighton

Qualification Details: 

Do check all the prerequisites that would be required to enroll in the course, although the creative writing courses at oxford do not have any prior requirements, they do have a rigorous selection procedure, and one needs to have a great understanding of English for the course as well to survive in the country.

But please do not forget to choose the option that excites and challenges your writing boundaries as that will eventually help you grow as a writer. Even if you are feeling that maybe Oxford is not where you belong, keep in mind that it is not the only institution that teaches creative writing. You can choose other creative writing courses at Oxford to start your writing journey. 

Creative writing is something that one learns to gather more information about different styles of writing like Poetry, Prose, scripts, Dramas, and many more such things, and one of the very renowned places to learn this can be Oxford which has several courses according to the need and preference of the writer like the part-time courses with a week-long summer school at oxford university where they will help the writers to reach their maximum potential.

They also have one diploma course to gain in-depth knowledge about the subject and one long-term course with a one-year specialization. Fees of the course vary according to the time and mode of the classes, but one should keep in mind different factors before making the decision like the fees, city, prior commitments, course structure, and many more which will help your skills develop according to to your convince.

FAQ’s 

1. Does Northeastern university have creative writing courses?

Ans) Yes, it has different creative writing courses based on the preference of the students, it offers different Minors that students can choose as a subject and can study during their semester which will provide them with an overview of different styles of writing and help them find their genre. It also has an advanced writing MFA program and a multilingual writing program which is a year or two long. 

2. Is there any good creative writing course?

Ans) There are various types of creative writing courses that one can opt for based on the type of writing he chooses to learn like novel writing, story writing, prose and poetry writing, and screenplay writing. The course is even available based on the mode of study you wish to opt for these days. Even big universities like Oxford, Columbia, and brown are offering different courses.

3. What is advanced creative writing?

Ans) Various advanced writing programs offer different types of courses that will give you not basic but advanced knowledge about creative writing, and it does expect its student to have at least some kind of prior knowledge and experience about creative writing. It is for students who wish to gain some depth in their prior existing knowledge.

4. How can I learn creative writing for free?

Ans) Various universities offer a scholarship for various courses to national as well as international students. One can definitely choose to learn the same from various online resources absolutely free. There are also a number of courses available free of cost on different platforms. Apart from that, Youtube is the best platform for free and effective learning.  

5. Which are the best creative writing courses in London?

Ans)  There are various creative writing universities which are situated in different parts of London like the University of St. Andrews, Oxford, Cambridge, University of Birmingham, Brunel University of London, and many more based on the interests of the students, one can opt for the best amongst the available choices.

6. How long does the creative writing course?

Ans) There are various courses based on different time frames like the creative writing courses at oxford provide a course that is for one or two years, but there are universities that provide one or two-month courses as well.

Conclusion

Creative writing is one of the in-demand skills nowadays that plays a major role in brand awareness. As businesses need to market their products or services, they need creative writers to present their products in front of the mass in the most compelling manner. Hence, it proves what value creative writers possess in today’s digital environment where the creative mind is the only king. In the end, we hope we have provided you with a complete guide to the Oxford courses, you can apply to any of the courses, part-time or full-time, according to your convenience. All the courses possess good value, and the expert faculty make the program more fun with practices and assignments.