Top 4 Institutes Providing Diploma in Creative Writing

Many opportunities have opened up for writers in the digital age. Do you want to join the writers club and publish your book? The world has become a smaller place through the rise of the digital era, and because of technology, it has become possible to publish your work and make people read them from all over the world. The diploma in creative writing will help you to enhance your imagination and elevate your writing skills to the heights of professionalism. So here is an article that will tell you about the top institutes offering diploma in creative writing to further develop your skills.

What is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is a way of presenting one’s mind that goes beyond the traditional forms of writing like academic writing, professional writing, technical writing, research, or journalism. As per Wikipedia, creative writing is any writing outside of professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically emphasizing narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ideas or with various backgrounds of poetry.

Although this is a very vague definition. Some stories are written in journalism also, having a few characteristics of creative writing. Typically, creative writing can be recognized by the emphasis given to narration, focusing on character development, plot, and style of writing. In this sense, creative writing is any piece of original composition with no particular conventions and uses a wide range of elements in the writing.

What Are The Different Types of Writing?

Academically, creative writing is divided into genres. Genre is used to characterize, organize and classify literature. There are four main genres in creative writing namely, fiction, non-fiction, drama, and pottery. Let us see these in some detail.

Fiction

This genre is the product of a writer’s imagination. Sometimes the writers take inspiration from history or a real character in the past etc and build a story around that plot, but the final product is entirely the works conceived primarily out of the writer’s thought process. A few examples of the fiction genre is novel, novella, and short stories.

Non- Fiction

Stories in the non- fiction genre are based on a true event that is infused with the writer’s personal views and experiences. The final piece of writing may or may not be accurate, which means that the information shared can be true or false. However, it is assumed that when the authors are writing on a particular subject, they believe that all the information they have at the time of composition is true. A few examples of non-fiction writing are book reviews, speeches, memoirs, interviews, personal essays, and biographies.

 Poetry:

 This is a work of literature where feelings and ideas are expressed by using a distinctive style and rhythm. There are three types of poetry namely lyrics poetry, dramatic poetry, and narrative poetry. Some poems have a structure like sonnets like “My Mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” by William Shakespeare and haikus eg “Lines on a Skull” by Ravi Shankar, and some are free verse meaning that they don’t have a structure like “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman. Sometimes poems can also be written in a narrative manner known as prose poems, for example, The rape of the lock by Alexandra Pope.

Drama:

This piece of writing can include both fats and fiction. A drama is a story with dialogues between characters. This can be on a stage with or without sound or on the radio where dialogues are played or it can be in form of short movies, serials, or screenplays. The drama also includes movie scripts, ten-minute plays, written stage productions, and screenplays. 

What is the Process Involved in Creative Writing?

Creative writing is not just about conceiving an idea and writing it down, it takes much more than that. It has been observed that writers follow a systematic approach to come up with a well-written work. Here is the five-step involved in the process of creative writing.

Pre-writing:

At this stage, the writer chooses a topic to write about and then generates various ideas around the topic by brainstorming and gathering information. Once they have an outline in form of rough notes, charts, and diagrams, the writer states their purpose of writing and the target readers.

Writing the Draft:

Once a preliminary composition is ready based on the outline, and information is gathered, the writer gets a clear idea about the topic. It is here where the writer organizes their idea rationally to produce a rough draft of the writing. It is important to maintain unity and coherence by again and again checking the supporting details to get a clean draft.

 Revising:

Once a draft is ready, the writer reads and evaluates the work. This process involves rewriting and modifying the written work. It is here the writer analysis whether the material and writing style is appropriate for the target audience or not and makes changes accordingly. 

Editing:

Editing is an important phase in writing a book. Here the draft is checked for any types of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and structure. Writers edit their work to improve their writing style and look for any loopholes in their work. Many writers prefer to give out their manuscripts to other writers and experts to get feedback from them. Feedback is significant as it gives the writer an insight into his work and the feedback works as a guide for future writings. 

Publishing:

The last step is accomplished by sharing the final manuscript with a group to read for any errors. Writer can self-publish their books or get a publishing house to do that for them. The writer pitches to the publishing house with the final draft and it is on them to decide if they want to publish the book or not.

One can also go for self-publication but this is an expensive process as all the cost is borne by the writer. A writer can also publish their work online. There are various free and paid digital publishers. One can publish their book on Amazon free of cost.

Know more about the top-rated Creative Writing Courses in Kolkata

What Are the Skills Required to Be a Good Creative Writer?

Writing is an art and one must focus on working towards developing the skills. A writer faces many challenges to get a good piece of writing. They should always be open to new challenges while they are writing. There comes a time when a writer can get stuck and feel drained out with ideas.

Writers should be patient and calm so that they can think with an open mind. A Diploma in Creative Writing can help one to come up with new ideas. It has been observed that good writers are also good readers. Reading enhances knowledge and opens new windows of learning and ideas.

It is also necessary to read so that the writer knows what type of genre he wants to work on as a writer. Reading books of successful writers from the same genre and different genres will help the writer to how different writers write, what were their inspirations, and understanding the characters of the story, all of that gives new writers an insight into the creative writing carrier.

The key to becoming a successful creative writer is to write, write and write. The more you write the better you get at the skill. If you want to acquire the skills of creative writing, you can take up a creative writing diploma course to learn and enhance your skills. Here is a list of the top 5 institutes in India offering a  Diploma in Creative Writing.

Find here the list of trending Creative Writing Courses in Chennai to sharpen your skills

Top 4 Institutes for Diploma in Creative Writing

1. IIM SKILLS

IIM SKILLS is a leader in providing online educational programs in India. Their diploma in creative writing is one of the best in the industry. This is a 4 weeks course with 60 hours of practical assignments, and free tools worth ₹ 35,000. The course also has 10 hours of internship lecturers and many freelance opportunities.

They also provide internships for at least 3 months. This internship gives the candidate an idea of the working scenario and helps the students to develop a good portfolio of their work, which is very helpful for those looking to do freelance writing jobs. The institute also provides lifetime technical support and consultation.

The students are issued a certification on completion of the course. It is priced at ₹ 14,900+18 % GST. The course is open to all who want to learn about creative writing or upgrade their writing skills. Under the guidance of the IIM SKILLS faculty, one can become a confident writer and understand the editing process. The course also teaches some other forms of write-ups like blogs, e-books, articles, business listings, etc.

Course Name: Content Writing Course

IIM SKILLS CONTENT WRITING COURSE MODULES & CONTENT

The Curriculum:

• Introduction to Content Writing
• WordPress Web Development
• Digital content (Articles, Blogging, Web Pages)
• Copywriting
• Marketing Collaterals
• Email Writing
• Social Media Writing & Video Scripts
• Creative Writing
• SOP & Business Listing
• Technical Writing 101
• Legal Writing
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Content Marketing
• Affiliate Marketing & Ad sense
• Freelance Content Writing
• Resume Writing

2. British Council

One of the pioneers in teaching English programs worldwide, British Council has been at the top for many years. They have been working since 1948, majorly focusing on bringing out the creative abilities of the youth in the country. They have worked hard to build relationships between the United Kingdom to the other parts of the world with the help of cultural programs and academics.

The British Council has an online diploma creative writing course for both children and adults. For the adult creative writing course, one should have above the upper-intermediate level (B2) of English. The course is spread over 9 weeks, with weekend online classes (a total of 36 hours of lectures), along with 14 hours is interaction with the trainer.

The students are required to accomplish their assignments assigned by the teachers during the mid and end of the class. The teachers help aspiring writer to find their unique style of writing by giving them regular feedback on their assignments. The course helps the students to express their ideas in a very creative manner.

After the completion of the course, the students will be able to conceive and comprehend better ideas for their writings. The experienced trainers help the students to understand the different styles of writing which is very helpful for seasoned and new writers. The students will be issued a citification after successful completion of the course.

The course is priced at ₹ 10,000 and they offer 10% to all British Council Members.

Curriculum:

• Plot
• Character and settings
• Screenwriting
• Writing dialogue
• Writing short stories
• Blogging
• Poetry and poetic tools
• Travel writing
• Children’s Fiction
• Memoirs
• Experimental writing
• Getting published

Also Read: Creative Writing Courses in Ahmedabad

3. IGNOU

Indira Gandhi National Open University also known as IGNOU is one of India’s first and largest distance education schools in the world. It has 22 Schools of study offering degree, diploma, and certificate courses. The diploma in creative writing is designed in a way that helps the students to understand the subject, improve writing skills, and know about the professional side of the art of writing.

The course helps the students to develop creative ability so that they can have a professional carrier or work as a freelancer. The curriculum is structured in a way to impart knowledge in progressive stages so that the learner can absorb information about writing skills and develop their creative abilities.

The course focuses on imaginative writing skills like book reviews, writing short stories, and scripts for TV/radio and poetry. It takes a minimum of 1 year to complete the course and if a student cannot do it in a year then they have the freedom to complete it in 4 years.

Anyone who can do this course, for students below 20 years of age should have a 10+2 pass certificate, however, any applicant who is above the age of 20 years can do this course even if they do not have a 10+2 certification.

The course is priced at ₹ 3,800 + ₹ 200 registration fee.

Curriculum:

The Diploma in creative writing has two compulsory and four electives.

• General Principals of writing
• Project
• Short story
• Feature writing
• Writing for Media: Television and Radio
• Writing Poetry

Here are the rewarding Online Creative Writing Courses

4. Udemy

Udemy is one of the best online platforms for professional courses. There are many courses on Udemy on creative writing in different genres. They have specific courses on writing books for children, self-help, fiction, non-fiction, and many more areas. They also have a course on how to begin a book through to publish it.

One can go through the website and search through the courses they have. The course focuses on how to become a successful and confident writer. It covers the four genres of creative writing: fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry. The course helps upcoming writers to discover their style of writing.

This is achieved by doing a series of assignments that are designed in a way to upgrade ones writing skills. The course also gives an insight into how to publish the work and where to create a professional creative writing portfolio.

The course is self-paced and is priced at ₹ 1,299 (keep looking out for a discount)

Curriculum:

• The course includes: Poetry Primer – understanding Poetic Writing Styles and Projects
• Creative Non-Fiction Writing
• Fiction Crash Course – Writing Skills & Methods used.
• Beginning Playwriting – Write a Play and how to Get Produced
• 43 Video which is broken into various lectures.
• 37 online review quizzes covering the main concepts discussed in class.
• Notes, graphics, and assignment sheets after each class.

Frequently Asked Questions- FAQs

Q1. What are the top 3 elements of creative writing?

There are many elements in creative writing; one of the most essential elements is the setting of the story or background. There is a lot of time spent on developing the setting. The second major element is the characters of the book, this is a challenging one as the reader looks for character development and wants to see them grow, change and develop throughout the story. The third challenge focuses on the central problem that needs to be resolved. A writer can use many more elements to create an interesting story that can hold the reader’s attention from the beginning to the end.

Q2. What will I learn in a diploma in a creative writing course?

A diploma in creative writing course gives you an introduction to the various literary and non-literary forms of writing like poetry, prose, drama, screenplay, reviews, etc. A well-structured course gives an in-depth understanding of various techniques involved in different forms of writing. A good course helps budding writers to discover their inner voice. Most of the courses also guide you through the various stages of book writing and finally the publication of the book.

Q3. Is it difficult to learn creative writing?

Learning creative writing is no rocket science, making it easy for most people to learn. An understanding of the different genres and getting familiar with key distinctions will help one to make the writing better. A guided course is helpful as gives you the required skills to master the craft.

Conclusion:

Many people want to read the work of a new writer giving budding writers a place in the writing world. A diploma in creative writing will open new avenues for people who are aspiring to be writers. In this article, we have highlighted a few institutes that offer online courses to develop creative writing skills. The best thing about creative writing is that it can be taken up at any age and is a great way to express oneself. If you want to become a creative writer then take a diploma in creative writing course from one of the above institutes to bring out the best potential in you.