Creative Writing 101

By Sally Odgers

Lesson 1: Why and What to Write?

Writing Exercise and Bibliography.

By now you should have some idea of what kind of writing is best suited to your interests and talents. Here is a writing exercise you might like to try.

Choose one of the basic types of writing covered in this lesson. Write an informal essay or letter explaining why this kind of writing appeals to you and outlining a project you would like to produce.

Use your natural style, and try to write steadily and without stopping.

Now, distil this essay to between three and seven sentences and, if you like, copy it to the discussion associated with this course.

Texts mentioned in this lesson include;

'Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose', by Constance Hale. Published by Radndom House. ISBN: 1590615816 Format- available in hardback, paperback and as an Adobe Acrobat e-book.

'The Thuggery Affair', by Antonia Forest. Faber, 1965. Currently out of print, but soon to be reissued.

'The Thursday Kidnapping', by Antonia Forest. Faber, 1963. Currently out of print, but soon to be reissued.

'The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill', by Dorothy Wall. Individual stories first published in the 1940s, but this edition 1990 by Angus and Robertson. ISBN : 0207167400

'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', by J.K. Rowling. Published by Scholastic in 2000. ISBN: 0439139597

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Lessons

Introduction
Lesson 1: Why and What to Write?
• Why Do You Want to Write?
• What to Write? (1). Non-fiction.
• What to Write? (2) Fiction.
• What to Write? (3). Verse and Other.
• Writing Exercise and Bibliography.
Lesson 2: Genres
Lesson 3: Ideas, Plots and Themes.
Lesson 4: Plot Building.
Lesson 5: Character Building.
Lesson 6: Dialogue.
Lesson 7: Basic Style.
Lesson 8: Lucky Dip.