A. Introduction to Creative Writing

B. How To Write The Novel

C. How To Write Crime Fiction

All three courses are taught in units. Each unit is followed at the student's own pace and there is no prescribed time limit for completion. No previous experience is required.

Course A and C are taught in eight units. Course B is taught in 16 units. Units are emailed to students one at a time. They comprise instructional material and stimulus originated tasks.

As each unit is completed, the assignment is emailed to the tutor for assessment and critical feedback.

Students are encouraged to submit a piece of narrative fiction at the conclusion of each course. For course A and C this would be in the region of 1000 – 2000 words. For course B this would be a chapter of a proposed novel plus a brief synopsis.

COSTS: Course A costs £79. Course B costs £125. Course C costs £79. The fees are non returnable and payable in advance by cheque to Kelvin I. Jones via post to:

4 South View Cottages,

Lynn Road,

West Rudham PE31 8RN

All detailed enquiries should be sent by email to the tutor at cunningman@hotmail.co.uk

Please note that none of these courses carry an academic accreditation.

Prospective students may also like to know of the tutor's copy editing and literary advice service.

The fee for this service is priced at £4.50 per thousand words. See the website at www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk

SYLLABUS FOR INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING

1.Stimulating creativity & developing a writing habit

2.What sort of story? Genre & the reader: writer, reader & story

3. Keeping a notebook
4. Character creation. Setting & character; setting & emotion; real and invented places
5. Trying on voices: points of view
6. Degrees of knowing: voice, tone and attitude
7. Showing and telling; dialogue
8. Structure: bringing the parts together
 

WRITING THE NOVEL: COURSE OUTLINE

Part One

One

Self esteem. Time management. Getting started and motivation.

Two

Writer's block. Keeping notebooks. Drafting versus editing. Finding your ideas and materials. The writer's onboard toolkit.

Three

History, form and genres of the novel. Mainstream and genre novels.

Four

Beginnings. Getting material and ideas for the novel. Sources and how to use them.

Five

The setting of the novel. Description and its variant forms in narrative.

Six

Plotting. How plots work and are constructed. Structuring your novel's narrative line.

Seven

Characters. Part one.

Eight

Characters. Part Two.

COURSE OUTLINE: PART TWO: WRITING THE NOVEL
 
1. Point of view: an overview for the novel: first person narratives.
 
2. Point of view: types of third person narratives in the novel: limited viewpoint and the central character.
 
3. Use and effect of dialogue in the novel. Inherent technical difficulties.
 
4. Dialogue part two, including interior monologue technique.
 
5. Atmosphere and description: use of cliff-hangers and suspense in the novel structure.
 
6. Revision: how to use it and how  to abuse use it.
 
7. Preparing your MS and synopsis: a detailed guide.
 
8. Publishers and agents: how to find and approach them.
 

HOW TO WRITE CRIME FICTION:

Eight Week COURSE OUTLINE

One

Crime Fiction: a definition. Crime versus non genre fiction.

Brief history and account of the crime genre: sub genres: whodunits, whatdunits, private eyes, police procedurals, hardboiled, historical crime fiction, American versus British trends.

Present day fashions and what the contemporary crime novelist needs to know.

Where To Get Ideas From: reading crime fiction for research.

Keeping a journal.

Themes & Ideas: Sources for ideas: news items, photos.

Examples from the writer's work.

Two

Strategies: The Central Plot:

Keeping A Record: Use of maps & filing systems.

Planning Chapters: The importance of conflict.

Three

Character Creation: Your Detective & Others, including villains.

Types of detective and How to Avoid the cliché.

Other characters. How to convey characters effectively.

Examples from the author's work.

Four

Setting & atmosphere. How to heighten suspense and tension. Use of metaphor & simile.

Examples from the author's work.

Points Of View: Who's Telling This Story? First or third person, their advantages & disadvantages. Example from Edgar Allen Poe story.

Examples from the author's short story.

Five

Openings: the “hook”.

Various types of opening. Use of the prologue to heighten tension & foreshadow. Examples from the writer's work. Use of clues.

The shape of the narrative.

How To and How Not To: verbosity: active versus passive language.

Pitfalls; Showing versus Telling.

Creating suspense. Cliff hangers. The importance of dialogue.

Endings

Six

Forensics & the lab.

The importance of accuracy in crime fiction. Murder weapons & ways of despatching your victims.

Scene of crime. Police methods. Victims of crime. Psychological profiling.

Trials and coroner's courts.

Seven

Research. Use of real locations. Historical crime novels.

Use of the internet.

Revising your MS.

Eight

Marketing your work.

Preparing your MS. How to approach agents & publishers.

The synopsis. The market for crime fiction.

Short stories.

ABOUT YOUR TUTOR

BORN in Kent in 1948, Kelvin began writing poems and mythology- themed stories as a youngster. In his teens, he became hooked on the Sherlock Holmes novels of Arthur Conan Doyle, who found inspiration for the. Classic book the Hound of the Baskervilles while convalescing at Cromer in 1901.

Kelvin continued to write as a student at Warwick University, also performing as one half of a comic singer song-writing duet, and acting in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. But, after graduating with a degree in English and American literature, he put his literary ambitions on hold to embark on a career as a secondary school teacher.

His first book 'Conan Doyle And The Spirits', a biography of Conan Doyle published in 1989 - combined Kelvin's twin passions of crime writing and the occult, and he went on to become an authority on Conan Doyle, also penning his own psychic-themed crime stories.

But it wasn't until he retired to north Norfolk in 2001 that Kelvin had the chance to concentrate more fully on writing.

He has since published many books on the folk tales and superstitions of Cornwall - where he and his artist wife Debbie spent several years - as well as penning a series of essays on Conan Doyle's Cromer connection and writing a series of books featuring Holmes-type detective John Carter and his sidekick Dr Rigden. His latest book, 'Carter's Occult Casebook,' a collection of Edwardian-style ghost and horror stories inspired by the tales of Conan Doyle and the ghost stories of Victorian author M R James, features hauntings, psychic manifestations and pure horror.

He has also collaborated with Debbie on a book for older children, entitled 'The Dark Entry', set in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral, where evil happenings follow the accidental disinterment of a medieval magician. Many of Kelvin's books are available to view online at www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk

Kelvin has now completed the fourth in his John Bottrell series, 'A Cromer Corpse', in which the detective is set the challenge of uncovering the mystery surrounding the discovery of a corpse in fishing nets off Cromer. This will be available as an ebook from www.contact-publishing.com from July 2010 onwards.

When not working on his own books, Kelvin, teaches courses on writing crime and ghost and horror fiction in Norfolk. He worked for three years as a Creative Writing tutor at the University of East Anglia.

COMMENTS FROM PAST STUDENTS

Introduction to Creative Writing

'Having had no previous experience of creative writing, I found the introductory course both stimulating and very easy to follow. The feedback to my assignments was extremely helpful and allowed me to gain confidence rapidly.'

JB

How To Write The Novel

“Highly instructive course. This boosted my self confidence and gave me the necessary tools to attempt my first novel. I would certainly recommend this course to anyone hoping to construct a novel. The advice given was both practical and supportive.'

MH

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