Writing Contexts 2: The Process of Writing

Assessment: portfolio of coursework and exercises [70%], essay [30%]
[both components must be attempted; an overall pass is required]
This module introduces students to a series of working practices used regularly by creative people including professional writers to create an finished product. Leading out of HE1 Writing Contexts: Thinking like a Writer, students now build on intuitive creative practice with an increasing understanding of process and the ways it impacts on practice.
The module is based on the premise that the creative person learns his or her craft through alternating between efforts to impose structure on the work, periods of creative chaos and destruction, creative fallow periods where the idea leavens and re-working the piece until it is structured and strong enough for its intended purpose. Students explore these defined stages, learning to read and analyse texts as a writer, looking at storytelling technique in different writing disciplines, becoming familiar with research methods for writers, honing their skills as editors and learning how to incorporate editorial feedback and self-evaluation into their work. This module prepares students for HE3 Writing Contexts: the Business of Writing.