creative writing distance learning course

oceanblue

Hi,
I've been looking into creative writing courses done through distance learning. I would like a general/intro writing course that continues for the best part of a year(6 - 12 months).

I'm not specifically looking for a degree or other qualification, it's more about wanting the structure of a course to get me going and also the opportunity to explore different types of writing.
I know there are writing clubs/groups out there but I would prefer an online course(for now anyway).

The ones I have found so are:

Open College of the Arts - there is a module called 'Writing Skills' which would cost the best part of 1K. The college has mixed reviews, though I haven't seen many reviews specificallly related to creative writing

Open university - has a creative writing module(course code: A215) which costs the best part of 3K. The college seems to have a good reputation.

Kilroys College - the reviews I've come across don't seem to be good for this college

I'm not aware of any other similar type of online course.

Has anyone done either of those courses? What was your experience?
Or if you've done both, how would you describe the difference?

I'd appreciate any advice on this,thanks

Ectoplasm

I've been meaning to reply to this for a couple of days now. I did the Open Uni course A215 as part of an English Lit. degree...I couldn't quite believe they'd give me credit for writing which was something I do anyway!

As far as it goes, it's actually a pretty good course and for me, it was interesting as it pushed me into areas that I don't write in, which actually improved my 'real' writing.

That said, as a standalone course, it's ridiculously expensive...when you are doing it as part of a degree you can get tax relief AND as far as I know, fees are increasing for it. My recommendation would be to get the coursebook for it and work through it, thus saving yourself thousands.

If you want to know any more about it, feel free to PM me.

mikerawlins

I think there are lot of courses available online for creative writing. You can try those as they are the same as going to school everyday.

Danpad

NUI Maynooth do a 'Creative Writing For Publication' course. It can be completed as a stand-alone course but you can also use the credits if you wanted to go on and do a degree. It's not online (Thursdays-7-10pm, + a few Saturdays) and starts each September, priced €950 and runs for approx 30-35 weeks(100 hours).

oceanblue

Thanks alot for that info EMF2010

It sounds like the credits for your writing really worked out for you. It is the price that puts me off doing the course. It does seem expensive when there doesn't seem like alot of extra contact/support from the university besides getting the course material and assignment feedback. (I've sent you a PM just to double check a couple of things about this)

I got that coursebook from Amazon so that's definately an alternative that sounds good to me! I'm still considering the OCA course as well..so a couple of other options anyway..

Thanks

Kenny Logins

http://writing.ie/ has a list of distance learning courses.

bigsmokewriting

We also run some here - http://www.bigsmokewritingfactory.com/OnlineCourses.php - very much aimed at the part-time learner, though.

Might be worth looking at ones in the States, too - Gotham Writers run loads of different courses (http://www.writingclasses.com/). They're a little pricy but not in comparison to the university ones, and they're a bit more open to genre/popular fiction if that's of interest to you.

Do check out how the online courses run before you sign up - some are one-to-one, some are run week-by-week in groups. The former can give you a bit of flexibility if something comes up; the latter can lead to making connections with other people on the course. Worth thinking about those things in addition to course length/price/content etc.

olive2

Hi there,

We also run distance learning courses, including online courses at www.creativewriting.ie Again, they are aimed at part-time learners but if you are on a budget, they can be a good option. We run one-to-one courses, if you're looking for group online courses, as bigsmoke mentioned writingclasses.com offers several introductory courses and is one of the better known companies in the US.

Thanks,
Olive