Harrison: Good evening, everyone. Thank you, and welcome to this evening's event. It's this is gonna be a, creative writing question and answer session with myself. My name's Harrison. I'm one of the course advisers here for the University of Hull Online. I'm delighted to be joined by Chris Westoby as well, who is our programme director for the online MA in Creative Writing. Without further ado, if I could just ask if you have any questions, feel free to put them on the, on the chat. And we'll, do our best to answer those for you. So Chris briefly, if you wouldn't mind, If you could just, introduce the creative writing MA with Hold online, please.
Chris: Yep. Thanks very much, Harrison. And, thanks ever everybody who is joining us, online this evening. It's really lovely to have people showing an interest in this program. I'd certainly like to hope that we could talk through some of the kind of the common queries that people have before deciding whether or not they would like to apply which is kind of how we've formed a lot of the the slides that we're gonna go through this evening, but certainly please do keep popping any questions that you have, in the chat. I also like to say that you know, it's great to see anybody here this evening, but also this doesn't have to be the the one and only time that you have a chance to ask me anything. I'm I'm always available. You You can't advise you can put you in touch with me if there's anything else that you'd like to discuss to do the program or there's any particular query that you'd like. I'd always like make sure that you feel confident when you when you come to apply, to learn with us.
So, very brief and probably on interesting introduction about myself, I'm a lecturer and researcher in creative writing here at the University of Hull. I teach online here on this programme, the MA creative writing and I also teach on campus as well. I'm always you know, delighted to to champion this programme and and to talk about it at length, I could all day. I'm a huge believer in this programme. I believe in the the sort of the very unique and special way in which you learn on this programme, the fact that so many people are connected from different parts of the world that people have access to this form of learning, who perhaps otherwise wouldn't do.
I think it means a lot to me in the way that it opens up these doors to to aspiring writers to connect with one another to learn from one another to meet tutors, to meet the staff from the University of Hull, to have opportunities to meet in person if they'd like to as well. Sort of comfortable throwing out extracurricular things at students in in many different ways. This programme has been running now since 2019. The MA in Creative Writing at the University of Hull, campus version has been obviously running for a very long time and we crafted this to be its sibling. To cover the same things to be very much kind of comparable to that, but also its own special version of that. Of that content as well. And it has been a phenomenal journey so far seeing how the students have come along in the two years that this program takes. We've now had a lot of people who've graduated from this programme. We've we stayed in touch with those students. We've seen what it is that they've gone on to do from the writing achievements to the career goals to the what it is that they decide to do next. Some people have complete different changes for other people it's it's it's more just like a personal what it's meant to them to sort of come on this journey and I really can't sort of rein myself in sometimes. We're very excited about that about the, about the programme.
But let me begin by introducing you to the to the MA, it is a dedicated two year part time programme. We forge it to be part time, simply because we we want this to be something that you can do without necessarily hitting pause with everything else that's going on in your life. And again, when I talk about open opening doors, this means that people who are joining this programme who may be working, they may be in the midst of of raising a family, they might have a whole host of other responsibilities. It allows people to take on a lot of work at different paces, which is absolutely fine as well. It means people can be joining from different time zones, and that still works. And part of the success of what we've had so far is that we do sort of allow that space for for the writing, for the response to what it is that was worthing in this programme.
We focus on prose. You may have sort of seen on our website. You may have seen the introduction by the fantastic Martin Goodman that the whole goal of this programme, what we'd like you to do is we we we refer to it as being a complete prose writer. We want you to exit this programme having a competency having an expertise in anything that you turn your hands to when it comes to prose writing, we cover all those bases within our four blankets taught modules. And That is what we want you to sort of be able to step out of this program into the world as a writer with that knowledge of.
There are a total of five modules. There are four tabs modules and one autonomous research based module. The five modules take you from the the springboard of this program, the writer's craft, which is very much get into grips with the way that we study writing here at the the MA level, the way that we appraise what it is that is is good, what it is that's working, the styles techniques from the structure or something way down to the sentence level and we're starting to apply that with our own writing. So I need to think how we can utilize what it is that we're constantly learning as the weeks, are sort of continuing to progress what it is that we can apply to our own writing. We're starting to get into the the habits, the routine of the workshopping as well in in the peer led section of this program, and learning to review on another's work and how that, I'll just talk about this a bit more in in a few minutes time and how that is sort of feeding back into our own proficiency in our writing and editing of our own work.
And we sort of consider this as the the foundation, the springboard to sort of leap off from which into the the center three modules in writing the short story, writing from life and writing the novel. And by the time you've sort of been through these, four taught modules. It's sort of the first roughly year and a half just short of of of this program.
By this point, you will be kind of itching and road to go with your own extended project. This is the final fifth module, which we call the right to the portfolio, which is the equipment to a dissertation module where you already let loose with what it is that you've learned so far, all the ideas that you've been accruing throughout this program, and what it is that you want to do with that? What what kind of project he's considering taking in a double length module where you have time to really kind of dig deep into this to really put really forge it into what it is that you want to be and you have a relationship with a supervisor and you're checking in, you're sort of continuing to sort of helm where you're supporting one another as well.
And that is what we consider kind of the the the bridge between being in a university environment where you're being taught every week over to being in a university environment when you're taking the lead and starting to to to do your own more autonomous writing and then being out there as a writer as well. What we don't want is to kind of the the cold stop where suddenly one day you're in university and one day you're suddenly out there as a writer thinking, what is it that I did now? This is the answer to that. This is the whole idea because this is a springboard that you are developing this this skill in in pushing projects forwards on your own, and you have this sort of bank of of writing that you've already done ready to to head on out there and sort of complete it and to to seek whatever writing publication education goals that it is that you'd like to do.
So our program operates on a blend of of asynchronous content stuff that's sort of already there online for you to go through at your own pace, and to interact with one another remotely on discussion boards and forums, to the synchronous side of things as well where you're all meeting in the same place at the same time. Where you get to check-in with your online tutor, you discuss the week that you've been learning so far, you air out any thoughts, any questions that you might have, the online tutor as well, has their own take, their own presentation about the week's learning to go through with you together. So you have this this lovely blend of being able to go through things at your own pace, the reading, the discussions, the exercises, the writing, everything else, and then also being in the same sort of virtual room with one another as well and being able talk about those things in in a more face to face kind of context. So we have the whole range of different media that you can that you can be working your way through online from the recorded lectures from video to more audio podcast form.
To the written content that you go through from the reading to the things that the module leader has written. You have your discussion with one another there is guided reading as well, some teaching students to really know what to to to take from the authors that we're reading. What we're constantly thinking about with each piece of writing is what have we learned from this piece of writing? What have we learned from this author and what can we what can we take from that? Whether it's what we really want to try doing. In some cases, it's it's what should we try and avoid with some cases when people read some some authors, And from there, there's the signposting to the further reading.
There is the the writing activities that we're taking that kind of corresponds with what it is that we've been learning so far in each given week. There are the workshops where everybody is getting into small groups, and they are they are looking at the reading, the critiquing, they're giving feedback on one another's work and discussing that together as well. And then we have the live webinars. All of this sounds like a lot, and and and it is a lot, but it's kind of you'll find that you settle into something of a routine. Our weeks follow kind of a a similar progression each time because we we want considering there's so many different subjects genres and styles of writing and and everything else that we're constantly being introduced to, we like to have that kind of spine that runs through it where that the, the shape of the week will always be in something that's at least relatively familiar to you. So people really sink into kind of thing and really get into a rhythm when it comes to the reading, the exercises of devising the discussion.
One of the, oh, and also as well This is all overseen by your online tutor. Your online tutor will be a expert in the field in which you're you're writing, whether that's you know, from the from the writer's craft through to the short story writing from life and non fiction authors, into the the novel as well. This is all kind of overseen by your online tutor, who is your first point of academic contact to the person who's running the webinars, they're also the person who is getting in amongst the the chats with the with the workshops, checking everybody is giving each other constructive work, constructive feedback, they will be dipping in and giving you feedback as well.
This idea of the the POlets parts is all, it's quite new to some people, but it's get eased into it. You sort of taught what it is to look for in one another's work, how to remain supportive, collegiate, how to give that feedback, how to receive that feedback, and also how to sort of continue feeding it into the next piece that you're writing and start to sort of really build up that that momentum in in how this is benefiting you as a as a writer and as an editor in the strength of the the writing that you're outputting as well. A lot of us, people who are considering applying to this program ask, how many hours are expected as as somebody who's working on this per week. So that's we try and duck and dive the answer, I suppose, because it's actually quite a difficult thing to to quantify. But we sort of very, very loosely say somewhere in the vicinity of between ten and fifteen hours is kind of a as an average, I would say.
The variables in that is a you as a person, as a writer, and as a student may work at different speeds to other people. Some people might sort of be be the type to come through the material and they really want to quickly get the writing in there. Other people like to take things nice and slow. They might to digest the reading over a bit longer, they might sort of could be pursuing the further reading as well. It can vary on how it is you'd like to work, and that's why I've caught is built this way because we want to accommodate however it is that you like to approach this kind of thing. And also it can vary throughout the trimester as well as you can may imagine. There's parts where we're sort of going week by week, we're doing for learning, but there's other times where there are assessments coming up.
So, obviously, people are gonna be spending more time drafting their assessments and sort of making sure that that's handed in as well. So we're sort of saying that averaging out of ten to fifteen hours, but obviously can sort of fluctuate and we'll talk more about sort of and you can accommodate that and also what support is available as well if if ever that became a worry. But yeah, that's brief, I said brief, what's the stop talk about the program. No. That's that's fantastic. And, I can see in the, in the chat, what you've been saying there, Chris, has has really sparked a good number of questions. I think it's probably just worth letting you know that if we don't get to your question straight away, we will be coming back to it later. It'll be, certainly answered as we go through the the presentation.
But following up from from what you were saying there, Chris, and that was a really, really nice thorough introduction to the course. How would you say or what would you say sets this particular program apart from other creative writing programs? So I think first just to pick up on a poem that I said during the introduction of this is, is is that we have a specific focus on prose. We really want to double down on that as a form of writing. In something that we would like you to have the full scope of the the two years to really immerse yourself in to really sort of become a real student of prose writing and it has this wonderful applicability to to what it is that you'd like to turn your hand to as a writer whether in your own creative capacity or within your own, professional capacity as well. We've found that students have have gotten on extremely well with this focus, sort of both within these costs and then sort of taking it further from there as well.
And it's something that we we sort of quite pride ourselves on in that of the direction that we're looking to take with this. I think another thing is that this program is is built from the ground up with supporting students who are in any time zone who are balancing any other jobs or to our responsibilities that they're going through. As we said, we we we offer this flexibility. You know, we want you to to become the person. You you are the one who's dictating your study time. You're the one who's choosing when to engage in this, when to do the writing. And that is something that elevates this aid, I suppose I I all set not be saying there's too much, but from a campus program where the you come in when you're told to come in, the place is sort of it it's immovable, where it is that you go. This has this wonderful flexibility that people can join from so many different contexts. People can work in so many different contexts.
And that also leads me into the next point is our our support or when life gets in the way. You know, this is two years and people are joining who have a lot of other stuff going on in their life as well. Things can change. And we don't want people to feel like if that should happen, you know, it's it's the end of the world and and that's something can't be done or that they can't proceed. We know this from the start. We've sort of designed this program with that knowledge that things happen in life We've had a lot of students where very significant changes in the circumstances, in the in the careers, in whatever's happening at home, and and then and all the rest can suddenly change. And we have so many different options for how assignments can still be submitted. People can take pauses if they need.
So if people can sort of reach out to other forms of support that both the our particular online program, but also the university as a whole offer, and these things are sort of laced in there and connected, and you'll always find that there's somebody to speak to and you'll always be signposted in the right direction. Obviously, in the last sort of few years with everything that's been going on the pandemic, with the pandemic, that has been a a real test as to whether this this system works and it has done. Many people have gotten through this program and succeeded with flying colors where otherwise that may not been possible without the robust support system that we have in place that that I think we take a lot of pride in, and we have a wonderful team of people who who help students with that. And speaking of team, you know, we have this incredibly dynamic team of writers, academics and practicing writers as well. We have the module leaders who write the modules who record the content for it, who are constantly updating it every time that it runs, who are overseeing it as well, who of there with you while this module is running. We have the online tutors, the people who are, the your first point of contact to people who are there in the discussions with you who are running the webinars and who are providing you with feedback. Our online tutors are published writers.
They have come from a great degree of, of expertise and an experience in higher education. They are all very, very different and that is one of the best things about our team. We each have different areas of expertise, in terms of what it is something right about, and that is, you know, depending on what module that that particular tutor will be will be teaching you. And one of my roles as as program director and and I also lead a couple of modules as well is I sometimes get to I get to sit in on on the webinars and and sort of see these people talking about the the the the subject that that particular week is, they they bring in a different angle depending on their expertise and their experience and it's just wonderful. Like, I'm sat there with my notebook often feeling like I'm back being a student myself. It's just absolutely fantastic to hear these different perspectives with different methods of very different backgrounds giving us, more insights to the subject at hand. So our team of of online tutors and module leaders, I really can't sort of sing their praises enough. They are the absolutes. You know, they they make this course what it is for seventy students. Students develop wonderful relationships with these users.
Achievements go over and above and then some in supporting the students in the journey as they go through this as well. We have a we take up a sense of of pride in our, broad range of texts that you're reading from as well. We are constantly, considering our reading lists. We make sure that we have a balance of both new and old that, you know, from the more classic things, but also the very latest contemporary authors as well. And listening to what students have to say about that and having kind of layers in terms of what is the, and I think I talked about this later in this evening, but what is the kind of essential reading the that's will carry you through the module, but then there's a load of further reading you can do that's both sort of there on our virtual learning environments for you to sort pulled through, but then also the online tutors, you know, as soon as anybody starts talking about writing, it just makes you think of something that you think, oh, you know, you've just mentioned this style of writing, you should go and read this person.
So there's this constant kind of like building up, building up of of people who you'd really benefit from from reading. I think what really sets us apart though is that we we are trying to teach you on this program to to no longer need anybody yet, also in terms of of of of tutors, of teachers, of professors, by the time you reach the end of this program. Because at the end of the day, there comes a day when you're out there as a as a writer, when we say that this is a MA in in credit advising, we strive to make you become that master. We teach you from the start. I mentioned about the work shopping. And I've I've talked about that kind of pivot side of things, a lot because it really is kind of the heart of of how you become a better writer, is we are constantly teaching you to be an editor, to be autonomous as an author as as well as learning to sort of get into a community of writers as well because we want your writing to continue long beyond the MA.
We do not want people to come along and, you know, do the exercises, do the assignments and everything else that's. Bounded has passed thisMA, and then can install and and sort of it kind of falls off because the the program is finished. We want quite the opposite of that. We'd like our program to teach you to gain that kind of momentum that that and also to become to to become the the voice that anybody else would ask for advice. For feedback. You know, you've had that training in what to look for.
You've got that editorial eye in what can be changed and improved in a piece of writing. And you're turning that editorial upon your own writing in order to create something of of a publishable quality that you can then send off to their respective agents or or competition or whatever it is that you'd like to do in future with your writing. And We have that in mind, you know, from the start. We have in mind that we want you to sort of be that master of creative writing and to exit this program with that proficiency.
We also, you know, we're constantly and gently pushing you to, to engage in writing that you're not familiar with. You know, some people come along and say, I've written a, I've written the first third of a novel and I'd like to finish that novel and that's what I'd like to write while I'm on this program to which we say like, well, it's fantastically starting to write write a novel and we we certainly like to see that novel come for Russian while you're with us, but but we're not just focusing on one piece of work or even one type of writing. The whole idea is that you are becoming this complete prose writer. We want you to be able to finish this novel better than you ever would have done before, and then carry on writing your next novel or a collection of short stories or some life writing or anything that it is because rather than just continuing to sort of drill down on one particular piece of writing you want your, you know, your horizons to continuously be expanded in the head into the unknown a little bit knowing that you're in a a safe and supportive space that we work so hard to cultivate between both the staff, but also with fellow students as well.
You've sort of going out there and you're learning about different forms of writing different ways that you can approach writing, different ways you can think about your writing, But you you can also use this to new things that you've learned to retain and develop and strengthen your own unique writer's voice, the voice that is unique to you, the voice that you really sort of want as your signature in this world. And in many ways, the further kind of the more that you expand now and the more you learn from other writers and try different things the more kind of tools you're adding to your roster within your own writing, the more you learn about yourself as a as a writing and as a voice, it was, you know, unique identity within this world of writing.
And finally, I think as as I mentioned before about, support, from one another is we have a we we put a great emphasis on writing, the the writing community. Fellow students, people who you get to know really well, both as people, both as writers and as academics, reviewing one another's work, supporting one another, talking sort of informally, we sort of encourage students to to sort of enter spaces and discuss what it is that they've that they've taken away from the week outside of the years of the tutor. You know, go complain about me, I often say, at the end of a session, sort of, you know, really build these bonds with one another, and and that is something that we've really doubled down on with this program. Because as well as me saying that we want you to be a master in prose writing, we want you to go out there and be able to sort of continue writing. We also want you to go out there not entirely on your own. We want you to go out there with a a group of people who you can rely on to to support you through the hard times of writing to look at your work give you feedback on how it is that you're doing and you're doing the same for them and keeping your own editorial skills sharp at the same time.
And it's been happening. You know, like I said, this program has been running for a number of years now, and we check back in with students who still see one another online on a regular basis, even students who travel to see one another because they've just become such good friends now. And that that emphasis on writing community is really important because writing is it's a really solitary practice, you know, and that's and that's why we like it. You know, we like getting, being in a in a dim room and just us on our laptops or us on our pen and paper or whatever it is that however it is that you like to rise in great. That's what we like to do is kind of escape.
We will have a little bit and do that. But it can become like a lensing thing if you're not careful as well. And sort of having that sort of solitude to work on your writing, but then also check it in with with fellow rights. Well, it's really, really important, and it it it pays absolute dividends with the the quality of the writing that you're doing as well. So yeah, I would say that's, another thing that that separates us in terms of our aspirations. I think that's that's it off the top of my head. Yeah. No. Absolutely. That's fantastic, Chris. And I I would like, you know, a few minutes time to come back to what you're talking about with the opportunities for for students that that have over the, the period of time that they're studying with us. I've got, got a couple of questions about the different opportunities there. But you talked before about the supports that's in place, you know, what, you know, the, the facilities that we have to support students.
Can you just talk a little bit about the, some, some of the common challenges that the writers will face when they're coming on to the course, and how we can actually go about helping them to overcome those. Yeah. I think the first and foremost to reiterate is when when you are change of circumstance that is outside of the program that is kind of creeping in and feeling, and you feel like it's maybe affecting your engagements, your ability to to meet deadlines, or whatever it is. It's just knowing that that that we know that that happens and that's kind of built into the way that this program is run. We have a fantastic student adviser team who who get in touch with students who talk through their options and kind of where within the university they can find further support what it is they can do in terms of of pausing, suspending, sort of getting extensions on the studies as well.
But also whenever this happens, we say to also get in touch with a module leader because they're the the kind of the heart of the epidemic side of the delivery of that particular module, and it's very often that a conversation with the module leader about you know, what does it feel like you may be falling behind on? Is there a certain parts of the module that you're really struggling with? And and they're there to talk through that with you. You know, they designed the module. They sort of know the reading that that that put on there. They know the exercise and everything else. And so then you've kind of like got that academic side of support as well, then you can really really talk through it in in detail and sort of take that time to understand what the problem is and make sure you sort of receiving both that pastoral and that academic support in there as well. So so yeah. And and and more generally if there was if you have any of, challenges to do with the the course, whether it's just a general academic query or something to do with that week, where you might be talking to your online tutor about it, whether you're talking about what it is that you've been learning that week and maybe there's something just be like isn't isn't sticking with you or you may be struggling to get your head around a little bit. Your online tutor is there to speak to about that.
There is also if, you're wondering about something you're writing, you're wondering is this within the remit of the assignment? I've I've read the assignment and I've can, I don't know if what it is that I'm doing technically fits into that? That's the kind of thing that the online tutor can really help you in talking through what it is that you'd like to submit. There's the module leader for sort of the wider module supports well about the content that you've been going through. But we also say remember as well as the what the universe he offers to remember your peers or another. We have this, this this goal to to build this variety community that I mentioned a minute ago, and that's there for you to utilize while you're here as well and students do draw a lot of support from one another, you know, when things get tough when there's deadlines, when there's, you know, the the writing gets hard or whatever it is, people really sort of pull together and and it starts to become like a bit of a team thing, a bit of there's a lot of camaraderie in there. A lot of people sort of pulling each other through through it and and becoming all the stronger for it in terms of the the bonds as a writing community. We have if, again, if people are struggling with with elements of the course to do with, for example, skills in right an essay if you're joining us and you haven't been in higher education for a long time, or even if you're joining us from a completely different sort of past experiences, and this is your first time learning creative writing in higher education institution, then we have people like the library skills team as part of central university who have, they do courses.
There is existing material on there for you to go through. You can book in one to one with them. If there's anything to do with the IT side of things to do with the systems that we use. We also have an integrated academic support team within each module as well that people can get in touch with to really hone any particular, some academic skills that they feel they'd like sharpening up prior to submitting an upcoming assignment, something like that. So there is in terms of any difficulty with the program, we have sort of all those different bases covered, worst case scenario, you talk to one of us and we make sure that you're diverted to the right place. You know, you can approach any one of us about a problem and we'll make sure that that either we help you or that you you reach the right person I think one thing, Harrison mentioned sort of when people first join this this course of some of the challenges they face.
I think certainly confidence is one is a big one. Because you're sharing work And for some people, this might be the first time you've ever done that. I think it's scary even having done it for for donkey's years it's it is scary. You're putting yourself out there a little bit. You're you're sharing a little bit of yourself whether you're writing the most furthest, long fiction project to something that's, perhaps literally about yourself. It's still kind of got you in it, you know, and you're sharing that with other people, you're asking them, what else can I do with this piece? What do you suggest I do next? How do you think I should develop this? And There's no, there's no, two ways about it. Over than to acknowledge that that is a really big thing, and we treat it as such. We don't sort of take that step lightly and we make sure that that you are sort of supported and made to feel to feel that you're in a safe space to share that work with one another. We also go through the the processes of of how you know, we as writers give feedback to one another. What constitutes supportive feedback can be stern feedback.
It can be something that's that's really, making somebody think about their own writing and think about where to take it next, but it's always from a place of wanting to help on another. Wanting to develop on another's writing and and and and what to do upon receiving that writing as well. How to sort of like digested, how to think about, you know, what to do with with the the suggestions that you've got with it. And so right from the start, we we acknowledge that that the whole the whole confidence being a bit of a barrier for some people is is real. It's a big deal, and we want to make sure that people feel sort of safe in sharing the work with one another. In first taking that plunge, and also to make sure that that your glance that you did, that the the feedback that you've gained, getting for one of her is really, really helpful.
And comes from a good place. And, you know, all students say you it can be scary at first, but then two or three weeks in, it's it's just it's just part of the routine. It's you never knew how you could live without it, you know, this idea of just constantly having other people helping you with your writing and constantly helping you sort of progress with it and get better at it. And it becomes a real kind of beating heart of this program. Another thing people struggle with is, I don't know, perhaps right as block. There's a particular exercise that you're struggling with, you might be sort of in a bit of a patch where you're really struggling to to find some inspiration with what it is that you're writing about, I would say with this is to get in touch with your online tutor about it. You'll be sort of maybe saying I've seen the the exercises for this week, and I'm really I can see everybody else's already writing, and and I don't know what it is that I wanna write about. I often it's just it's like a case of a conversation. It's brainstorming. Your attitude will be starting to maybe ask you a few questions, things that your interest things that that what did the question mean to you through with the exercise? What is what's that you've taken from this week so far? What's that you've learned? What writers have you really enjoyed reading what writers have not resonated with you.
Can you tell me why? And and you're just starting to get those gears turning a little bit and you start to have a bit of like a, you know, a sounding board to to talk about some of the things that you might be interested in. Then worst case, and and sort of invariably that ends up sort of student will leave that conversation with with plenty of inspiration to be to be getting on with, for the rest of that exercise at least. But also if things just simply aren't working, the tutor might sort of talk through the exercise and start thinking how it can be maybe bent and reinterpret and maybe some sort of like can change it a little bit something that that would be more in your lane as well to make sure that at the end of the day, you sort of still kind of constantly been challenged, maybe maybe leaving your comfort zone a little bit, but also that it's not something that's downright impossible because obviously that's not use, you know, used to anybody at all. And your online tutor is always mindful of, of of your engagements, you know, they they spot it. If they've seen that somebody is maybe not there in the discussions, not there in the workshops or something like that, they, you know, no one's going to get told off they'll you'll have a a private message. Just check it in. How are you doing? You know, we say is how have you been getting on with this week? Is there anything that I can help you with? Is there anything that you're struggling with as well?
That conversation, if you haven't already initiated it with your tutor, it can sort of be, you know, it's taken behind the scenes rather than it being something that you feel that you have to maybe share with other people. So, again, I think it's one of those things that to acknowledge that it's real, people do struggle sometimes with with thinking I don't have to know what to write about, and so it's something that we work through together. Another one might be, oh, sorry, Ashley. No. No. Sorry, Chris. I I'm just aware that we've got a good number of questions coming in. And I know you spoke a little bit about, you know, building up that confidence. And I think couple of the questions are sort of alluding to people who maybe not, you know, not having done a creative writing, university qualification before. Certainly one question in particular is coming from Margaret, and she's asked what she can do to, you know, kind of prepare herself for the start of the course. She said she's familiarizing herself with the reading list, but she's really keen to know what else that she can do before the call starts. Just wondered if you could talk a little bit about, you know, what things people can can do to kind of get themselves ready for the course commencing.
I think, oh gosh, off the top of my head, And again, this depends on how on how you like to work. Well, I think I'd recommend a few different things, is is a, it's great to hear Margaret that you're already sort of had a had a sneak peek of reading list and you've been starting to engage in that. I think that's a great way to start because you're starting to kind of see behind the curtain a little bit of of what's coming. You start to prepare yourself. You then have either already read that or you know, you might even read it a second time when you start here on the program or you might just say I've I've I've done that now. So I I feel sort of nice and confident going into this. Another thing that might be and and also, you know, really consider what it is the books are same to you. Start Whether you're reading a book that's more based in in in theory, but most importantly in in the creative writing as well, What you'll find that we do, and I've mentioned before this evening is we're always thinking what we can extract from that.
You know, we talked with the the module, the first module, for example, was called the writers craft. We're always thinking about craft. We're always thinking about what is it that we can identify working for us here. Like are we hooked right now? Are we sort of, you know, the edge of our seat and reading forward? What have they done in order to do that? It's it's it's that starting to have this this, we we always refer to, you know, reading like a writer like the famous book, which I also I also recommend as well. But it's kind of this idea of what it is that we're taking from it. If something's not working, then at what point did we lose our concentration? Can we sort of pinpoint why do we find that at any point in our own work? And therefore, could we give that a bit of an edit? Well, I think also as well is is it's good practice to get used to writing to prompts rather than just that kind of like I'm just going to write, you know, one of these that I would like to write is that idea of having something do.
You've been given a task and you're responding creatively to that. Anyone, you know, you can Google writing prompts. There are books that can be found, in in secondhand for for very cheap that that solve is a is an entirely worth of writing prompts perhaps. The you can use our our friends, the AI overlords to ask you to to supply you with infinite writing prompts and sort of specific exercises that you'd like to do in perhaps a certain lane of writing that you're really interested in and you're starting to kind of get a feel of, you know, you've got this latest taskers come through the letterbox, you know, and I've gotta, okay, this is what I've gotta write about this week. I'm gonna give that a go. I'm gonna do it for what is that five hundred words? Okay. I'll give that a shot. And it's it's really nice to get used to that idea of writing with tasks to do with kind of like confines that that you're sort of pushing pushing against that you're sort of taking what it is that you've been asked to do and putting your own stamp on that. I think that might get you into a really nice kind of rhythm with with the way that, you're being sort of tasked with different writing exercises each week That might be a really nice one for the program as well. Yeah. No. Absolutely.
And, you know, I think, and this is something that leads quite nicely into the next topic of of conversation there, Chris, but obviously getting to grips with the course, one of the main things know you've spoken about it already is about that giving him and the receiving your feedback. I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about that process, how that works, and and the merits of it, please? Yeah. Absolutely. So I know I've already spoken about it. So in the interest of time, I'll try and be be fairly quick because they can talk about, you know, feedback and peer and peer support at length. But know, as the slices will there be opportunities to gain and offer feedback, on rest and work with fellow students, the answer is, bots is the short answer. We really do feel like that is the the kind of the real crucible where where you become a better writer because it's practice you know, you don't just, writing in the vacuum of of what it is you've been asked to do and not looking at other people's work and not having other people comments on your work, would not get you very far.
We from sort of teaching many years, there is a there is a undeniable big connection between people who really dive into the workshoping process and people who do really, really well on assignments as well. The more you are jumping into that, you're getting better at editing. The better you get at editing, the more you start to spot things within your own work. When you start to spot things within your own work, the more polished and developed your writing will be kind of in even early drafts, let alone how well you'll be able to sort of polish that to, the very high standard autonomously. Not only that is, again, you're sort of building a a group of people who who trust one another, who's whose opinion matters to one another, who are becoming better and better and better at this so that you are, you know, you have no need for for a tutor, as you sort of leave this program and use can review one another's work indefinitely. You have that kind of, you know, priceless support from one another going on into the future. So you have your feedback from your workshops, you have your feedback from your online tutors as well.
Your online tutors is there in the in the workshops as well, and you'll receive sets numbers of of feedback on your writing between each assignment as well to check that you're on course with that. And then you also have the summative feedback from each assignment as well. As well as this, so specifically looking at one another's work is It also just comes into our discussion, whether it is in the in the forums, asynchronously or whether it is, in the webinar as well. All of these things kind of accumulate so that you're getting voices from from your peers, you're getting voices from your tutor, you're getting voices, from from one another in discussions. And most importantly, you're developing yourself as the kind of the authority on what makes a successful piece of writing. And so you're also kind of your own best editor, and that's kind of like the best gift that we hope that we can give someone on this program.
Yeah. No. Absolutely. That leads quite nicely, actually, because one of the main things that Suni Weir's course advisors find that people are concerned about, and you mentioned autonomy there and and being a master of of, you know, your own craft. But people are concerned about how you strike that balance between, kind of, learning new techniques and, and new skills, but also being able to be, you know, authentic and true to themselves and and maintain their own writing style. I just wondered how you could just talk a little bit about how how those two can can be both addressed? Yeah. You don't come to this program. To be told how to to be a particular type of writer or to be like a particular dusty old author you know, you come to this program to be the best version of yourself as a writer the two both learning new techniques and maintaining your own style, like I said earlier, we see the two as synonymous.
You're you're constantly encouraged to take on new techniques. You're learning from your your own practice from the peer tutor feedback from the course content, from the reading list that you're digesting from the discussions. And so we certainly hope that you will be finding new modes of writing details neaks of writing and and sort of ways of writing that you you never knew you you loved until you try it and then suddenly you realized goodness, you know, in this this this absolute flame is catalyzed in a new style of writing that you never realized was just like kind of laying dormant waiting for you. To be inspired by, but also at the same time, you know, all of this that you're learning, all these different ways of writing all these different authors that you're reading from from the short story to the novel to, non fiction writing, it's all sort of still coming back to to your own craft in writing, you know. And so you're sort of learning a lot more about yourself as a writer. As you're doing this as well. So some people love to sort of go off in in a different direction perhaps when it comes to the final portfolio, the extended piece of writing,
Or they might think that everything that I've learned is help is gonna help me to double down on the style that I sort of know and love and this is how I would like to write and it's you'll just find that that voice is is developed. It's it's you've become, more unique as you've gone along. So Absolutely. Yes. You can you can we teach so many different things, but also we want you to sort of honor your own voice and and that's that's you, you know, that's your your stump as a writer. So that that's what matters. No. Absolutely. Fantastic. So from a, you know, let's talk from a linear perspective. And first of all, we we start with the application. Of course, a couple of questions coming in that relate to this. I'd like just to to be able to address it. Main question kind of what level of of writing experience do I need to, to bring to the course?
And, Ursula's asked, a really good question, about what you know, what are you actually looking for? Oh, sorry, Kareen asked what what are we actually looking for from the creative writing sample for the application? I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about what it is that you're actually looking to see from those application forms and the writing samples. Yep. Okay. If I forget any part of that question, please do please do get compassion. So as you'll see on the website, the kind of the standard application, as we call it is, is the minimum of it, for two two more equivalents in a bachelor's honors degree. But, or the international version of that, but the we also respect that the and celebrate the fact that people's experience in writing might take a different form. It might be a profession that you've previously had it might be, all the courses that you've taken that cumulatively have built you quite a wealth of experience in creative writing and perhaps of learning it in in a in a more sort of group context as well, or it might be the, the, your profession that you've had. In the past, it might be that you've found, you've you've been practicing writing for for a number of years. And you've found some success in in publishing.
We even don't turn our noses up at self publishing as well. We actually think that's a really valuable thing to to share with us if you have been doing that because it takes, a great deal to forge a piece of writing that you feel you're ready to to sharing other people and it shows that you have a readership in mind as well rather than than only writing for yourself. So that is also a great form of experience that we'd like to hear. That's really where your your personal statement comes into play. You know, your personal statement is a chance for you to say, this is me. This is kind of where I come from. As a writer. This is my background and you might talk about if you if you probably have a degree in something that's that's relevant and it is the two two VA or above. Great. But it might be you might be coming from a different direction.
You might be coming from a different subject matter. You might be coming from a completely different walk in and you handled a university degree before, tell us why what it is that you have done makes you kind of suitable for this course, but you feel ready for this course. What it what it is that you've done in the past this kind of like prior experience that you have that you can bring, your course advisor will sort of certainly help talk you through that in more detail to make sure that, you know, we don't need to waste your time or anything like that.
But what I will say is that we are very, very open and have a incredibly diverse background sort of students of different backgrounds who have come into this program, students who have come into this program who have never stepped foot on a university campus who go on to achieve a distinction because the the experience that they do have is sort of, you know, worth its weights as well and they bring that with them to the program. So your your personal statement is really your chance to demonstrate that. Here's here's why I'm suitable for this program. Here's why I want to do it. Here's what the program will mean to me.
Both now, but also in the future where I want to take what it is that I learned here a bit about your your background as a writer, but also kind of what it is that you you wanna bring to this as well. So so that's kind of like in terms of the the, experiential side of things. But in terms of the creative elements, obviously that's your chance to show that you're writing us a, as a level that we consider to be, of MA level so that we know that you'll join us and that you'll, hopefully, find us a real challenge with this program, but also that you won't be completely cabas of water. Even even when that might be the case with some applications that aren't successful, we often sort of give advice of where, what to what to work on where to sort of, like, go away and try in the meantime, and we've had people come back to us, and then, and then they do join us.
So know, we don't sort of we never want to just outright close the door on anybody, but the the creative writing sample in terms of what it is that we're looking for is, I suppose, think about the the fundamentals of a narrative, how you can demonstrate that you have have that down, I suppose. And this doesn't matter whether it's fiction or non fiction or or anything in between. Can you can you, create a sense of place where something is happening? Can you show us kind of like a narrative progressing along. Can you introduce those two characters and perhaps let Lowe's get to know that person through characterisation? Can you sort of introduce us to, sort of elements such like dialogue and and sort of create sort of an authentic sense of dialogue between characters or even if it's only one person, but perhaps there is a demonstration of kind of vivid imagery that really sort of like sparks the the the imagination of the reader and also sort of harking back to what we were saying before about your voice as a writer, you know, sort of your narrative voice, the way that you deliver this as well, the kind of the the the quality and the style of the prose that you have in there, it might be something that you've already written.
A lot of people kind of pass that on as well, something that they've maybe got in the works at the moment, something that they've even, said for publication elsewhere, or some people write a a piece of writing specifically to to apply for this program. That doesn't matter. We we sort of say in the ballpark of being sort of about fifteen hundred and two thousand words, tends to tends to cover that. But consider the fact that you you're wanting to show us that you have a I suppose like a range as a writer and that you sort of have this voice and you have this these these strong fundamentals, these foundations approach writing so that you'll come into this program and be able to succeed from that. Perfect. No, that's, that's a really, really nice. It exhaustive answer, really. That's fantastic. So, I know we're a little bit short for time. So I'm really keen to speak about something that a couple of people are talking about in the, in the chat there. So I wanna talk about after the course, and what happens after that, and sort of what is in place for people when they are looking to, to, you know, finish and fly the nest for once for better free. So what is, you know, can we talk a little bit about, you know, developing a career as a writer?
And, you know, what, what, you know, what's in place to kind of publish and, and market work, given, Jennifer's spoken here people talking about marketing and an online presence as a major piece in in getting published. If we could just talk a little bit about kind of the the the the what's in place for for after the course as well. That place, Chris. Yeah. So this idea of of what happens next for you as a writer in terms of where you want to go, the pursuit of publication, whether that is sort of finding agents, whether that is, entry competition, whether that is, sort of writing something off your own back, whether that is, working on some form of commission, whether it is going further, it's it's further into education like progressing to to a, to a PhD. All of these conversations we weave them into each module, sometimes into the content of what it is that you're looking at. Sometimes it is the discussion that is happening that can either be raised live with an online tutor during webinars or sort of like asked to discuss in private. You have your module leader there as well.
He was kind of the experts in the in the field in which that you're studying as well and have and has experience in publication. As well as that the some sort of like initial research on the markets into which you're kind of entering of everybody is in a very different lane, as especially as the course progresses and you sort of maybe start to learn more about what kind of writer you might want to be upon leaving the program That kind of research on the market is is integrated into the final assessment as well, and it's something that students sort of like demonstrate that they start come aware of and start to think about from the readership to where it is that they'd like to send the work and why. And It's also a conversation that can constantly be raised by, any academic member of staff, particularly in the last module, I think is when we start think about it as well because that's when you're paired with a supervisor for your project very specific to the kind of thing that you're writing and so you can help with the type of writing that you're doing in particular.
And so it's really good to have that conversation with them as you're starting to see the the end of the programs it is for you. We also integrate recorded interviews with people within the field. Into this program, we have interviews with, anyone from authors and the pathways that they've taken We have, editors, we have a literary agent, we have the the CEO of a publishing company, We have, people whose professions are kind of led to guide authors from kind of germ of an idea through to publication as well. And we're sort of like we're constantly creating this bank of knowledge from people who who were in the industry as well kind of with that very question of kind of what next that we sort of have installed in our virtual learning environment for students to look through, wherever they'd like to and to take more advice from the experts as well. That being said, we we don't push this because what we wanna acknowledge is that anybody comes to this program with different ideas like, yes, many people come to this program with the aspiration of getting published.
That sort of sort of might seem quite obvious, but some people want to go through into sort of taking it to a PhD level. Some people might be doing it to develop an aspect of the, maybe a job that they've already got. Other people other people have joined this program for themselves, and and and that's kind of it. So while we have this this bank of of information to learn about, in terms of getting yourself published, getting your work out there, getting your voice out there, and then people who you can ask about that at any given time as well. We also don't want our students to feel like we're sort of forcing them and shoehorning them down that road, because we wanna we also respect that everybody wants to go on a different path. So we try to make sure that those those are all covered as well. So it's kind of it's there if you want it. It's it's the it's the way that we like to approach, sort of what it is that you do next with this. Does that make sense? Like, you can get that advice if you want, you could also, you're not pressured into sort of taking, you know, certain routes off the back of this Oh, sorry, Harrison. You you need to. Oh, sorry, Chris. No other thing is it's a really good, really good point that not everyone is coming to this from the same, same place, not everyone has that same goal in mind. So that's, you know, that thing that that's a really good, a really good good point to be making that. As I see there, Chris, I I'm aware of the time, and I, you know, I know people are are very busy.
So I just I wonder if now, you know, having spoken about the you know, after the course, whether you had any final thoughts that that you'd like to, to get across to to the people who are attending this evening. Oh, final thoughts, I would say creative writing is, in a wonderful place right now, both here at our university and also sort of like in the wider world, as well. You know, the the transferable skills if somebody is looking to sort of take this further into whether they want to work in any of the industry, whether it's within publishing publication, further or higher education, the transferable skills that are taught on this program are of and really high value to employers from sort of critical analyses of written and real life phenomena to development of emotional intelligence creative exploration of concepts and being able to articulate this through both writing and speaking aloud. We've sort of been really happy recently to see on the, the publication from the the the world economic forum of the top ten skills for employees in twenty twenty five, you know, of the top ten skills.
I think creative writing has six of those. Which is an absolutely fantastic place to be in particularly for an app subject as well. For other people, this isn't about future careers. This is about being, true to yourself and pursuing something that you've perhaps dreamt of for a very long time and wanting to have the world hear what it is that you want to say to which we are also absolutely the right place. I think the very last thing, that I would say after sort of talking at length about communities is the the opportunity to join our face to face events as well, which we offer where students get to see each other in the flesh, they get to see stuff in the flesh as well. It's one of the sort of things that we absolutely love doing. We make sure that these events are hybrid for people who can't make it, but we are also absolutely astonished by the the the sort of the distances students travel in order to attend these events.
We do anything from coming to the campus for several days to go into writing retreats together where we're all sort of in the same spaces and drawing inspiration from one another and really just getting to know one another even more, drawing inspiration, seeing all the people's work that, you know, whether there's talks that are happening from professionals to whether we're just sort of, you know, enjoying one another's company and and seeing one another in in three dimensions. It's always, an absolutely wonderful, to see to have, and we we try and run a couple of those every year as well. So that's always like a really, really nice, sort of, added extra to this program. Yep. No. Absolutely. I know those those residences are really. Really well liked and, and, you know, a lot of people look forward to those. Okay. That that that's been fantastic, Chris. I really appreciate you taking the time to to speak with us this evening.
What I would say from my side and from our side in the course advisors perspective, is if you do have any questions following this event this evening, please feel free to reach out. We will. So be getting in touch with everyone who's who's attended this evening just to, see how you found it and discuss how you'd like to proceed. All I would say is, you know, I'd like to extend my thanks for you taking the time to, be with us this evening and, look forward to speaking with you soon. Thanks, ever so much, everybody. And yeah. Like I said, I remain here. If there's any question, the cost adviser, may want to pass on to me just for clarification, then you're very welcome to to reach out So please do. Great stuff.