Creative Writing In the City

Focusing on the City and changes in its culture and architecture for inspiration, this course will combine mini City Walks with exercises designed to provide you with the tools to write and develop new ways of looking at creative writing. Taught through practice writing exercises and group discussion both in situ and in the classroom, this course is suitable for all levels of writer, from the complete beginner to the more experienced. It is suitable for all kinds of creative writers – from fiction to poetry – who wish to draw inspiration from visiting new places.

Taking inspiration from the urban landscape easily reachable on foot (with occasional forays further afield, T.B.A) from COLCEC to generate new writing, you will be visiting a new place most weeks, exploring its history, drinking in the details, and discovering how to use these experiences as a springboard for your own writing.
You will be visiting a different location most weeks for on-the-spot writing. Back in the classroom that day or the following week you will be invited to share some of your new writing in a supportive and constructive environment.

The course is designed to encourage individual learning paths and to provide participants with tools for generating their own writing: you will be provided with guidelines and prompts for each week's visit, along with on-hand support and tuition, and there will also be plenty of space to generate your own responses to the weekly writing challenges.

You will want to ensure you are wearing comfortable walking shoes. Some weeks we may take a short bus or train journey. You will need a notebook for your own writing, and pens.

Handouts will be provided where necessary.
By the conclusion of the course you should have amassed a portfolio of writing from at least 2 different genres including poetry, memoir and short stories and gained confidence in sharing your own work, and in responding constructively to the writing of others.

Course details
Course date: Mondays 6- 8pm, Oct 5th– 7 December 2015
Thursdays 14 January – 24 March 2016, 1 – 3pm
Mondays 18 April – 11 July 2016