Writing Fiction

Fiction is writing that includes imaginary characters, events and/or settings created by the writer. All of the components of a fictitious story do not necessarily need to be fictitious though:

• Imaginary characters might be set in a real world setting such as a well known city or a particular country.
• Characters might be fictitious, but set in a “real” event. For example, you might write about the experiences of a fictitious character during World War II.
• Real characters may be used for a fictitious story that embraces an imaginary event or setting (eg. a story about William Shakespeare traveling through time, or something more realistic, like a summers holiday at a fictitious beach resort, taken by a famous historical figure such as Mozart!)

There are 8 lessons in this course:

• Scope and Nature of Fiction
• Components of a Story
• Technique
• Conception and Research
• Drama
• Fantasy    
• The Short Story
• The Novel

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

For more information on this course, please request your free course information pack!