Short course
Editing and Revising Your Creative Writing
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
13/04/2027 - 15/06/202710:30 - 12:30
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
It’s a truism that ‘writing is rewriting’ — but how do you rewrite? Using a blend of short lectures, readings, class discussions, and practical exercises, this course will present you with the knowledge and tools for effective self-editing, from the first pass to the final polish. We will contextualise editing within the wider process of creative writing, divide the process of editing down into smaller, more manageable steps, experiment with a collection of techniques and exercises that can make tackling each of those steps less daunting, and synthesise the results into a workable plan for editing a current piece-in-progress.
Whether you tend to tinker eternally with the same lines, or aren’t sure how to progress once you’ve finished a first draft, this course will present you with tools and techniques to navigate around your writer’s block and bring your draft closer to your vision.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
Courses starts Tuesday 13 April 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Week 1: What is editing?
Week 2: The five stages of writing
Week 3: Your draft, your plan
Week 4: Story level edits: Genre, Character, Point of View
Week 5: Story level edits: Beginnings, Endings, Structure
Week 6: Line level edits: Pacing and balance
Week 7: Line level edits: subtext and consistency
Week 8: Every word the perfect word
Week 9: Creative blocks
Week 10: Putting it into practice
Teaching methods
This course is taught through a combination of short craft lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises, and assigned readings. Students will be encouraged to complete the set readings ahead of the relevant sessions, and to discuss aspects of their own work and practice in order to engage fully with the in-class discussion. Selected readings will serve to support or illustrate the material covered in lectures and discussions, while short exercises will allow for the practical application of the material. Short exercises will also provide opportunities for tutor and peer feedback that may support the development of the formative and summative submissions.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- Assess where in the writing process a work-in-progress currently sits
- Identify their purpose for that piece and create a plan for bringing the work-in-progress into line with that plan
- Execute their plan using a selection of techniques introduced in the course that align with their strengths and approach.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set various pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed pieces of work totalling 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
To get the most out of this course, it is strongly recommended that students have prior experience of writing prose, whether in the classroom or independently, and have a piece of writing that they are ready to edit. This course is centred on the writer’s relationship with their own work, and so exercises will involve engaging with that work.
Course aims
This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of self-editing for writers of prose fiction.
Course objectives
- To understand the purpose and potential of editing within the context of the writing process.
- To develop the theoretical knowledge and critical reading skills to assess where one’s own draft is in the process and make a cohesive plan for its development.
- To experiment with a variety of techniques and exercises in order to develop a personal toolbox of editing strategies.
Programme details
Courses starts Tuesday 13 April 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Week 1: What is editing?
Week 2: The five stages of writing
Week 3: Your draft, your plan
Week 4: Story level edits: Genre, Character, Point of View
Week 5: Story level edits: Beginnings, Endings, Structure
Week 6: Line level edits: Pacing and balance
Week 7: Line level edits: subtext and consistency
Week 8: Every word the perfect word
Week 9: Creative blocks
Week 10: Putting it into practice
Teaching methods
This course is taught through a combination of short craft lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises, and assigned readings. Students will be encouraged to complete the set readings ahead of the relevant sessions, and to discuss aspects of their own work and practice in order to engage fully with the in-class discussion. Selected readings will serve to support or illustrate the material covered in lectures and discussions, while short exercises will allow for the practical application of the material. Short exercises will also provide opportunities for tutor and peer feedback that may support the development of the formative and summative submissions.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- Assess where in the writing process a work-in-progress currently sits
- Identify their purpose for that piece and create a plan for bringing the work-in-progress into line with that plan
- Execute their plan using a selection of techniques introduced in the course that align with their strengths and approach.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set various pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed pieces of work totalling 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Sara Taylor
Sara Taylor is a product of Virginia and the homeschooling movement, transplanted to England in 2012. A graduate of the University of East Anglia’s Creative Writing MA and PhD, their novels explore the social construction of identity, sexuality, and family. They were elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
To get the most out of this course, it is strongly recommended that students have prior experience of writing prose, whether in the classroom or independently, and have a piece of writing that they are ready to edit. This course is centred on the writer’s relationship with their own work, and so exercises will involve engaging with that work.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Module code: O26P485CRW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.