Short course
Writing Characters
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates:
29/09/2026 - 01/12/2026
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
Strong, believable characters are the backbone of good fiction – they are the factor that will bring a story to life for the reader and keep them wanting to return to your fictional world. But how do we define a strong character, and how do we create one?
This course is for people who want to work on building compelling characters, whether they've written a huge amount of fiction or none at all.
We will look in detail at the different aspects of characterisation, from backstory to voice, from motive to physicality. In every session you will discuss these ideas and start writing character sketches, which over the course of 10 weeks will grow into your own fully realised character, ready to step into their story.
This course is suitable for people who have a story in mind or simply want to develop their writing skills.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
Course starts Tuesday 29 September 2026
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 makes a compelling character?
Week 2: Traits and flawed beliefs
Week 3: Backstory
Week 4: Motive and desire
Week 5: Being in the character
Week 6: Voice – dialogue
Week 7: Voice – narration
Week 8: Protagonists and antagonists
Week 9: What’s going to change?
Week 10: Life within and beyond the story
Teaching methods
In each session, we will introduce an aspect of character creation or development, which we will discuss as a group. We will then put the learning into practice with short writing exercises and peer feedback, both in a group and pairs.
There will always be opportunities to ask questions and clarify the learning, as well as to try out new techniques and approaches in a supportive and positive environment.
Learning outcomes
- Write a short piece of prose fiction featuring a clearly presented and well-realised character.
- Explain the decisions they made in creating this character and the intended effect on the reader.
- Be able to give feedback on the effectiveness of the characterisation in a peer’s writing.
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 two 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 piece of work of 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, ie 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.
Course aims
- To provide students with the skills they need to create and develop rich, fully formed and compelling characters for use in a variety of literary forms, primarily prose fiction.
- To foster students’ ability to recognise what makes a compelling character in their own and other people’s work.
- To demonstrate various techniques in building and writing characters and how these can be used in combination.
- To encourage the use of these techniques and the consideration of strong characterisation as part of a foundation for further fiction writing.
Programme details
Course starts Tuesday 29 September 2026
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 makes a compelling character?
Week 2: Traits and flawed beliefs
Week 3: Backstory
Week 4: Motive and desire
Week 5: Being in the character
Week 6: Voice – dialogue
Week 7: Voice – narration
Week 8: Protagonists and antagonists
Week 9: What’s going to change?
Week 10: Life within and beyond the story
Teaching methods
In each session, we will introduce an aspect of character creation or development, which we will discuss as a group. We will then put the learning into practice with short writing exercises and peer feedback, both in a group and pairs.
There will always be opportunities to ask questions and clarify the learning, as well as to try out new techniques and approaches in a supportive and positive environment.
Learning outcomes
- Write a short piece of prose fiction featuring a clearly presented and well-realised character.
- Explain the decisions they made in creating this character and the intended effect on the reader.
- Be able to give feedback on the effectiveness of the characterisation in a peer’s writing.
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 two 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 piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Ms Lucy Ayrton
Lucy Ayrton is a novelist and performance poet, and a Departmental Lecturer at the Department for Continuing Education, Oxford University. She has two novels, One More Chance (2018) and Things We Lose In Waves (2023) published with Dialogue Books, and a third will be released in 2027. She wrote and performed two full-length spoken word shows at the Edinburgh Festival, which were respectively turned into a poetry pamphlet and a radio play. She also competed as a national finalist at the UK Poetry Slam.
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, ie 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.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Module code: O26P480CRW
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.