Module overview
The essential elements of writing a novel include crafting beginnings and endings, constructing characters, manipulating structure and plot, and developing an intimate relationship with language. Writing exercises and discussions of work in progress will allow you to practise and reflect on the critical components of the novel, whilst sharpening your awareness of audience and readership. Your exploration of new ideas and rigorous investigation into relevant research areas will be supported by individual feedback on your work, as you get to grips with drafting and redrafting, finding and refining your writing style
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- give and receive constructive criticism.
- plan, structure, edit and improve your work.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- a range of contemporary novels and the stylistic and structural devices employed by their authors.
- the process of writing a novel.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- look critically at your own work in order to edit and rewrite it as necessary to achieve a professional standard.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- write an opening and several chapters of a novel
Syllabus
This module will cover the essential elements of writing a novel, including writing openings and endings, character development, structure, plot, language and style. The essentials of writing novels for children and young people will also be considered.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods and learning activities include two two-hour seminars each week. These will be structured around writing exercises and opportunities to present and discuss work with groups of other students. Individual feedback on your work will be available from your seminar tutor during office and consultation hours and in classes. A week-by-week reading list of novels and commentaries on the subject will be provided in preparation for classes.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Follow-up work | 26 |
| Completion of assessment task | 100 |
| Wider reading or practice | 74 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 56 |
| Seminar | 44 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Jane Gardam (2004). Old Filth. London: Chatto & Windus.
Mark Haddon (2004). The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. London: Vintage.
Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark (2009). How Not To Write A Novel - 200 Mistakes To Avoid at All Costs if You Ever Want To Get Published. London: Penguin.
Julia Darling (2004). The Taxi Driver's Daughter. London: Penguin.
Evelyn Waugh (2002). A Handful of Dust. London: Everyman.
Virginia Woolf. Mrs. Dalloway.
Julia Bell (2001). The Creative Writing Coursebook. London: Macmillan.
Louis Sachar (2000). Holes. London: Bloomsbury.
Meg Rosoff (2004). How I Live Now. London: Puffin.
Anne Tyler (2007). Breathing Lessons. London: Vintage.
Curtis Sittenfeld (2006). Prep. London: Picador.
John Mullan (2006). How Novels Work. Oxford: OUP.
Frank Cottrell Boyce (2004). Millions. London: Macmillan.
Ali Smith (2002). Hotel World. London: Penguin.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Feedback and constructive criticism of draft and marked assignments will be available from seminar tutors and will enable you to critique and improve your work. For students during the referral period this may only be available via email and will depend on staff availability. Writing exercises used during the module and the discussion in seminars will provide you with potential starting points and foundations for your writing. You will be required to bring drafts of your work to seminars and to present it to groups of your fellow students for constructive criticism prior to submitting each assignment. This process will assist you in looking critically at your own work (as well as that of your fellow students) and so help you to edit and rewrite it as necessary to achieve a professional standard.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Critical commentary | 25% |
| Written assignment | 50% |
| Written assignment | 25% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Critical commentary | 25% |
| Written assignment | 75% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External