BA (Hons) Creative Writing

Program Overview

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The BA (Hons) Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University is a three-year program that emphasizes a writer's career, focusing on both the craft of writing and the practical approaches needed to succeed in the professional writing world. The program offers opportunities to meet and learn from practicing writers, publishers, agents, producers, and directors, and fosters a strong sense of community and collaboration among students. Graduates from the program go on to work in a variety of careers, including journalism, marketing, teaching, and writing.

Program Outline

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Degree Overview:

The BA (Hons) Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University is a three-year full-time program designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to become professional writers. The program emphasizes a writer's career, focusing on both the craft of writing and the practical approaches needed to succeed in the professional writing world.

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Objectives:

The program aims to:

• Develop students' creative writing skills in prose, poetry, and scriptwriting.
• Provide professional guidance and peer support to help students develop their writing to publishable standard.
• Foster a strong sense of community and collaboration among students.
• Equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue a career in writing.

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Outline:

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Level 4 (Year 1):

• Core Modules:
• Observation and Discovery (20 credits):
This module introduces students to workshopping techniques, intercultural and boundary spanning skills, and professional written and spoken communication.
• Writers are Readers (20 credits): This module helps students become better writers by exploring different types of writing, developing their confidence in sharing ideas, and learning how research can enhance their writing.
• Character & Story (20 credits): This module explores the building blocks of character development and character-driven storylines through various forms of writing.
It also emphasizes research skills, professional written and communication skills, and collaboration.
• Story Origins (20 credits): This module focuses on the influence of myth, folk tale, and metaphor on storytelling and creative writing.
It fosters independent research skills and their application to creative and critical writing.
• Language and Craft (20 credits): This module develops students' skills in textual analysis and academic writing.
• Professional Practice: The Writer in the World (20 credits): This module widens students' experience of cultural activities, develops cultural capital, and fosters a sense of community through shared experiences.

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Level 5 (Year 2):

• Optional Modules:
• Script Development (20 credits):
This module focuses on scriptwriting, including workshops, constructive criticism, reading and performing key scenes, and industry guest speakers.
• Short Fiction (20 credits): This module expands students' understanding of short fiction, fosters independent reading, and enhances their creative confidence and critical insights.
• Poetry (20 credits): This module emphasizes creativity, written and spoken communication, and the power of language.
Students read their own poetry aloud in class, developing self-confidence in their voices and work.
• Creative Non-fiction (20 credits): This module explores diverse forms of creative non-fiction and the writerly techniques they employ.
• Screenwriting (20 credits): This module focuses on screenwriting, including workshops, constructive criticism, reading and performing key scenes, and industry guest speakers.
Students explore these forms through reading and listening, develop their work collaboratively, and receive feedback from industry experts.
• Writing in Production (20 credits): This module embeds key employability skills, including leadership, analysis, problem-solving, creativity, communication, financial literacy, planning, digital capability, and teamwork.
• The Fantastic (20 credits): This module engages students in the study of fantasy, horror, and science fiction literature and related arts.
It provides an opportunity for experimentation with a range of writing styles and specialization in one genre area.
• Approaching Your Novel (20 credits): This module teaches students how to propose novels effectively, understand their target market, and master the art of crafting compelling opening chapters.
• Student Semester Abroad - Creative Writing (60 credits): This module offers students the opportunity to spend one semester of their second year at one of LJMU's partner universities around the world.
• Study Year Abroad - Creative Writing (120 credits): This module provides students with an additional year of study at an approved overseas partner university.

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Level 6 (Year 3):

• Optional Modules:
• Advanced Script Workshop 1 (20 credits):
This module encourages students to advance their workshopping skills, offering and receiving constructive criticism in peer-led and tutor-led sessions.
• Advanced Script Workshop 2 (20 credits): This module builds on the skills developed in the previous semester, focusing on workshopping, constructive criticism, and industry-relevant skills.
• Advanced Poetry Workshop 1 (20 credits): This module focuses on published poetry collections, encouraging students to understand how a poet's voice is developed and how individual poems are collated to form a collection.
• Advanced Poetry Workshop 2 (20 credits): This module focuses on advanced poetry writing, demonstrating the skills necessary to succeed in the world of contemporary poetry.
It includes work-based learning through interactions with published poets.
• Advanced Prose Workshop 1 (20 credits): This module encourages students to use their acquired skills to produce a writing portfolio and reflection, focusing on their strengths and those of the writing community.
• Advanced Prose Workshop 2 (20 credits): This module builds on the previous semester, encouraging students to use their skills to produce a writing portfolio and reflection, focusing on self-chosen areas of writerly concern.
• Writer at Work: Portfolio (20 credits): This module combines class and group activities, guest speakers, and independent research to deepen students' understanding of potential employment opportunities and help them plan their career paths.
• Writer at Work: Project (20 credits): This module builds on key employability skills, providing a work-based learning opportunity and developing students' research and analytical writing skills.
• Independent Study (20 credits): This module allows students to pursue an individually devised creative project in Creative Writing at an advanced level.
• Creative Writing Work Based Learning (20 credits): This module provides students with the opportunity to gain direct knowledge of working practices within a field where they can use their acquired skills, widen their contacts, and assess their skills in an experiential context.

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Assessment:

Assessment methods vary depending on the modules chosen but typically include a combination of exams and coursework.

• Coursework: Around 50% of coursework consists of original creative work, such as a portfolio or project, and 50% consists of essays, commentaries, class contributions, peer critiques, pitches, presentations, learning logs, group work, treatments, journals, or class tests.
• Final Year: In the final year, creative work or projects typically account for 70% of the course, with the remaining 30% taking the form of critical commentary or reflective analysis.

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Teaching:

• Active Blended Learning: The program adopts an active blended learning approach, combining face-to-face and online learning.
• Formal Study: Formal study includes lectures, workshops, tutorials, reading, writing, online activities, and independent study tasks.
• Intensive Writing Practice: Students engage in intensive writing practice and extensive reading.
• Community of Writers: Students interact with a community of published and performed writers.
• Work-related Learning: The program offers work experience opportunities through the Production Unit of the Liverpool Screen School (PULSS), Writing on the Wall, LA Productions, and digital marketing companies.
• Writer at Work Module: The third-year Writer at Work module allows students to pursue their own projects, such as organizing a poetry festival, placing a novel idea with a literary agent, or planning a film production.

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Careers:

Graduates from the BA (Hons) Creative Writing program go on to work in a variety of careers, including:

• Broadcasting
• Business
• Copywriting (in advertising and social media)
• Journalism
• Marketing
• Proofreading and editing
• Publishing
• Teaching
Some graduates also become professional writers and have their work filmed, staged, published, and performed. The program also offers direct progression routes onto the MA Writing and MA Screenwriting courses, where students can further develop their writing skills.

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Other:

• Location: The program is taught in the Redmonds Building, located in the heart of Liverpool, a vibrant student city renowned for its cultural events, readings, music events, and art galleries.
• Residential: The Creative Writing residential in Snowdonia, which takes place towards the start of the first term, is a chance to participate in a writing retreat that will kick-start your creativity.
It also allows you to get to know your peers and tutors.
• Student Magazine: In The Red, the student-run magazine of the Creative Writing department, regularly hosts student readings and open mic nights where you can hone your performance skills.
Each year, three final year students take over the editorship of the magazine.
• Connections: LJMU has strong connections with local arts institutions, such as Tate Liverpool, FACT, the Everyman, and the Bluecoat.
• Support: Students receive dedicated personal tutor support, study skills support, and a supportive and creative writing community.
• Facilities: The School is based in the Redmonds Building, which houses high-quality lecture theatres, seminar rooms, TV studios, radio suites, green screen, editing rooms, news rooms, social spaces, and a café.
It is located near the Aldham Robarts Library, which offers 24/7 access to resources.

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• Home full-time per year: £9,250
• International full-time per year: £17,750
• All figures are subject to yearly increases.
Tuition fees are subject to parliamentary approval.