Contents Acknowledgements Foreword Stephanie Vanderslice, University of Central Arkansas General Introduction Who is this book for? How will you benefit from it? What's in this book Part I The Context 1 Creative Writing: can it be taught? Practice makes perfect - or does it? Pressing the brake to go faster Craft and mystery Summary 2 Creative Writing: why take a university course? A course is a course, isn't it? What makes a degree course different Process and Product: Authors, dead or alive Writer, reader and reality Summary 3 Creative Writing now Creative Writing - where to find it The History of Creative Writing - what's it to you? Creative Writing within other subjects The growth of Creative Writing - how it affects your course Who's teaching Creative Writing, and why? Who's doing Creative Writing, and why? Summary Part II Studying Creative Writing 4 How courses are organised, how you will learn How are creative writing courses taught? Lectures, Tutorials, and Virtual Learning Environments Seminars and Workshops Get-to-know-you and guidelines Training and the real event Games and exercises within the workshop Something you prepared earlier Dealing with feedback Giving good feedback How much do I have to tell them? Progression Summary 5 Assessment It's subjective, isn't it? Assessment in the writing industries Assessment criteria Non-creative assessment items Other assessment methods Assessment and feedback How is assessment monitored in a degree programme? Attendance Final word Summary Part III: Writers' habits, writers' skills 6 Developing your own working habits Tough to do at home¼ Where to write When to write Word counts: the false gods Writing is not just writing Experiment Analysis Research Reading as a writer A note on Plagiarism Organising yourself: the notebook - and more Summary 7 Writing and editing How do you write? Levels of editing: how to edit, and when Too much for Normous The naming of files Task avoidance Word counts again Presentation and Layout: make your work a pleasure to read Summary Conclusion: Beyond the course Had enough? The academic route: further study Writing Journalism Books Scriptwriting Poetry Writing related careers And finally Case Studies: James Joyce and other writers Further Reading.