Writing 2: Making ‘Magic’ Happen

I needed a course to fit around my life and OCA provides just that

Level:: 2
Credits:: 60
Length:: 12 months approx.
8hrs per week
Cost:: £580
payment options

Course Overview

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(Adobe PDF Format)

This course is about bringing whole worlds into existence right in front of the child’s ‘eyes of the imagination’. A children’s writer needs to be a safe and genuine maker of wonders, someone who can create a world that is marvellous, mysterious and unaccountably enchanting, yet always provide an underlying sense of security. The course will help you to develop your writing in this specialised field. It pays careful attention to the main age bands recognised by publishers and you can choose to specialise within one of those bands. As well as writing your own stories and experimenting with form, style and technique, you will be looking at the work of well-known children’s writers and at their own notes and thoughts on their work. You will also have the opportunity to read widely within the genre. We advise taking Writing 1: Starting to Write before embarking on this course but direct entry is possible for more experienced writers.

The art of storytelling
How to enthral a listener
The psychology of children’s stories
Making sure that stories are ‘safe’
Drafting, texture and form.

The course aims to explore the difference between story telling and story writing; develop a psychological foundation for your writing; discuss the problems and dangers of writing for children; develop understanding of the relationship between text and illustration.

Postal tuition

You are allocated a tutor and receive their details in your course pack. You work from the course materials and send regular assignments to your tutor. These are returned to you with comment and advice. The course fee includes tutor feedback on your set assignments, but you can purchase feedback and comment on additional pieces of work if you wish.

Five assignments. Students also maintain a learning log.

For more information on assessment, click here - Assessment booklet - to download the Assessment booklet PDF.