Australia
Student Services
Interested in starting a writing career? Or maybe you would like to learn the skills of the writer for your own personal fulfilment? Whatever your goals, our Comprehensive Writing course can offer concrete advice and personal support to improve your work - be it writing for pleasure or profit.
During your course you\'ll be shown how to write, and also how to market your material to give you the best possible chance of publishing success! Your personally allocated tutor will also help you achieve your writing goals by assessing and overseeing your progress.
Courses Direct\'s Comprehensive Writing course is flexible enough for you to write and develop in those areas that most appeal to you - from human interest, fashion, cooking and gardening through to sports, business, travel, history or politics. You will also learn about fiction writing, such as novels, short stories and writing for children. Plus, as your course is delivered by distance education, there are no timetables to adhere to so your study can fit around your current lifestyle.
Turn your imagination and love of writing into a wonderful new career, profitable hobby or rewarding interest. Enrol today!
Key areas of learning - Comprehensive Writing course
The Easiest Way You Can Get Into Print
Write about what you know. Your Sales Survey and Market Analysis. A short-cut to writing saleable articles. Researching possible markets.
How To Satisfy Editorial Wants
Finding suitable ideas: factors to consider. How can you touch a reader\'s interests? Methods of finding fresh angles. The facts and where to research.
What Articles To Write
The important Market Analyser. Trade and in-house publications: what they want. Marketing your work. Writing for a specific market.
How To Write Articles
The essential steps before writing your article. The Style Analyser. Making sure of your facts. Copyright. Creating catchy headlines. Individual style. Paragraph and sentence structure. Market research and magazine analysis.
How to Find Facts and Interview People
Biographies and autobiographies. Practical advice on interviewing. D-I-Y manuals, travelogues, manuals, textbooks and specific publications. Methods of uncovering the important facts.
The Right Way to Plot
How to hold the reader\'s attention. The difference between main plots and subplots. The Key Character. Original ideas for plots. Plot planning. Manuscript presentation.
How to Put Suspense into a Plot
Tying sub-plots together. The Black Spot. Plot intrigue. In depth: the detective novel. Know your subject and Key Character. Ways of increasing suspense. Construction of the basic plot unit.
The Successful Way to Write Fiction
Where do ideas come from? Overcoming writer\'s block. Adding depth and colour to the main theme. The simple way to choose an effective theme. Special descriptive techniques. Dramatic scenes. The first draft.
How to Write Effective Stories
Essential fiction writing tips. Writing disciplines. Formulating the main plot. Dramatic events. Desired emotion. Adding the final touches.
Professional Fiction-Writing Techniques
Introducing the Key Character and setting the scene. Mood setting. Viewpoint. Minor characters. Relationships between characters. Good editing skills. How, when and where to edit. Tightening up prose.
How to Write Good Dialogue
How to make dialogue sound natural. How to write convincing dialogue. Technical aspects of dialogue. Matching dialogue and characters. Use of dialect. How to cope with the \"he said/she said\" problem. Emotive dialogue.
Professional Fiction-Writing Techniques
Writing the surprise-ending story. Writing in the first person. Establishing scenes and characters. Writing serials. Novel plots.
The Way to Characterise
Creating memorable real-life characters. Easy practical ways of making your characters come alive. Description guide to physical characteristics - hair, eyes, complexion, etc. Character consistency. Sympathetic characters. Personality and mannerisms.
Characterisation Made Easy
The basic principles. How to portray character using a character sketch. Minor characters. Human emotions and traits.
Characterisation in Live Stories
How to create a likeable hero/heroine. Physical effects of emotion. Creating believable love scenes.
Successful Characterisation
Character development. Three dimensional characters. Speech and body language. The villain/villainess. Characterisation techniques used by professional writers. Characterisation in non-fiction.
How to Satisfy Fiction Editors
How to produce saleable fiction. Analysing the fiction market. What not to write about - taboos and no-nos. Manuscript presentation. Writing for various age groups.
What Stories to Write
What the lower grade markets want. What the higher grade ones prefer. The differences between male and female readers. What readers insist on in fiction. Love Stories. The Western. Science Fantasy. The Detective Novel. The short story market and mini books.
How to Write for Juveniles
Appealing to children - special pointers. Writing for various age groups. Techniques and markets. Plot, dialogue and sentence structure. How many words should you use in paragraphs?
How to Write Non-Fiction Books
How to test the idea for a book. How to interest a publisher in a book before its written. Writing technical books, biographies, historical books and holiday guides.
How to Write Novels
Blockbuster or novelette. The kinds of characters, plots and settings you should use. How to open a chapter and close it. Popular novels versus literary novels. First chapters. Pace and description. The climax.
How to Write Detective Novels
How many suspects? Inventive ways of disposing of victims. Hiding the clues. Tracking down the murderer. Things you should know about ending your story. Gripping thrillers.
Television
Essential writing techniques. Script development. The story premise., treatment, shooting script and the director. The audience. Things to avoid. The mini-series, telemovie and motion picture.
General
How to prepare a manuscript. Keeping records. Expressing your own personality and experiences in fiction and non-fiction. Your identifiable field of writing - where your talents lie. Finding inspiration. Persistence pays.
