This course is an introduction to writing speculative fiction, from sci-fi, fantasy and mythology to alternate history, ending with the completed first draft of a short story.
You will learn how to develop ideas and concepts into a finished piece of writing; techniques for world-building and peopling different realities; imagining utopias, dystopias and alternate futures; how to write plot and character, and develop a narrative arc; and how to make the worlds you create believable, vivid and real. We will also look at editing, and how to take the next step with your writing by approaching agents and publishers.
Following in the creative footsteps of writers like Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood, we will examine how speculative writing plays a deeply subversive role, destabilising 'the way things are' and allowing our imagination to break free of its bindings. Imagining different pasts, and futures, enables different realities.
The course will combine teaching, writing exercises, group work and feedback sessions. Whether you are a published author or simply a curious beginner, all you need to bring is a notebook and your imagination.
Students should bring a pen and notebook.
Please note: All 10, and 12 week courses have a half term break in the middle. For term dates please visit our Contact us page. We are not open on bank holiday Mondays and any class that falls on these days will be made up at the end of term.
Fees
Refunds
Please see full terms and conditions for more information.
Latecomer
If a course has already started, please call the office as it may be possible to join after the start date. This may only be possible if the course is not already full, if it is not disruptive for the other students and you are aware that you have missed a percentage of the course and the tutor will not have time to catch you up. This will be at discretion of the Folk House. We run our courses termly, so it might be best to start at the beginning of the course.
Levels
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