MA Creative Writing

Edinburgh Napier University

Overview

If you want to make a career in writing, this course is for you. You already have talent and ideas, we'll add the expertise you need to approach your chosen market with confidence, originality and skill. No ambitions are out of bounds: we love commercial genre fiction and literary experiments equally.

We aim to ensure our graduates are equipped to succeed - and to change the culture they choose to enter. We will add expertise to your talent and ideas, while you learn in the company of industry experts on this innovative, inspiring course for emerging writers.

Our unique combination of genres and specialisms encourages and enables you to professionalise your practice as a writer. We put genres like science fiction, fantasy, crime and horror at the heart of our learning journey. Writing for young adult readers and graphic novels are just some of the options available to you as a student on our programme.

We take an innovative approach to the training and support of aspiring writers, driven by intellectual ambition and practical industry experience.

There are four strands to the programme:

pre-writing skills, concepts and technique for full-length narratives
writing practice for first person stories and a range of options
experimental, theoretical and personal development work
regular one-to-one editorial mentoring.

Course details

Uniquely, the course offers a dynamic range of cross-disciplinary options. Writing for graphic fiction, young adult audiences, screenwriting and interactive media are all available as specialisms, while our pioneering module in genre fiction covers crime, horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Assessments

Assessments focus on practical creative challenges and achieving professional levels of critical reflection, enabling students to become more self-sufficient as writers and collaborative practitioners.

Tasks includes crafting original short stories; creating pre-writing materials for full-length narratives; critical self-reflection on your work; keeping a learning journal of progress through one-to-one mentoring; plus developing strategies and content for teaching, public engagement events, and digital self-publishing.

Careers

• Book deals
• Representation by literary agents
• International and national competition wins
• Collaborations with comic artists
• Publication in magazines and anthologies
• Edinburgh International Book Festival appearances
• Paid editing and writing commissions
• Performances and teaching
• Working for national literary organisations