Oxford Summer Courses
16 Turl St, Oxford, OX1 3DH
www.oxfordsummercourses.com
OXFORD SUMMER COURSES IN INDIA
Course Outline – Creative Writing
Tutor Profile
Sam Sussman is an M.Phil student at Oxford pursuing a career in literary fiction and
screenwriting. His screenplay Marcus won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts'
New Writing Competition in 2016. He previously worked in the United States Senate, as a
journalist featured in Huffington Post, Asia Times and more, and has been an invited
speaker at the United Nations, Oxford Union, and the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. His first novel, set in New York and Iraq in the aftermath of September 11, is
presently under consideration by leading publishing houses. Sam earned a B.A. with highest
honors in political science, philosophy, and literature from Swarthmore College in 2013.
Course Outline
There's a good reason so many people are interested in creative writing: from the stories
friends tell one another, to the dozens of advertisements we read every day, to the journals
in which so many of us record our memories, creative writing is woven into the fabric of
almost every part of our lives. This course will teach you how to think about creative
writing in more imaginative and empowering ways. In this course, we will study techniques
used by creative writers to tell powerful stories, capture realistic dialogue, create
compelling characters, and explore complex and meaningful themes. We'll also spend time
talking about the differences between different genres, the relationship between fact and
fiction, and ways that writers stay motivated, productive, and inspired.
Introduction This class will cover key elements of storytelling such as plot, character, theme,
as well as different styles of writing, such as the novel, short story, and screenplay. The class will be
taught through the Socractic method, by drawing on students' own experiences as readers and
writers.
Day 1
Lesson for Day 1: What is Creative Writing?
We will begin our ten days together with a group discussion about what creative writing means
to each of us, and what we each hope to gain from it. What do we mean by 'creative writing,'
anyway? Does this include only 'serious' novels, theatre, and poetry, or also diaries, blogs, and
daily observations? What roles does creative writing play in our lives – how does writing and
reading help us think more clearly about the world, and how does our experience in the world
help us think more clearly about our writing? What can writing do for us – as readers, and as
writers? Our discussion will be guided by the two readings assigned for this class.
Oxford Summer Courses Limited. Registered in England and Wales Number: 08011543
Pre-course assignment review: Read George Orwell, Why I Write and Zadie Smith, Why Write?
Creativity and Refusal. How are Orwell and Smith's views similar and different?
Assignment for next class: Write an opening paragraph to a story of your choosing.
Day 2
Lesson for Day 2: Starting a Story
Stories are difficult to begin. In this class, we will learn about how to begin a story by focusing
on the openings of well-known novels. We will pay keen attention to the use of a diverse set of
techniques in several highly distinct novels: character, voice, intrigue, humor, the big question,
and more. We will discuss these questions as we analyze the first pages of My Name is Asher
Lev, Laughter in the Dark, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Workshop Activity: We will share and discuss each other's first writing sample, which should
be completed for this class. Students will offer creative and constructive feedback to one
another, and we will discuss what we each hope to improve in our own stories. How can we
use the techniques we learned today to open our story more powerfully?
Homework/extension activities: Rewrite the opening of your story using the techniques we
discussed today. What did you struggle with in opening your story, and what came more
naturally?
Afternoon group session: We will write our own story as a group, using the techniques we
learned in class today to gain the reader's attention with an intriguing opening.
Day 3
Lesson for Day 3: Character
Every reader loves character. Setting, dialogue and theme matter, but we read for character. As
writers, how do we create compelling characters who seize the attention of our readers?
We will begin by discussing: who is your favorite character – why? What are his or her
successes and flaws, achievements and inadequacies, intrigues and annoyances? What moments
does your character experience that bring you closer to him or her?
Activities:
-Working collaboratively, we will design a character profile.
-Dissect that Character! After excerpts are read aloud from several key works, students will
discuss what works and does not work in the construction of various characters.
-Workshop: In the second half of class, we will share and discuss each other's assignment for
today. What characters exist, or could exist, in the framework of this story?
Homework/extension activities: Assignment for next class: Using the techniques discussed
today, add 1-2 pages focused on character development to your ongoing writing sample. Think
critically about what situations will reveal the desired aspects of your character.
Day 4
Lesson for Day 4: Plot
Plot is essential, but difficult. Our character may be human, complex, and compelling,
but if the journey we send him or her on is not plausible, believable, or meaningful, then
our story will suffer. How do we create plots that combine both the ordinary and the
extraordinary, that are both relatable and intriguing? Main topics will include:
1. What are the foundations of plot in storytelling? Discuss: “Every story is different, but every
story is similar.”
2. Learning the Key Archetypes: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to riches, The quest, Voyage
and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, Rebirth.
Activity: Identify which archetype defines various famous works of fiction: Romeo and Juliet,
Great Expectations, Midsummer's Night Dream, Harry Potter, Star Wars.
3. What are the common structures of plot, across story-type? The Plot Graph: Background /
Inciting Incident / Rising Action / Climax / Falling Action /Resolution
Activity: Using these techniques, we will create a plot together.
Homework/extension activities: Using the techniques discussed today, draw a plot graph for the rest
of the story you have begun.
Afternoon group session: group storytelling. Now that we've learned the basics of plot, let's see
if we can design a full-length screenplay in a single group session!
Day 5
Lesson for Day 5: Theme
Every writer wishes to capture certain themes, but no writer wants a theme to be too obvious
or unsubtle. How do writers create carefully crafted and meaningful themes that can change the
way a reader understands something about him or herself, or even life itself?
Opening Activity: What are your favorite themes?
Key Topics for Discussion:
1. What is theme, anyway?
2. How do single works balance multiple themes?
3. Using 'Indirection' to master the art of the subtle theme.
Activity: Understanding the themes of our own work. Often, writers may not even be aware of
the themes in their own work. We will share the stories we have been working on and discuss
how different themes operate in our own work. What are we each trying to achieve in our
stories, and how might our themes be more fully developed?
Homework/Extension activities
Reading for Today: “Reflections on Writing,” Henry Miller
Day 6
Day trip on Day 6 – no teaching
Day 7
Lesson for Day 7: Dialogue
Writers aim to create fictional worlds, but those worlds must still be realistic. How can writers
create realistic dialogue that accurately captures the feeling of a specific time and place?
1. The 'Dos and Don'ts' of writing realistic dialogue: 5 Key Concepts.
2. Examples that illustrate the best in dialogue:
- An economical voice (Berlin Stories)
- A unique Voice (Call it Sleep)
- Humor (Fargo)
Activity: we will read and watch dialogue exchanges from several novels and films. How does
dialogue change in different settings and genres? What remains the same?
Reading for Today: “Keys to Realistic Dialogue,” http://www.writersdigest.com/editorblogs/there-are-norules/keep-it-simple-keys-to-realistic-dialogue-part-i
Afternoon group session: Each student will complete and share a (very) short story written
exclusively in dialogue.
Day 88
Lesson for Day 8: Genre
Every novel belongs to a genre, and most belong to more than one. Often, many decades after
they are first written and read, novels are considered to be of a different genre than originally
thought. So what is genre, anyway?
1. What makes different genres distinct? What are the particular features distinct to gothic,
romance, horror, sci-fi and realism? We will identify examples of each of these genres.
2. Genres: differences and overlaps. What remains similar through different genres of writing?
Why do certain writers choose specific genres? What sort of stories, characters, and themes
are more possible in some genres, and less possible in others?
Activities: Identify that Genre! Students will identify genre of readings offered by tutor.
Activity: Convert a Genre. Students will experiment with converting the writing they have been
working on into another genre. Through this exercise, we will see what is similar and different
in different genres. What genre is best for you to express what interests you in your own
work?
Homework/extension activities: Work together on group presentation.
Day 9
Lesson for Day 9: Screenwriting
Novels and movies naturally have many similarities in plot, character, and theme. But writers
must learn fundamentally new skills to successfully communicate these aspects of storytelling on
screen. Unlike in a novel, a screenplay cannot directly tell us what a character is thinking. How
do screenwriters develop their own set of techniques to develop stories on screen rich with
meaningful plots, complex characters, and powerful themes?
1. The basic rules of screenwriting: introduction to format and structure.
2. The techniques of screenwriting: how to externalize the internal.
Activity: As a group, we will convert one student's short story into a screenplay. How can we
use the techniques we have used to meet this challenge?
Homework/extension activities: Continue to work on writing your short story as a screenplay.
Afternoon group session: work on group presentation
Day 10
Group Presentations
Please find two suggestions for group presentations listed below. If you have a different idea for
your group presentation, please consult with the tutor.
1. Choose a novel, play, or screenplay of your choice and present about how the writer used
techniques in this class concerning plot, character, theme, and dialogue. What worked well in
this piece, and what might have been more developed? Why do you think the writer made the
choices he or she did?
2. As a writer, your best resource for self-improvement is the kind feedback of other writers.
As a group, present ways in which other members of your group helped you to see and
understand areas of improvement in the short stories you have been writing over the course of
the past 10 days.
Thematic Workshop
Life as Creative Writing
For all of us, life consists of characters, plots, dialogue, and themes. We're always thinking
about the setting we are in, and the ones we'd like to get to. We long to meet interesting
characters. We wish for a meaningful journey in the plot of our own life. We certainly all use
dialogue, and most of us like to think that there are themes that guide our lives. So is life really
just one more form of creative writing? In this workshop, we'll discuss how writing and reading
can help us think more clearly about the world, and how our experience in the can world help
us think more clearly about creative writing. We'll also break into groups for activities, including
an attempt to 'map' the characters, plots, and settings in our lives as the outline of a novel. This
activity will help us understand how deeply the basic concepts of creative writing are connected
to our everyday lives, no matter our primary academic interests.