Student responses to Creative Writing: Student narratives 1

• “When I first came I felt really out of my depth. A lot of people had obviously spent years on courses specifically designed to prepare them and my English ‘A’ level didn’t seem useful.”
• “I still live at home – I still work at the same shop. I just come to a different place to learn and I’ve found it hard to fit writing into my life. It was difficult moving from ‘A’ levels which demanded so much revision and so on to a course fully dependent on my creative side. I’m getting there though – I’m getting ideas sitting in the pub or on the train and now I just want to learn and read stuff – it’s the fitting it all in which is hard.”
• “As a first year student on this writing course and having been a writer from a young age, I was glad when several theories and strategies I’d thought up privately were being taught.”
• “I knew what to expect from the course as I had read the course content online and had been on similar creative writing courses (summer camp). So far I believe this course is being run efficiently and I am happy with it.”
• “I wasn’t too sure what to expect from university, let alone the actual course ‘English with Creative Writing’. I have always enjoyed reading and writing – it is the basis for me wishing to pursue a career in journalism. I’m really enjoying the course – not knowing what to expect simply adds to the challenge of a degree.”
• “I really enjoy coming to university which is a good thing because I hated college. Uni is totally different – the course itself is interesting and different every time.”
• “I was very scared coming to my first seminar because I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had trouble finding the room and getting there on time combined with the uncertainly made me very nervous when I sat down. I still feel like that sometimes, like I haven’t quite settled down yet.”
• “There has…been a slight concentration on the reviewing of (fairly basic) grammar, which I know a lot of students including myself have found rather dull. My thoughts were that people who have been accepted onto this type of course will have done English A levels and so should already have this sort of knowledge.”
• “I thought the Creative Writing course was a little slow starting as it began with grammar which we already should have known. I was expecting more work developing character, plot, setting, etc. and discussing ways of putting them on paper.”
• “When I first enrolled in the course I expected it to be more structured and set in terms of writing tasks but was surprised to see more flexibility of choice.”
• “When I first signed up… I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I assumed that we would be graded for writing and coming up with our own story. After the first day of class, I realised that it took more to become a ‘writer’.”
• “My ultimate fear was that I wouldn’t be any good at writing. I had an idea of what worked on stage because I studied Drama for three years at College. During my time there I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and devising module and this was something I wanted to restart a passion for. After three years out of education, travelling and working, I am still certain that drama excites me and there is nothing else I would be happier doing.”
• “The creative writing course is something I have dreamed about for while. However, I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to take the challenge. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect or indeed if I was creative enough but that uncertainty excited me and I am now glad that I took the challenge.”
• “I don’t regret taking [English and Creative Writing], though perhaps regret not preparing myself for other people criticizing my work and having to criticize others.”
• “I’ve always loved creative writing but it was always the area of English that was passed over in school, particularly in the 6th form, in favour of a more analytical style of writing.”
• “I was expecting the lectures to be fairly long-winded and boring as well as probably impossible to understand but the lectures and seminars are really interesting and, surprisingly, often funny.”

• “When I chose my course for my degree I looked purely at English Literature with Creative Writing courses because they offer the balance between an old, respectable subject and a subject that is more creative.”
• “Creative Studies in English at [X University] would have been my ideal choice of university course, but in the case of fees now being £3,000 per year I knew I had to be ‘savvy’ in picking a course that would give me a good ‘spring-board’ into a job/career that would at least give an option of stability. So I chose to combine Creative Writing with 50% English Literature, meaning I would be eligible to train to teach English at secondary level via a PGCE after my degree, which I know I will enjoy and seemed a ‘sensible’ option all round.”
• “Judgements regarding reputations of institutions and of courses themselves did affect my decisions, as advice from teachers, parents and careers people repeatedly tell prospective students that in the climate of declining graduate jobs, every element such as this counts.”
• “I’ve always loved creative writing but it was always the area of English that was passed over in school, particularly in the 6th form, in favour of a more analytical style of writing. Whilst I enjoy doing that too, I was glad of the opportunity to return to the creative side of writing and university in the hope of fulfilling a career in writing later on, something I’ve always wanted to do.”
• “I like the course but don’t exactly love it. I chose creative writing because I love writing and it’s what I want to do.”
• “I am at university for the specific purpose of gaining a degree. English was chosen as it is a subject which I feel comfortable with. I am less restricted by boundaries as assignments are more based on personal opinion than anything else. Other than that, I chose English as people have remarked to me that I have an aptitude for writing so I should try and develop it. I have no idea where an English degree will take me, what path it will lead me on in life. I know however, that it is the course that will grant me the best degree I can achieve.”
• “I chose to do a creative writing degree because it is a broad degree and would allow me to into almost any career I like. So far, the creative writing course is going better than I expected and I am enjoying the challenges of writing. I like the course because it enables me to express myself and really let my imagination run wild.”
• “I’ll spend my life chasing my dream of becoming a novelist, even if my chase is hopeless, even if I feel I only have a 1% chance of becoming an established English author, I am committed.”
• “One of the primary reasons I chose a creative writing degree was to give me a reason to write. I found that when left to my own devices, though I enjoy writing, it took a lot of motivation to get me into a piece. I write better out of necessity I believe, if only out of fear of letting others down. I also wanted to overcome my phobia at feedback and the idea the writing as a completely secretive activity which I feel the course is helping me to achieve. Additionally I wanted an academic or professional opinion on whether or not I could pursue something related to the subject as a career path – I wanted to know whether or not I had potential, or talent, or not.”
• “I’ve wanted to take creative writing since I heard such courses existed, and four years later, I’m here. Writing is just what I do. I can’t imagine how I’d manage if I didn’t write – go stark raving mad, perhaps. The English Literature side of things is also interesting, and reading a wider range of material is important, but creative writing is why I am here. Unfortunately we must face the practical fact that 60% of published authors only earn £5K a year, and having a traditional degree may just save me from total poverty. If, by the end of my three years, I feel my work has improved and my experiences have broadened, then I will consider it a success. So far, so good, and I hope the course will continue to improve as we go along, and my fellow writers come out of their shells and really rip my pieces apart. If you’re indecisive, take the course! It’s damn hard work but well worth it.”
• “I chose to do Creative Writing with English because I know writing is something I enjoy. I’m not sure how useful it will be in the future, but I’m enjoying it at the moment. I actually would prefer to be doing more writing modules.”
• “I have no idea where a degree in fiction writing might take me. However, the program so far has challenged me in ways I have never been challenged. I’ve always been interested in writing, but never had the proper motivation or will to complete anything. This class has sparked something inside of me, an inspiration, a motivation I have been unable to find anywhere else. Wherever this road may lead me, I will be satisfied knowing that I am now able to collect my ideas and put them to paper, in a manner that is accessible to others.”
• “I didn’t come to university expecting to do Creative Writing. I just saw it as a ‘guilty pleasure’ to do as one of my Part One subjects as I’ve been writing poetry for a few years, and want to improve on it. I’d love to take the subject as part of a combined major with English Literature but am worried that the creative writing element won’t be taken seriously by employers and friends. One of my oldest friends, who I live with – an accounting student – calls it a ‘hippie subject’.”
• “I’m actually not a fiction major. I decided to take the Fiction course because I wanted to try something new that would challenge my creativity and expand the way I think about not only myself, but the way I approach my art. I knew nothing about what to expect… but decided to give it a shot because of my deep affinity for an instructor who was teaching it.”
• “As one fellow student on my course said “I came here to drink, not to study”. I don’t entirely agree with her – I came because there was no alternative and writing was the only thing I believed I was good at. Only a few weeks in and I can’t wait for the next writing seminar to come around! When not ‘socializing’ with friends, I put my soul into becoming a better writer and just enjoying every word I write.”
• “… the course itself is fantastic! It is one of those subjects people respond to like “Oh really….yes, well what are you going to DO with that?” I suppose I’ve not really thought that far ahead yet; I reply that it’s just something I’ve always enjoyed and that having a degree in something so enjoyable is just going to be a huge bonus.”
• “I’m taking fiction writing for two reasons: as an Illustration major, I plan on doing writing to improve my imaginative skills, and also, just for fun and self-improvement.”
• “I often find myself questioning whether or not I should be studying something that guarantees a good job but I quickly remember that I’m not doing this to get a good career – I’m doing it because it’s a way of life.”
• “I’ve learnt that writing as a solo career is pretty hazardous so I’m currently developing other projects to aid my writing, as it’s always important to have a back-up plan.”
• “As with a lot of people, I didn’t know what to expect of a creative writing course.  With regards to whether or not it leads on to ‘real work’ – I certainly hope it doesn’t, or I might have picked something else.  All going well, I do actually want to write professionally, not end up in an office.”
• “I always wanted to do some sort of English degree.  Creative Writing was an interest of mine and was happy when I saw it as an option.  I don’t care if no-one employs me because of it.  I want to be a teacher and write on the side.  My English Literature degree would be used to get me a job in teaching.  My interest in taking creative writing was to channel my mind, give me discipline in terms of writing to meet a deadline and to let me know that there were other like-minded people out there.”
• “I don’t think there are many ‘pretentious wankers’ taking this course as after a while their stuff gets boring.  I am, however, holding out to become a comedy writer – if that doesn’t fly, teaching will do.”
• “In all honesty, this [Creative Writing] is the main reason why I am at university.  Creative Writing was a course that I had always wanted to take – and now that I am doing it, I am enjoying it to a large extent.  I’ve done my own writing at home for the past three years, so to get the opportunity to do this as part of a degree was an opportunity I knew I had to take.  In the future, I certainly do not expect to be a published writer – but what I do know is how much I am enjoying the course and how much I would have regretted it if I had made the decision not to take this course just because many employers don’t see it as a very worthy subject.”
• “It’s OK so far.  I took the course because I like reading and writing and I still do.  Plus it’s better than full-time work which just plain sucks.”
• “I did not know what to expect.  I’m still not sure how useful or relevant to a career this will be but I am enjoying it.  I think it will improve as time goes on, especially the creative writing module, because people will gain confidence and open up.”
• “At first returning to education was a strange pipe dream and attempting creative writing was something that I did in my spare time!  Now that I’m here and studying I find the course really enjoyable.”
• “I am a white male, mature student (62) and have specifically selected this course at this university basically because it exactly suits my requirements.  This is what I thought before during and after the application process (and still ……after 4 weeks). I want to fulfil a lifetime ambition to get some writing done – this seems a good way to go about it.”
• “I came to [University] later in age than most to pursue my ‘academic career’.  I tried many other means of pursuit but always felt dissatisfied whether by employment or study on anything that lacked creativity.  And so, at 37, I turned to the nag that had been tugging on my coat tails for years… I knew that I needed to be in a place where my creativity could be nurtured and then, hopefully, bludgeoned to become something great – the glorified author that I knew my words could achieve.”
• “I have always been a writer – and writing as a profession has always been my aim in life.  However, it’s taken me a while to get here.  At 28 I decided to come to Uni and do this course on a whim.  I am here solely to indulge myself.  The degree aspect is really just an added bonus.  I know that to be a published writer I do not need a degree – unlike other jobs.”
• “I had always assumed that university would be just another stage in my life; it never occurred to me not to go, even thought I had also never really considered which course to do. “
• “I decided to do English because it had always been a strong point of mine due to my early passion for reading and my vivid imagination which led me to expansive creative writing.  I was one of few children to love poetry and writingstories instead of reading them. “
• “My whole life, I’ve always done what I enjoyed as opposed to what was expected of me, or what was needed to reach a certain goal or aim.  Writing is what I enjoy so it’s what I am doing now.  I have no aim for the future, only the plan to succeed at whatever I do.  Creative Writing seemed as if it would be an eye-opening course because I would be writing lots and reading other people’s writing.  I think I have already learnt a lot from it and gained new skills from the workshops.”
• “I started this course because I’m interested in writing and I want to improve.  So far, I’ve learned quite a few useful things, and the regular assignments have helped me to become more organised.  I definitely don’t regret changing from a computing course to this.”
• “I’m actually a film major taking fiction classes for fun.”
• “I came to university because I wanted to improve the quality of my own writing.  I have written a novel but will not attempt to send it to publisher until I have finished my course, as hopefully then I will be capable of making improvements.”
• “I wasn’t too sure what to expect from university, let alone the actual course ‘English with Creative Writing’.   I have always enjoyed reading and writing – it is the basis for me wishing to pursue a career in journalism.  I’m really enjoying the course – not knowing what to expect simply adds to the challenge of a degree.”
• “I chose this course because I didn’t know what I wanted to do – I still don’t.  English Literature and Creative Writing seemed to go together and I happened to get good grades in them.  It seemed to choose itself for me.”
• “The reason why I took such a writing course is because it is rewarding at the end of the day.  Telling stories, creating characters and situations, and all that jazz is rewarding.  It makes you share a part of yourself to the world in a very creative way.”
• “The Creative Writing part is my favourite part of this course simply because I am extremely creative – whether it be music, art, or English.”
• “I always knew I was going to study English at university, since I’ve always been good at English and always enjoyed writing stories and articles, etc.”
• “I’ve been to university before, studying English.  However, I’ve found that I am much more of a practical person.  I was impatient and uninspired with the study of literature.  I guess my ultimate aim all along was to create some of my own!  So….I chose creative writing.  I’m hoping it will give me the time and focus to write and enable me to build a body of work for use in future projects.  So far it is too early to tell if that will happen.”
• “In the future, I hope to use the techniques that I have learnt in order to teach.”
• “I’m an international student from the US and they don’t offer scriptwriting/playwriting at my university.  I really wanted to try it out during my study abroad course.”
• “I already studied a year at the University of Luxembourg, which has an excellent English Department.  I had a course with the title “Practical Approaches to Poetry” in which writing critiques and discussing each others’ work is normal and so I am used to get critiques for my work and not afraid of it as I know that the quality of my writing mostly depends on the feedback I get from others, but on the other side I won’t neglect my personal view.  After taking that course and writing already for about six years, I was more than sure that I would enjoy Creative Writing at an English university even if I wrote before mostly in German or French.  The seminars started indeed a bit slow for me but this is due to my experience at our university which my fellow students lacked and so it was not problem to me.  I think that English Literature and Creative Writing work very well together as it gives you a better insight into the writer’s mind…..”
• “I chose the course solely on the basis that it was one of the few in the country that offered a ‘creative writing’ element as part of a practical application.  I had always written prose and poetry, but wanted my writing to have more direction and more focus – scriptwriting seemed like the ideal avenue for this, particularly because it would teach me to work towards the demands of a particular industry.  This would allow me to diversify beyond the realms of the novelist or poet – often uncertain careers with no sense of feedback apart from the inevitable pile of rejection letters from agents and publishers.  By learning about scriptwriting, a whole other world of possible careers has been opened up for me, from advertising to film to theatre…”
• “I took a year out to concentrate on myself, my music and my film-making.  I grew up a lot in this year and enrolled on a screenwriting night course and a magazine-writing course on a Friday.”
• “During this time I started seeing a career advisor because I had no real idea about what I wanted to do.  Through our discussions, it became clear that I wanted to write and it was scripts I wanted to write most of all.”
• “I was accepted onto the course on the strength of a script I wrote on my night class.  I was proud of the script – it wasn’t what I usually wrote about – and I took this acceptance as some sort of validation.

• “Ever since starting the course, I have found that my ideas for writing have been flowing far more readily.  Because it is part of my course, I feel I have more motivation to write.  However, because of the workload for my other subjects I have trouble finding time to write them all down.”
• “Even though I loved Media Studies A-level, I knew I couldn’t continue it at University.  This is because of the course’s reputation with employers.  I knew that a traditional academic subject was favoured and more respectable.  I continued with English even though I wasn’t good at it – the Creative Writing element to my course would be a ‘guilty pleasure’ so to speak.  I was reassured that English with Creative Writing was a respectable course because Warwick University offers it, one of the top universities for English…”
• “When I chose my course for my degree I looked purely at English Literature with Creative Writing courses because they offer the balance between an old, respectable subject and a subject that is more creative.  I love the creative writing side at the moment because it approaches literature at a completely different angle to that which I’m used to (as something that is constructed by a writer).  At the moment this course seems to offer so many possibilities (in a way English Literature doesn’t).”
• “I love [Y University] and I’m having an amazing experience, particularly enjoying the creative writing process, but I get the feeling I should devote more time to it, but in retrospect I’m not sure whether a degree consisting of just Creative [Writing] would have been better suited to me.”
• “In coming to this course I am feeling quite inspired in terms of my creative writing and Victorian literature.”
• “When I first got here I was not too worried about my lectures.  After doing the course for a few weeks now I have found that creative writing is interesting and by far my favourite subject.  I like it a lot more than the English side of the course.”
• “Although I enjoy writing in my own time and having the chance to read other people’s work, I’m glad Creative Writing is only one module on my English course.  Although my initial fears were of a class full of pretentious, psychologically damaged rich kids, and generally annoying wankers, I have learnt to put up with them.”
• “I was terrified about the creative writing module – I had to do it as part of English studies.  My interest was much more about studying ‘good published literature’ than attempting anything of my own.  However, so far it has been fine and I am actually enjoying the exercises.  Even though I don’t ever expect to be the next Charlotte Brontë or JK Rowling, I can see that investigating the creative process is useful for studying those that have been successful.”
• “Studying English and Creative Writing joint with Media Studies is a good combination for me not only because they complement each other but because they keep me on my toes as I have three different areas of study.  The variation keeps me motivated so I’m not bored of studying the same thing every week.”
• “The reason why I chose this module was because I thought the creative writing process would be interesting and I would undoubtedly acquire useful writing skills which may help me to achieve my goals.  Studying English at university is an achievement in itself and during my first year I wish the modules were a bit more diverse…”
• “I chose to do Creative Writing with English because I know writing is something I enjoy.  I’m not sure how useful it will be in the future, but I’m enjoying it at the moment.  I actually would prefer to be doing more writing modules.”
• “To be honest, I wish the course had more creative writing modules.  It’s the bits in between I’m not too bothered about.”
• “It’s also interesting to be in a group where everyone is taking it as a major (joint) degree as they tend to open up quicker and you get some inspirational work which you can bounce off and get inspired from.”
• “I’d love to take the subject as part of a combined major with English Literature but am worried that the creative writing element won’t be taken seriously by employers and friends.  One of my oldest friends, who I live with – an accounting student – calls it a ‘hippie subject’.”
• “I had been at another university for a year doing a media production degree.  I had been reacting to all those people who call media a ‘Mickey Mouse’ subject but in the end I realised that they were right.  I learned very little in that year.  I had done most of it before in my two years of amateur film-making.  Everything that I did learn was either only a small advance on what I already knew or was useless to me.”
• “Initially I thought I may have chosen badly, taking Scriptwriting over Creative Writing. How wrong I was!  Scriptwriting is fundamentally coupled with useful tools/devices and by no means least – the public – due to it being explicitly linked with performed media.  It has taught me to write properly, relax and divulge no more than I need to.  The good thing about the course is that we are rarely blind.  We know where we’re going and how to get there.  ‘Edit’ is the watchword.”
• “Scriptwriting is geared easily to practicality and commercial use.   But then again we are at the old polytechnic.”
• “Having been on the Drama and Scriptwriting course for around six months, I am beginning to react against the drama side and the drama students and see myself as a writer wanting a view into the theatre world rather than an actor-in-training.”
• “I have found myself connecting everything I’m learning about scriptwriting to all the other modules, especially making theatre, which is what I want to do.”
• “I prefer the writing workshops to the practical drama sessions but I still give the drama my best.”
• “I don’t know what exactly I was expecting from studying English and Creative Writing.  I think I just wanted to broaden my knowledge of the structure of the language, but I didn’t think they would actually show us how to ‘create’.  After all, is being a writer something you can learn?  Apparently so.  I’m amazed at the different angles we are coming at storytelling from. Critical theory has particularly surprised and excited me.  Our workload and reading list is very daunting, but as self-confessed ‘lovers of books’ I don’t think we have much room to complain!”

• “Being at university is still daunting but the creative writing side of things is fantastic.  However, everybody in the class seems a lot more advanced than me which is horrible because I’ve never been very confident about my writing.”
• “I was daunted by the prospect of an English degree but I feel I am coping with it well.  I strongly suspect some other students are better writers than me but I can only improve.  I am looking forward to the challenge.”
• “I didn’t know anything about playwriting before I came here.  I find it a little intimidating reading work aloud sometimes for fear I’ve misinterpreted the assignment or something but the group here is very supportive.”
• “I used to write all the time before I came to university, and never tried very hard because it was just for fun.  Here, I have to try really hard every week, and it takes up so much of my time.  But it’s all in a quest to not being the worst writer.
• “At first returning to education was a strange pipe dream and attempting creative writing was something that I did in my spare time!  Now that I’m here and studying I find the course really enjoyable.  Workshop groups are a useful experience and have given me the confidence to show some of my work to others and value their feedback whether it be good or bad!”
• “This is my second time round as a first year.  This time I am enjoying it a lot more.  I feel more challenged.  One thing I do not like at the moment is having to share my writing with others.  However maybe as I go on and my experience grows so will my confidence in my writing.”
• “…although I’m not particularly confident about my skills, the course has gradually helped me to open up more and have the faith to put my work forward to the rest of the group without the fear of being ridiculed.”
• “I’m still somewhat nervous about having my work critiqued but I am enjoying it and I’m sure that my writing skills are improving.  I like the fact that the lectures and seminars are designed to aid you as a writer and not teachings on how you should write.”
• “This class has been amazingly fun so far, even though I get intimidated by the skill of my classmates who are majoring in Fiction Writing.  Workshops and games are not unlike thumbnails in Illustration – rough ideas generated quickly, each with the potential to blossom into an independent work. I just wish I could stop feeling uneasy about sharing my work with others.”
• “I believe the creative writing workshop would be different if it was not a seminar but a lecture instead.  Students would still learn but would not get the experience to show others their work and to judge what they have done also.  I love to write and sometimes am worried about what others will think of my work but that is part of English, as to improve we have to learn.”
• “Some aspects work really well, such as the workshops where we email our writing to the group and then give each other feedback in class.  I think this lack of face-to-face confrontation is really helpful because it means people are far less shy about what they write and do not have to worry about reading it out.”
• “Creative writing was something I longed to do.  Since I won the [competition] in 2003, I’ve felt passionate about writing.  As I feel it allows me to express myself.  However, at university I felt overwhelmed by the idea of sharing my feelings and expressions with others, in case they criticise them.  Nevertheless, I’m going to try and allow for these criticisms as they will better me as a writer.”
• “At first I was very surprised by the process the department employed, and more than a little nervous about opening myself up so deeply to perfect strangers.  I’ve never really done fiction before, so it was a bit intimidating.”
• “Taking a creative writing course has been odd.  Even though I know that there are no rules, I still feel that I need to censor myself.  I just don’t feel comfortable letting my true thoughts and feelings out to the class of strangers.  Perhaps it’s fear of judgement or criticism, I don’t know.  Some pretty crazy far out ideas bounce around in my giant head.”
• “I have learnt a lot through doing this creative writing module.  I feel better in myself when it comes to writing.  I feel more confident in my writing skills and professionalism.  However, there have been many times, where I have felt left out and out of my depth.”
• “When I first started I felt out of my depth.  But as the course has moved on, I feel I’ve come out of my shell.  I find workshopping my work easy and fun.  I get feedback which helps me expand my work.  I even had the confidence to read out a piece of my work in a seminar.”
• “The course has helped me develop confidence in my own writing, because I was worried what people would think of my writing.”
• “Gaining feedback from people who read my work non-analytically has built my confidence and made me realise that people are actually interested in what I write about.”
• “I dread reading my own work but even more so critiquing other peoples’.  I don’t know why but reading my own thoughts about a piece to everyone in the room scares me far more than reading out my own work.”
• “I like my work being criticised (constructively, of course) by people who know that they’re talking about.  People are often worried that they’ll say something you won’t like, but in seminars it’s very helpful.”
• “I don’t regret taking [English and Creative Writing], though perhaps regret not preparing myself for other people criticizing my work and having to criticize others.”
• “When we first had to criticise each other’s work I was plain terrified – it was horrible slagging off someone’s work like that when you didn’t even know them but now as the term has progressed I think everyone has started to take each other’s comments with a pinch of salt and realise it’s not just a personal dig at you…Well, sometimes it might be.”
• “I often wonder if I can do this creative writing course but I never regret deciding to do it.”

• “My maths major flatmate sits up all night moaning about equations while I can just sit with a brew and summon up my creative juices.  I know which one I’d rather be doing.  Ha Ha!”
• “I still live at home – I still work at the same shop.  I just come to a different place to learn and I’ve found it hard to fit writing into my life.  It was difficult moving from ‘A’ levels which demanded so much revision and so on to a course fully dependent on my creative side.  I’m getting there though – I’m getting ideas sitting in the pub or on the train and now I just want to learn and read stuff – it’s the fitting it all in which is hard.”
• “The workload was more than expected.”
• “The creative writing element of this course gives us the opportunity to write what we want and express our own feelings in a way that the other modules do not.  However, I really did not realise how hard it would be to just put pen to paper and write.”
• “I expected university to be a lot of hard work and it is.  I’m accustomed to writing essays but a minimum of 1,500 per week for just one module is quite different.”
• “I’d like to know where the student who said he/she was coasting through a creative program goes to school.  I don’t feel that is the case at all.  Every day I feel I am constantly being pushed, first, just to build a body of work, and second to constantly be improving upon the writing in it.  As with any class or degree program, I feel that I can take as much as I want (or as little) from my classes.  I feel like my teachers want to see me succeed, as long as I am willing to work for it.”
• “It’s hard in a way because the teacher says ‘Write!’ and you have to think of something on the spot.  You suffer from the worst case of writer’s block on this course.  To the point that if you get anything half decent down it’s a serious achievement.”
• “So far I’ve really enjoyed this course.  It has allowed me the space to write and explore my own abilities.  At first I found it difficult just to go away and write something without being given a structure or direction but I’m getting used to it.  It’s actually quite fun.”
• “My flatmates tend to give me grief over my choice of subject – I have 7-9 hours of lectures and seminars a week and they all have up to 24 hours and are taking ‘proper’ subjects, such the sciences or maths.  I tend to respond that I have over a million books to read and as I am taking a ‘creative’ subject I am thinking over writing possibilities and not just spending the day eating Hobnobs in my pyjamas.”
• “I love the forum of the class….the environment.  I like to hear others’ work and listen to my own work at the hands of others.  The feedback (positive or negative) is encouraging.  However, I feel as though once I leave the classroom, it is very difficult to make any creative progress with my work.  I think because my job, other classes, social life, grocery shopping, etc. etc. consume my attention.  I do clear much time to do assignments but spend most of that time staring at blank screens and pages.  It’s like pulling teeth and most of what I write for the class I come to dislike about halfway through the storyline and then I am faced with the unpleasant choices of drudging through to find some sort of an ending or starting all over.”
• “I do find that my greatest difficulty doesn’t lie in writing stories, but rather in coming up with them and as a result I feel creatively drained by having to come up with a new story each week.  Though we spend time on coming up with ideas in class I feel as though I would benefit on learning tricks to developing those story starts.”

• “The creative writing course has given me plenty of ideas but I am still a little uncertain as to how it’s going to go and whether it is going to help to improve my writing.  I am still not sure if I am cut out for all this writing bit but I really enjoy it and want to give it a fair go.”
• “I don’t know what exactly I was expecting from studying English and Creative Writing.  I think I just wanted to broaden my knowledge of the structure of the language, but I didn’t think they would actually show us how to ‘create’.  After all, is being a writer something you can learn?  Apparently so.  I’m amazed at the different angles we are coming at storytelling from. Critical theory has particularly surprised and excited me.  Our workload and reading list is very daunting, but as self-confessed ‘lovers of books’ I don’t think we have much room to complain!”
• “Everybody’s writing is different, and really couldn’t be compared.  Teaching such a class is hard, as you have to inspire courage within the students.  There are some things that cannot be taught – you can only tell them what works for them and has worked for others, and see if that helps.  The best lesson to be taught is to keep writing.  Some people have problems with too much creative freedom – they are stuck-up shits who want everything their way, but you have to let yourself go and simply pick up the pen and WRITE.”
• “I write because it makes me complete.  It is not about who is better, but it is about me.  As I continue this path, along the road many new doors open and my mind can always gain new ideas and learn.  These courses only help me structure my ideas and expand on them.  Creative writing is a world where I have no rules to follow – it gives me a break from the rules I always have to follow in life.”
• “I enjoy my personal creative writing process, but resent the formalised structure.  Ultimately this course is a means to an end, although I am keen for it to become more than just that, less laboured.  Undoubtedly I will gain from it, however quite what that will be I’m unsure.  Reading this back, perhaps I should be paying more attention.”
• “I enjoy all of my writing classes and they challenge me because they are unlike some other traditional classes and degrees.  There is never one right answer or way to do things, and that is fun for me.”
• “Our teacher would play all types of word games with us that allowed us to control and play around with our imagination.  As a result, it has sharpened my writing skills in a way I didn’t know was possible.  I would recommend this program to anyone who has a passion for writing.  Not only will it help enhance their skills, but it will allow the individual to look at their artistic world in another perspective.”
• “I have gained much in a short amount of time [including] the luxury of indulging in all the books I read, which have now become course requirements… Reading aloud, writing, recalling, writing…have forced my pen to grind.  But most valuable still is the community that is created by instructors, peers and outside sources that foster my own creativity – that call upon me to speak out – to write – to read – to listen to those who came before me.”
• “I took time off from college for three years before returning to finish.  The first school I was involved in was extremely expensive, and I wasn’t satisfied with my creative writing experience.  There was no structure, and the success of the class was contingent upon classroom chemistry.  There were no levels, just open entry Fiction Workshops.  Serious writers were mixed with beginning level students, and it really lowered the bar.  When I did return to finish school, I picked one with a more structured writing department.  It offered more of a community atmosphere.  Despite the most important part of writing being done in solitude, it’s important to find people who you respect to share your work.”
• “Writing to deadlines has often forced my scripts to take an entirely new direction and has been of huge benefit to me – it finally made me stop procrastinating and get some actual writing done.”
• “I have found this course both interesting and informative so far.  It has enabled me to look at my own work with new vision.  And has awakened a passion for poetry I never thought I had!”
• “I am enjoying the course, although it is not entirely what I expected.  Some aspects work really well, such as the workshops where we email our writing to the group and then give each other feedback in class.  I think this lack of face-to-face confrontation is really helpful because it means people are far less shy about what they write and do not have to worry about reading it out.”
• “However, one aspect of the course which I do wish was different is the amount of feedback we receive from the lecturers.  I thought they would look at our work far more than they actually do.  I think this sort of professional criticism would be really useful, especially as the workshop groups do have a tendency to be far too polite.”
• “I guess I’ve enjoyed the creative writing part of the module, ie. actually writing the pieces, but I’m not convinced I would have chosen to do it if I didn’t enjoy it.  As for the seminars, I don’t know that, so far at least, I’ve particularly learnt anything new or had constructive criticism on my work.”
• “I enjoy creative writing, but I do not feel that I have really taken anything from the lectures.  What I write is from own ideas and experience, I don’t feel that I have learnt many new techniques but I do feel that the lectures have guided me with trying out new things that I would not have thought to write about previously.”
• “I’m enjoying the workgroups.  I like emailing the work so I don’t have to read it out.  We did some sessions on punctuation which were a complete waste of time, with the lecturer just reading from a book.  I’m not sure if she knew any of it herself.  There hasn’t been enough lecturing on how to write, and a lot of time gets wasted, either in workgroups or admin.”
• “I came to the course expecting more input from the seminar leaders.  The majority of comments that have been made on my work have been from fellow students, which is fine.  However, as we are all at a similar level, I think some advice from a more experienced writer may be more helpful.  I hoped for examples to be given from excerpts of various novelists/story writers, not just to be given a reading list and to get on with it.  If we were given new ways of thinking or different techniques, that would be beneficial.  One week we were given quite obviously a photocopied sheet that had been taken from [Z] University – the tutor proceeded to sit, reading her own book to herself for the rest of the session.”
• “I’m not sure how much I’m learning from the Creative Writing courses but it provides me with a consistent motivation to write that I haven’t had before.  I’ve always enjoyed writing and knew I was good at it, but I never had any ideas and could never seem to make time for it.
• “Gaining feedback from people who read my work non-analytically has built my confidence and made me realise that people are actually interested in what I write about.  If nothing else, the sheer volume of what I’ve written since I began this course has improved my writing.  However, I sometimes wonder if there might be a less expensive way of gaining motivation. I am sure that I want to be a writer now, and that if I do any course at university, it will be creative writing.”
• “I am glad I have taken the course because it has made me sit down and write even when I feel I don’t have the time.  And as seeing as this why I took the course, although I am not loving it, I don’t regret taking it.”
• “I’ve found that in fiction classes like in most screenwriting classes that if I’m improving it has more to do with the fact that I’m being forced to write than what I’m actually learning in the class.”
• “It has always been in my nature to write my creative thoughts on paper, whether it be in the form of poetry or short stories.  Therefore, I relish the creative writing seminars which enable me to gain valuable feedback and improve my original work.”
• “You do creative writing but when asked to write something about the course you draw a blank.  Well, I’ll give it a try.  When I started the course I expected to be constantly writing.  I find I am.  I love it.  In my free time I write constantly and now I find that I can get a degree for doing so.  What is better than that?”
• “I feel that the English department is not what I thought it would be.  The [Creative writing] lesson is not as good as I thought as I do not feel inspired and interested.  This is due to the fact that I feel that I haven’t learnt as much as in my other modules – maybe because one of the teachers teaches directly from a book and there is minimal interaction.  I feel I learn more from my workshop group (who are students) than one of the lecturers.”
• “If my seminars were scheduled for any other time of the week, I’d absolutely love it.  Incidentally, I do enjoy it anyway.”
• “I had high hopes as I left one degree, one with a future, to take this one.  ‘Follow my dream.’  I was kinda let down.  I want more workshops, more feedback, more – more – more.  I want poetry!  But so far I get … Fiction on a Friday.   Not as much as I’d hoped for.  Or maybe I’m greedy?”
• “This creative writing course is ideal for me – I do like it very much but I wish my peers were more critical of each other’s work.”
• “…the lectures and seminars are really interesting and, surprisingly, often funny.”
• “My tutor continues to encourage me in every venture and prospect, creatively altering the course/lectures for different take-offs by the group so everyone will benefit.  I feel I’m well-suited to the course – I have confidence in my work and am pleased with the feedback I receive both from my tutor and my fellow students.  It’s also interesting to note how other people write and the many different ideas one theme/story can produce.”
• “At first I was very surprised by the process the department employed, and more than a little nervous about opening myself up so deeply to perfect strangers.  I’ve never really done fiction before, so it was a bit intimidating.I have found as the weeks progressed that the class has helped me in all of my courses as well as my day-to-day life.  I’m more alert.  I’m more detail oriented – it’s like the class has been sort of therapy for me – and I’ve greatly enjoyed it.  I’ve also learned that I am a pretty good writer and it is something I’ll continue to do, even if it’s for my own personal enjoyment!”
• “This course has introduced me to lots of new methods and working in a group makes the process of writing easier.  Before this course, writing was just something fun that I did in my spare time – now it’s something fun that I do most of the time. The course has also shown me how to perfect what I write; I never used to edit any of my work – once it was done, it was done.”
• “I’ve really enjoyed my time here.  The exercises we do in class encourage me to write in styles I wouldn’t write in regularly such as reading a playwright’s work, studying their style/structure, and then mimicking it in our own way.  I didn’t know anything about playwriting before I came here.”
• “Right now, I can’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else.  This university, this course, and these lecturers and students are doing more than help me achieve what I want to achieve – for the first time in a long while I really feel like myself and that I can do exactly what I want, both personally and academically.  Honest truth.  This is brilliant – the good has far outweighed the bad.”
• “I’ve loved my first year of creative writing.  For me, being around a lot of talented creative people makes it all worthwhile.  I have so much free time in which to write, and have seen the progress I had hoped for actually reveal itself in my writing.”
• “When I first came I felt really out of my depth…The second semester has been a lot more positive – meeting people dedicated to their subject has inspired me and a creative society at uni has really made me feel passionately about my course again.  On top of that, the encouragement from tutors and members of that society has boosted my hope.”
• “I feel I am growing as a person like a seedling in spring.  I am developing and growing confidence in my writing.  Before I came here, I only ever wanted to write scripts for soap operas – now I am slowly developing an urge to write a novel. So I think it is doing me some good.

• “Once you get into the second year, it helps you to discover what you want to do. The first year at times seems to be a bit vague, and it wasn’t until I got to the second year I realised what I want to do.”
• “The course teaches you very valuable skills, and you can see your writing developing as you go through.”
• “The teachers on the course really encourage you, and you know you can to go them if needed.”
• “The first year felt a little slow, but I have really enjoyed the second. The classes are more focussed and I can see my writing has improved. I’ve grown in confidence and even the process of writing feels easier and quicker these days.”
• “I certainly think the course has improved significantly since last year in the quality of work being submitted and the amount of feedback received during seminars. However, I feel that my style or genre of writing is a little out of place in my seminar groups (who, for the most part focus on rather mundane realist topics). I think this may negatively influence the feedback I receive during these seminars. I find it very disappointing to see such a lack of variety in the writing of my seminar groups.”
• “I enjoy the course a lot, especially now that we are taking the modules that we choose. I think that because I am taking the modules I wish to take it makes me more passionate about my writing and the work I produce. However, I do feel that the assignments that we are set could be more varied. We seem to do a lot of the same things for each module.”
• “Although critiquing has improved, I still think a large amount of students are still trying to be too ‘nice’ with their comments. I don’t find this helpful at all and would rather endure harsh criticism so that I become accustomed to it.”
• “I feel that the course has stayed much the same for me this year, but that is good because I like the way this is structured – it works for me!”
• “I don’t feel that there has been much progress in terms of seminar work, etc. from last year, and I’m pleased about this – submitting something and then using the seminars to work our pieces as a group is something I enjoy, and find useful.”
• “There is less onus on submitting something every week this which is good. Less pressure. However, unlike last year, we’re not often given ‘themes’ by the tutor in order to inspire writing – something I miss.”
• “Essentially I have used the Creative Writing course to motivate myself to write, above learning how to write better. The first year seemed to be focussed much more upon exercises to encourage ideas for stories or poems or drama rather than enhancing technical ability. However, in the first year the final project was to produce ten pieces across prose, poetry and drama. This year, however, the task is to produce one substantially longer piece and as such we were expected to find an idea for it early on and spend the following 9-10 weeks working on that. This means we have been learning more in-depth about technique and structure, etc. particularly via workshopping.”
• “I feel like my writing has improved a lot in a year, but it is hard to see how much of this has come out of the course and how much is just natural development through practise and experience.”
• “All that and I’m still not sure if I used the right kind of practise/practice there. Maybe a module on that?”
• “This module’s emphasis has not been on exploring interesting or different techniques and methods of approaching writing, which I think is what I was expecting. This second year has been, on the whole, similar to the first year (especially in terms of exercises), but it has slowly developed into something more. This year’s workshops have been more effective by far anyway.”
• “In my first year, I tended to prefer one Creative Writing tutor to others that took certain lectures/workshops. This was probably because she was very structured; we looked at different aspects of writing and/or devices each week, then spent part of the workshop putting what we’d leant into practice by writing. This charted my development as I could physically see what I had leant and how.”
• “I prefer more structured, methodical approaches to loosely planned discussion. I like to know the objectives of each lecture to ensure I am learning whatever is being taught.”
• “I began the course with a single idea for a book. Now, not only is that idea better, but I have several others – novels, short stories, poetry – a portfolio of writing for me to draw from and develop for what the course has taught me to be a difficult, but not impossible, goal of publication.”
• “I try to pick modules from as wide a range as possible. I’m generally a prose writer but I don’t like to be a one trick pony. I used to write plays when I was younger so when a play-writing module came up I jumped at it. If I’ve got the skills to do that, then great. If not, then fine – at least I had a go.”
• “Having done an introduction to screenwriting module in Year One, the scriptwriting module I’m currently undertaking hasn’t come like a bolt from the blue. Having participated in such a module in Year One, it is maybe easier to see the progression in the course than if I’d done something radically different, say Writing for Children.”
• “If the first year was a strong breeze, sailing me along in the right direction, then I should definitely think of this second one as being unleashed into a whirlwind of ideas. It is a relief, I must say, for the module still retains the constructive prompts to keep it interesting, yet now allows total freedom. Though I must admit that now, knowing how daunting a writer’s career can be, it is a little offputting to think that that shall be me in a few years time. Still, life is a challenge after all, whichever path you take. So I say bring it on!”
• “I look back on my work from a year ago and cringe – but I love that because it means my writing must be getting better. This course does benefit – I promise.”

• “I will say this though – writing passionately and being confident about presenting my work to people, does seem to give the impression I think I’m God’s gift to the course.  I do not feel this way at all. I simply appreciate what the course requires – so I’m not surprised or disgusted or scared when I have to do it.”
• “I don’t tend to worry about reading my work out loud because I know I’m neither the best nor the worst, but it can be a little nerve-wracking reading your critiques of other people’s work because you know yourself how hard it can be to hear bad things about your ‘baby’ and you can feel pretty bad saying that to someone else. But I’m getting more used to that now, as the course continues.”
• “Doing this course has given me more confidence in my writing but before I receive my marks back I still worry that it’s no good.”
• “I often feel like my writing is not as good as others in my class when it comes to workshopping.”
• “At first I found reading my work quite daunting, but over the course of the degree, I found it easier to read aloud. I do still feel that the criticism I get for my work is too vague, and I know I do the same to others. It is very difficult to go into specifics about what is good or not.”
• “I found having my work critiqued daunting at first and sometimes upsetting but I always responded to criticism by re-writing the piece to the best of my ability and it has paid off. I now understand that it is the piece of work being critiqued, not me.”
• “[Tutor]’s way of alternating class workshops and small group workshops works really well because people who are scared always prefer the smaller ones so they still get a chance.”
• “I don’t mind reading my work aloud, or being criticised. Yet criticism can never be entirely true. One person may find a piece cliché, when another reader could read the same work and be enthralled. I also sometimes feel that the teaching is constrictive and so is the assessment. My biggest complaint would be the writer’s journal which we are forced to keep (worth 25%). What an utter waste of time.  I could use that 25% to produce something much more engaging than just a word processed plan.”
• “I think everyone suffers a certain anxiety when workshopping their work but ultimately it serves a purpose and the analysis can only improve our work.”
• “I’m not keen on reading out my work ….. actually I despise reading out my work in fear of being criticised as generally I feel that it’s not as good as others in the class.”
• “Being made to write is frightening – fear of other people’s opinions makes it hard to write freely. I think everyone will laugh if I were to produce my work to them!  Ooops.”
• “Count myself lucky to be able to write poetry, prose, scripts, etc, which are all from my own thoughts and ideas.”
• “In regards to creative writing I feel more confident now reading out my work because everybody else has to. Sometimes it’s frustrating when my tutor talks about poets and writers I’ve never heard of. I’ve been told my writing is too emotional and abstract. That’s frustrating because I’m a scriptwriter and actor so that’s how I write. “
• “Although the exercises seem like a waste, they help me to open myself up to other writers and explore other points of view.  With the mastering of such exercises comes a certain sense of confidence – I no longer fear the dreaded workshops and the scrutinous gaze of other writers. I look forward to having my work torn apart as it allows me to build upon it. I also now have found the courage to think about being a writer and not just an enthusiastic amateur or – the most dreaded – ‘a simple jotter’.”
• “I enjoy writing, so my work for course is not a chore.  But when it comes to critiquing other people’s work, at times I lose the will to live. I know well that other people feel the same towards my work. I don’t mind reading my work or critiques out – serves them right!”
• “The Creative Writing aspect of the course originally really scared me. I’ve never been an introvert but I just felt wrong letting strangers read something I made. Over the time I’ve been here my opinions have changed, and instead of apprehension as to what might be said, I approach workshops with an open mind to accept the compliments and criticisms openly.”
• “I now relish the opportunity to have a roomful of people around about my standard to take apart and help reconstruct my work, making it as good as it can be.”
• “I don’t worry about who is the best or who is the worst (although occasionally I like to reassure myself that I’m not at the lower end). At the end of the day, we’re all striving for the same goal and not really in competition with each other. The sooner I learned that the group was about helping each other, the easier it became to relax and write.”
• “This course has helped me realise that I want to carry on writing as a career, particularly children’s writing.  Although I still find the idea of offering my work up for criticism daunting, I find the workshops very useful, especially as we can choose to do it as a class or in small groups.”
• “My arm is numb. I seriously cannot move it properly. That’s preoccupying my thoughts right now.”
• “But I’m to discuss writing.  More than anything I’d like to learn how to feel comfortable in my writing. To be able to execute exercises like this and do it for the love of writing of words.  But it’s so permanent. I love and hate that. It’s forever.  There’s an exercise that was recommended to me. Just to write up whatever came to mind and then throw it out and to do this daily. I have yet to try.”

a) English

(b) Drama, Film and Media

(c) Psychology

(d) History

(e) Art