New Zealand Diploma in Creative Writing (Level 6)

Unleash your potential! The diploma will consolidate your understanding of genres and guide you to write for different audiences as you work on novels, scripts, collections, or non-fiction texts. You will also learn about writing for online outlets, how to hone your editing skills and how to self-publish.

This diploma has a team of specialist tutors who cover a range of genres. The team includes: children’s writer Justine Baddeley; award-winning scriptwriter Lisette de Jong; IML graduate and short story writer Gerard O’Brien; prose writer, artist and poet Ruby Porter (2017 winner of the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Award, and inaugural winner of the 2018 Michael Gifkins Prize); and leading freelance editor Lesley Marshall.

What you will learn

In this programme, you will develop a range of specialist writing skills and strategies that will enable you to apply professional principles and practices to produce original writing outputs that meet the specific requirements of creative industries.

In this programme you will learn to:

• Apply knowledge and skills in creative writing to develop and produce original works for a selected audience, platform or purpose.
• Analyse, critique and provide feedback on written works, in line with practices in the creative industries.
• Work independently and as part of a team to critically evaluate your own work and that of others.
• Employ professional business practices to manage projects to a prescribed brief.
• Develop leadership skills.
• Maintain currency of industry knowledge in order to work within the creative writing industry.

Compulsory courses

• 6001 Long Texts: Looks at the elements of long fiction and non-fiction. Produce then recraft a long-form manuscript of your own, e.g. novel, memoir, biography, self-help. Subjects covered include story arcs, genre conventions such as world-building and characters, backstory, voice, themes, meaning, format, style, plus giving and receiving feedback, critical reflection, and publishing options.
• 6002 Short Fiction: Practically examines what makes short fiction work by looking at technique and form of successful stories from a range of genres, and applying these learnings to new writing. Lessons combine discussions on theory and reading of published work, with writing prompts and exercises. There is a focus on practical output, with assessment including three short fiction manuscripts. Each story is worked through iterative drafts and ākonga will be given the opportunity to workshop their pieces in a group setting.
• 6003 Short Nonfiction: Akonga analyse different forms of nonfiction, including feature articles, creative, nonfiction, essays and advertorials. Topics include in-depth research, themes, issues and arguments. Practise writing nonfiction manuscripts for a target audience, then editing and recrafting them.
• 6005 Online Writing: This second-semester class builds on all the skills learned in the previous four papers, to culminate in the recrafting of one or more manuscripts (with the help of the editing students), and then preparing them for publication as an e-book. Students learn about good design, covers, ISBN numbers, editing and proofreading processes, as well as website and maintaining an online presence, including blogs, vlogs, branding, audience and more.
• 6006 Publishing: This paper looks at a range of publishing options and builds your professional skills, including time-keeping, record-keeping, taxes, ethics, publishing methods, mentorships, competitions, agents, vanity publishers and funding options.
• 6007 Editing: Students work with the online writing students, editing their blogs and books, as well as critiquing in-progress short manuscripts from various writers. This means their feedback and edits are of real value to professional writers, not just an academic exercise. Covers proof-reading, copy editing, substantive/line editing, evaluation of genre/audience, pacing and editing software.
• 6008 Becoming Professional: Choose your own writing project, research study or presentation, and work with it over the whole semester, from goal, outline and plan to the final draft. Projects often include interviews and in-depth research, and can be fiction or non-fiction. Practise the skills of structuring an autonomous working routine, with tutor support and guidance. Create an entire piece of work in one semester, and feel confident that you have the knowhow to become a professional writer in a variety of ways.

Elective courses - Choose ONE

• 6009 Poetry: An in-depth look at different poetry forms (e.g. odes, rap, sonnets, narrative), layout, linguistic conventions and devices such as scansion, rhyme, rhythm, pace, momentum, voice, style etc. You will practise writing and recrafting your own poems, identify and resolve problems and share feedback with your class.
• 6010 Short Scripts for the Screen: Learn about dialogue, character, story arcs, subtext, theme and visual storytelling in the context of scriptwriting. Students analyse and critique a range of short scripts and short films, and learn how to write for the screen by constructing, revising, and completing a 10-minute film script. They will become familiar with film structure, script conventions and screenplay format. This provides a good foundation for further screenwriting, or a fun way to explore dialogue and imagery in writing.