Monday, 22 November 2010

Oxford University Online Course: Writing Fiction for Young Adults

I have signed up for an Oxford University online course named Writing Fiction for Young Adults that is due to start on the 12th of January, running up until the 25th of March.  The reason I have signed up for this is that I have been waiting for a course like this to arrive on our shores.  I guess Arvon had one once, but the last time it ran was about two years ago.  There are plenty of these courses in the U.S., and I was about to sign up for one of them (it was offered by one of the universities in California - all online).

As many will know, there is a huge difference between writing for children and writing for adults, but there is another subtle difference between writing for those two market segments and writing for young adults.  Teenagers are no longer children, but yet, they are not adults either.  They are still finding their place in the world.  No matter what your taste in music, you can't deny that the few lines that forms Britney Spears' song "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" describes this moment of (a girl's) life perfectly.

The course costs £180, so despite it being a bit of a commitment, it's not going to cost several months' rent.  It is also an accredited course, so if anyone is interested in taking things further, they can.  Also, it truly is an online course, i.e. you don't have to be in the vicinity of Oxford to do it as long as you can rely on your good old friend - the internet.

Is anyone out there who will be taking this course, too?  Let me know...


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5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the link - very interesting! I've been considering doing an MA, but can't take it on at the moment. This would be a good way to start. I'll let you know if I sign up.

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  2. Been thinking about an MA in Creative Writing, too (particularly one aimed for children/YA - though I think the latter may only exist in the US). But same problem - can't do it right now (will do at some point though, even if I'm retired by that time)...

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  3. This is very interesting, would love to take the course, but I'm afraid I'm fresh out of time =( But will bookmark it and think about it in the future. Best of luck to you, let us know how the course turns out =) PS replied to your comment on my blog, I understand your pain ;)

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  4. Hello.
    I am also thinking about applying to this Oxford University Online Course.
    I was wondering if you could share your experience and your impression about the overall course about the creative writing at Oxford?

    Thank you!

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    Replies

    1. Hi,

      Sorry - I didn't see your comment before. It's a good course, if you want to write specifically for the YA market, and have been reading a lot in this genre. Generally, I think it was more literary biased rather than commercial.

      Tina

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