These progressive online courses have been devised by lecturers from MA Professional Writing at University College Falmouth to guide you through the essential skills every writer needs to develop. Each course offers an online lecture from a Professional Writing tutor, tips from well-known authors, practical writing exercises and an opportunity to assess your work. If you are a beginner, we advise that you progress through the levels; if you have some experience, dip in as seems appropriate

Five Level 1 courses are now available. We will be rolling out the courses for Levels 2 and 3 soon.
Cost: £25 per course; fee includes entry to the Members' Room.   

Level 1: Writing Basics

Finding inspiration: where ideas come from and how to stimulate them. 

Storytelling: the building blocks you need to tell compelling tales. 

Sentence structure: the dos and don'ts of good grammar. 

Critiquing your work: how to review, self-edit and respond to others. 

Assessing commercial viability: the advantage of knowing your market and ways to get started.  

How to write a synopsis: includes sample synopses for various genres and forms. 

Developing character: the art of creating credible and effective characters. 

How to write dialogue: for novelists and screenwriters. 

Research for writers: where to go and how to start. 

Writing press releases: a key tool for business writers – and for selling ideas. 

Fiction: what to send and who to send it to. 

Non-fiction: pitching ideas, including a template for a book proposal. 

Radio: the standard expected and places to pitch. 

Television: who's in charge and what they like you to show. 

Film: the art of pitching.

Level 3: Getting Published - coming soon

Level 2: Essential Tools - coming soon