My niece has asked me to buy her a subscription to a postal writing course as her 21st birthday present. Anyone got ant views on this?
Mary

Hi Mary

Well, all I can tell you is that I went on and on and on at my husband to buy me a postal copywriting course. The structure of the course is sound and the feedback excellent BUT(!)you have to be awfully committed and structured to complete it. Mine is now under the dining room table. I did the first four assignments and got quite good marks but, with nobody to bounce off, the enthusiasm sort of disappears. The same happened to me some years ago when I did an OU diploma in health promotion. I managed to scrape through by doing all my assessments in the last week of the course. Not really learning is it? Just sort of cramming - I can't remember any of it.

What sort of writing does she want to do? Why not buy her a couple of books and a subscription to this site?

love
di

Mary, I've not done one, but Di's comment sounds like several others' I've seen on WW about this subject - some of the courses are well structured and do what they say on the tin, but it's not always easy to get the best out of them within the bounds of real life.

I don't know how the costs compare, but The Open University has various stand-alone modules in writing. I think they're a mixture of one-to-one postal tutoring, and internet-based workshops for the group. The latter are hugely helpful, partly because commenting on other people's work helps you so much with your own. They have feedback from the students on the site, so she could get a feel for how it all works. I did look at the Open College of the Arts CW courses too, some years ago, and thought they looked well thought out, though I know they had a bit of a hiccup with tutors a couple of years ago. They are just one-to-one, I think, so would be very flexible.

Emma

Does it have to be postal? A colleague of mine is currently doing the OU creative writing course and enjoying it hugely. It’s challenging, but rewarding, and the on-line feedback she gets from others on the course is helping her a lot.

A lot depends on what level she’s at. Writers’ Bureau crops up regularly on here. I started their course a few years ago and that helped me with the basics. I didn’t finish it because I wasn’t interested in the non-fiction side, but now they do a fiction-only course which might be worth a look at if your niece is a beginner.

I like Di’s suggestion. Why not buy her a really good dictionary, a thesaurus, a Fowlers, something inspirational – like Dorothea Brande – and a full sub to WW.

Dee

Dee, that's interesting to know about your friend and the OU. I thought it looked good on paper - or rather, on screen - but you can never be sure because it depends so much on the teaching.

I'm sure we could put together a list of good books to get a writer off the ground*, but I do think it's quite hard to keep yourself going in isolation, even with a WW membership. Also can be hard for a new writer to have the confidence to clear the time to write from pure - as it were - selfishness. It's easier to say, 'I'm doing work for the course, I can't babysit/clean the house/go to the pub. Plus there's the Weight Watchers principle: knowing someone - however nicely - is going to ask where your work is next week can be just enough to arm you to do battle with the anti-writing demons.

Emma

*Yes, Dorothea Brande, and I would suggest The Creative Writing Coursebook. Also just about anything in the The Way To Write series, and David Lodge's The Art of Fiction. And the Bloomsbury Thesaurus is miles the best.

Thank you everyone, some really useful comments here, which i will show to her and ask for her views in the light of these comments. Thanks again
Mary

Buy her an Arvon course, if you can afford it.

Thank you, will look at it ..... never heard of it, but surely can't be more expensive than the one I was looking at! Thanks again.
Mary

Arvon (one-off residential weeks, all subjects and levels) are fantastic for kick-starting things, and learning a lot very fast in a wonderfully stimulating atmosphere. They're in beautiful places, too, and I've known of great friendships that started there. Postal or ongoing courses are perhaps better for keeping you going week in week out once the initial excitement has worn off. Horses for courses, really. Your niece might also want to look at local authority classes as well. Some very good writers teach on those, as it's the kind of regular work that complements the irregular other kind.

Emma

I went on an Arvon course last year and it was one of the scariest but most rewarding weeks of my life! It was quite pricey though - £450 for a week – but that included meals and of course accommodation.

I went on the one down in Devon, and you had to walk to the top of a hill covered in cows just to get a mobile phone signal. It was really isolated. Perfect for getting some writing done!

But be careful which one you pick - some are better than others and it's really important to get good tutors.

Hi
Thanks to you all for the advice which keeps on coming in. I am passing on all the information to my neice and hope she takes the right decision.
Mary

Just seen this advertised in the new WAAYB

http://www.learningcurve-uk.com/writingschool.htm

Dee

Thank you Dee
Mary

I did the Writer's Bureau course but I didn't complete it either. Same as Dee I was not intertested in non-fiction. The course was helpful,with good advice, lots of work and certainly gave me loads of ideas. The down side is you have to be very committed, difficult to work when there is no deadline.
Kat

Mary, whatever your niece ends up doing, do keep us posted on how it goes. It's always good to have up-to-date experiences of such things.

Emma