Are you looking to write your first novel, trying to sharpen your writing skills, or just want to write for fun? Creative writing is an essential skill to help you curate, craft and enhance your writing capabilities.
Attending a quality creative writing program can give you the tools and practice you need to become the writer you’ve always wanted to be!
What are Creative Writing Courses?
Creative writing courses are educational programmes or classes that primarily emphasise developing and enhancing one’s writing skills to be more expressive and creative. The courses are designed to educate students to write engaging, expressive and compelling original works of fiction, poetry or creative non-fiction.
Creative writing courses can be found in:
- Universities
- Online Platforms
- Workshops & retreats
You can find general creative writing courses that help you learn and develop the basics like how to spark your creativity, the typical structure of a story from beginning to end, grammar and syntax and vocabulary, and how to develop your writing style.
Creative writing courses may also include workshops that are primarily focused on specific genres or forms of writing, such as screenwriting, poetry, or fiction writing. Every course emphasizes a creative writing process that may include character development, identifying the plot of the story, and finding your distinct writing style.
Best Universities for Creative Writing Courses In Australia
Creative writing is a useful subject to learn because it opens up many doors. At first glance, it may seem like creative writers only write fiction novels or other things like that, but they are qualified to do so much more. And, many creative writers have no interest in becoming novelists or authors!
Other professions creative writing degree-holders typically go into include:
- Advertising copywriter
- Arts administrator
- Creative director
- Digital copywriter
- Editorial assistant
- Higher education lecturer
- Lexicographer
- Magazine journalist
- Newspaper journalist
- Publishing copy-editor/proofreader
- Talent agent
These universities offer some of the most successful creative writing programmes in Australia.
Ensure you are well-prepared for University courses with VCE English tutoring on Superprof.
University of Technology, Sydney - Bachelor of Communication (Writing and Publishing)
In 2021, UTS become the #1 university in Australia established less than 50 years ago and is among the top 10 worldwide. Notable alumni of the creative writing programmes at UTS include Anna Funder, Yvette Holt, and Nikki Gemmell.
If you find you're having trouble keeping up in classes, you can always find reliable English tutors on Superprof to help you get back on track.
Course Overview
Led by professionals in the industry, this course is taught by award-winning published authors, editors, and scholars. The course is designed to help you learn about the publishing industry in Australia and globally, so you have an understanding of how the industry works worldwide.
You will learn various writing formats such as fiction, non-fiction, screenwriting, digital content, and games.
Transferrable skills are also important for writers, which is why you will learn critical thinking, research, editing and publishing, and storytelling. These skills help not only your writing but any other professional or personal projects you may work on.
The course is ideal if you want to:
- Learn and hone your skills with the help of skilled practitioners
- Learn and apply your skills to your own writing
- Have the opportunity to be a part of a writer’s studio and develop your craft
The aims of this degree are:
- to produce graduates with a strong grounding in, and comprehensive knowledge of, contemporary writing practices and the publishing industry,
- to enable students to develop innovative, creative and ethical practices as writers and editors, appropriate to a variety of professional and cultural contexts,
- to equip students with the critical, creative and collaborative skills, aptitudes and experiences to gain employment or progress to further study.
Examples of subject titles you will study:
- Narrative theory and practice
- Writing and editing foundations
- Digital literacies
- Imagining the Real
- Screen story
- Publishing cultures
- Professional pathways in writing & publishing
- A major writing project
The University of Melbourne - Master of Creative Writing, Publishing, and Editing
In 2023, UniMelb was ranked #33 in the world and #1 in Australia for overall universities. Communication and Media Studies was ranked #40 in the world as well. Notable Alumni of UniMelb in a creative field are Randa Abdel-Fattah, Helen Garner, Germaine Greer and Catherine Mack-Hancock.
Course Overview
The Master Of Creative Writing, Publishing And Editing is designed for students who are presently working in the creative writing, editing and publishing industry or have completed an undergraduate degree.
This course aims to give you the tools needed to build project management skills, research and critical thinking in writing, editing, and publishing, and gain knowledge of the global publishing industry.
The course is ideal if you want to:
- Build a globally-recognized portfolio in writing, editing and publishing projects
- Develop knowledge about the global publishing industry
- Gain a perspective and working knowledge to specialize in areas such as fiction, poetry, and screenwriting.
- Build a skill set for digital writing and publishing, fiction and non-fiction writing, print production, advanced editing for books and magazines and writing for young adults.
The aims of this degree are:
- To prepare the student to be ready to work in these environments upon graduation:
- Book publishing
- Freelance writing
- Journalism
- Print production
- Technical writing
- Writing and editing for digital media
Examples of subject titles you will study:
- Short fiction
- Creative non-fiction
- Poetry
- Writing for screen
- Scripts for contemporary theatre
- Novels
- Life writing
- Writing videogames and live performance
- Writing identity and difference
- Thinking writing: theory and creativity
- Advanced editing for digital media
- Print production and design
- Advanced book publishing
- Genealogies of place
- Capstone projects
Best Certificate Courses for Creative Writing In Australia
The Australian Writers' Centre
The AWC offers certificates of completion at the end of their courses which can be recognized by employers and other educational institutions. All of the courses are online so you can attend them from anywhere! There are group classes with weekly feedback, tutor-led Zoom meetings, and self-paced courses with or without feedback.
Notable course-takers with the AWC include Karina May, Luke Rutledge, Kerryn Mayne, and Shannon Meyerkort.
Course Overview
There are several different main subjects to choose from at AWC:
- Creative writing
- Freelance writing
- Copywriting
- Business writing
You can pick and choose which classes and subjects to study based on what you want to learn. There are no set programmes, meaning you do not need to take a set prescription of subjects. You earn a certificate of completion after each course. This way, you can study exactly what you want or think you need to improve, and you don’t have to study anything you feel is superfluous!
This programme is ideal if you want to:
- Improve a particular writing skill or skills
- Figure out if you enjoy creative writing
- Add a specific type of writing to your skillset for fun or to help your current career
- Want a self-paced, online programme
- Are already working or studying elsewhere but want to complete a creative writing course in your spare time
The aims of this institute are:
- to provide practical, industry-relevant training for anyone with a desire to write
- To help students achieve their goals – from landing book deals, getting published, amassing freelance clients, changing careers
- To provide expert tools and techniques to help students achieve their goals
- show students how to harness the creative process and explore their own innate talents
Examples of subject titles you can study:
- Creative writing stage 1
- Writing picture books
- Writing children’s novels
- Creative non-fiction
- Short story essentials
- Travel writing
- Editing essentials
- Plotting and planning
- Fiction essentials: characters, dialogue, grammar and punctuation, point of view, structure, scenes
- Anatomy of a crime: how to write about murder
- Creative writing 30-day bootcamp
- Destination travel workshops
Workshops with Writers SA (South Australia)
Writers SA is a not-for-profit membership-based organisation that aims to promote writers and writing as a whole. It was established in 1985 as the first writing centre in Australia. The physical location is in Adelaide, but the online courses can be accessed from anywhere.
Some notable staff and workshop hosts for Writers SA include creative writing masters like Bronwyn Stuart, Lana Guineay, Edoardo Crismani, Carol Lefevre, Cher Tan, and Brooke Robinson.
Course Overview
There are no courses or certifications offered by Writers SA. The workshops and classes offered are for the gain of the student and while you do not receive a certificate, you do receive valuable information and help.
And, it’s not just classes! Writers SA exists as a place where writers of all ages can find valuable resources for writing and publishing, including hands-on help.
You can be paired with a mentor, get a consultation, and receive first feedback and a manuscript assessment.
This programme is ideal if you want to:
- Take specific workshops or classes instead of a course
- Join a writing group and find a community of other writers
- Have individual attention from experienced writers
- Promote your book with this organisation after you’re published
- Join a writers-in-residence program
The aims of this institute are:
- To assist both new and established writers in every aspect of writing craft and publishing
- To foster writers of all ages, and encourage young writers to express their creativity and build their skills in a supportive, safe, fun and engaging environment
- To provide resources for writers to grow and hone their skills
- To provide resources for writers to better understand the publishing world
- To offer services for writers who need guidance and professional feedback
Examples of subject titles you can study:
Writers SA offers workshops and events rather than ongoing, repeating courses.
- Literary non-fiction with Ellena Savage
- Writing powerful scenes
- Writing neurodiversity, chronic and mental illness
- The magic and mechanics of picture book writing
- Self-publishing 101
- Goal, motivation, conflict
- Teen writers club (13-17)
“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. … It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.”
Enid Bagnold
Other Options for Creative Writing Education
If you want to learn more about creative writing but don’t want to pursue a degree or certificate, there are other ways to become a better writer and learn about publishing!
Private Tutoring
With a private tutor, you can receive individualised personal attention for every aspect of your creative writing process.
You can find English online tutoring as well as in-person tutoring on Superprof. Your tutor can help you start from scratch and learn to write for your desired medium, whether it be novels, live theatre, poetry and songwriting, or cinema.
Creative Writing Exercises
Practice making writing a habit and improving every day with writing prompts that you can find online in various writing communities in forums and social media.
Communities, especially creative communities, can be full of helpful members who want to help each other succeed, grow, and thrive. Find your community and give and receive help all together!
Pursuing more education about creative writing can lead to great career, creative, and personal opportunities in life. Many of the same skills that are used to write well and manage your writing process can be used in other scenarios to help you be more effective as well.
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