The success and popularity of creative writing courses at universities across the country belies the myth that writing can't be taught.
The Creative Writing Coursebook, edited by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs, takes aspiring writers through three stages of essential practice: 'Gathering' – getting started, learning how to keep notes, making observations and using memory; 'Shaping' – looking at structure, point of view, character and setting; and 'Finishing' – being your own critic, joining workshops and finding publishers.
Fully updated and including a foreword by Marina Warner and contributions from forty-five authors such as Kit de Waal and Amy Liptrot, this is the perfect book for people who are just starting to write as well as for those who want some help honing work already completed. Filled with a wealth of exercises and activities, it will inspire budding writers to develop and hone their skills. Whether writing for publication, in a group or just for pleasure this comprehensive guide is for anyone who is ready to put pen to paper. Julia Bell is a writer and Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck College, London where she is the Course Director of the Creative Writing MA. She is the author of three novels, most recently The Dark Light, the co editor of the Creative Writing Coursebook as well as three volumes of short stories. She also takes photographs, writes poetry, short stories, occasional essays and journalism. She divides her time between London and Berlin.
Paul Magrs lives and writes in Manchester. In a twenty-five year writing career he has published novels in every genre from Literary to Gothic Mystery to Science Fiction for adults and young adults. His most recent books include the concluding volume in a science fiction trilogy for kids - The Heart of Mars, and Fellowship of Ink. He has taught Creative Writing at both the University of East Anglia and Manchester Metropolitan University, and now writes full time. A fully updated comprehensive guide for improving your creative writing, including contributions from Ali Smith, Amy Liptrot, David Almond and Kit de Waal
