Creative Writing Program

Writing compelling short stories requires the skill and imagination to transform ordinary words into works of fiction. Although most people are taught to read and write at an early age, only those who bring creativity, depth and originality to their writing ever get to see their work in print. With Stratford’s Creative Writing program, you will learn how to shape your writing into powerful short stories that are ready for publication. You may even decide to turn this profitable hobby into a money-making career!   More Information

Our Creative Writing program is based upon a close interaction between you and your instructor. Each piece you submit is carefully reviewed by your instructor and returned with comments, corrections and suggestions as to how the story can be better shaped and improved. Your instructor will examine the elements of theme, character, point-of-view, plot and scene. Using your instructor’s suggestions as a guideline, you will find your work greatly improved.

As your writing progresses, you will learn how to edit and rewrite your material and to realize the value of this process. You will also discover what makes editors choose one particular work of fiction over another. To start you on your career, Stratford provides you with the addresses, phone numbers, tips from the editors and submission guidelines for more than 4000 markets where short stories can be published. This will help you market your finished pieces and finally get your work into print!

With your career diploma in creative writing, you can:

• Become a freelance writer

• Get your short stories published

• Publish a newsletter with your stories

• Start your own novel

Stratford specializes in the training needs of career-minded adults. You can earn your diploma any time over the next two years! Through guided, independent study, you will proceed at your own pace, studying from the comfort of home with a student counsellor always a toll-free phone call away. We have worked hard to ensure that all our students receive conveniently delivered, state-of-the-art training programs, and we are proud of the many successes our students have achieved upon completion of their studies.

Training with Stratford is your first step to making an excellent living as a professional writer. By sending in the enclosed enrollment application, you can begin your path to a new and profitable career sooner than you would ever have expected.

Characters and Point-of-View: Characters are a story’s lifeline. Two-dimensional words are used to create three-dimensional characters, and these characters must work to bring each event in the story across. Choosing point-of-view will determine how your story is to be presented. This section will teach you how to:

• develop memorable characters

• distinguish between main characters and minor characters

• choose the most effective viewpoint for your story

Plot:

The center of any story is its plot. Characters, scenes, dialogue and narrative work to unfold the story, gradually revealing situations and information. This section will teach you how to:

• test a story idea to see if it works

• build and maintain tension

• work with shifts in viewpoint, flashbacks and other changes to point-of-view

• connect plots and subplots

• prepare and write important scenes

• write narration that creates a strong plot and fiction others will want to read

Beginnings, Middles and Ends:

Each story has to progress believably from its first sentence to its last. The plot and subplots must work together to reveal the story’s events without cutting the flow of the narration, the dialogue or your readers’ interest.

This section will teach you to:

• hook an editor in the first three paragraphs

• build drama through effective prose

• find solutions for potential problems in your story

• strengthen your story through dozens of exercises

• sharpen your skills and improve your story by rewriting

Scene and Structure:

The steps leading towards the climax and conclusion of any story are assembled through the use of scenes. Each scene acts as a revelation of the story’s plot, and is structured to pull readers deeper into the story and further towards its final event.

This section will teach you how to:

• develop scenes that will build your story’s structure

• use cause and effect

• unfold the main character’s struggle

• work towards building a believable and revealing ending

Theme and Strategy

Having a theme and strategy in place before you begin to write will allow you to control and shape your creative output as it emerges. This section of the program teaches you how to establish a pattern in order to progress your fiction writing in an interesting yet informative manner.

This section will teach you how to:

• develop details into meaningful elements of a carefully-constructed pattern

• be aware of the “big picture” as your story develops

• imagine the reader and keep the audience in mind while writing

Also included: A listing of more than 4000 markets where short stories can be published, complete with the addresses, phone numbers, tips from the editors and submission guidelines specific to each market.

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