01 Why should I bother outlining and story structures?

This session will detail why you should bother outlining your work and what the advantages of the outline are. This session will also tell you about the outlining processes explored throughout this course

02 The skeleton

The first outlining method is the most basic and the most manageable. This session will teach you what this method is, why it's useful and help you develop your skeleton outline.

03 The insides

This outlining method will further develop on the skeleton, giving you a larger playground to work with and taking your outline to new heights.

04 Writing Characters

Building upon the previous outline of the Skeleton and the Insides, this session delves into building upon these two specific outlines to create a more comprehensive final type of outline with the highest level of sophistication, "The Whole Body".

05 Manoeuvrability with outlines

Sometimes the outline, and the resulting story, calls for a deviation, a character makes a move that is better for the story, but not what the writers have planned. This session will help you navigate when to deviate, when to stick to your outline, and how to become flexible and use it as a guide, not a strict regimen.

06 Outlining for collections and shorts

Taking these ideas, this session will ensure that people can effectively outline for small collections and their novel, short poetry, or other anthologies. This practical session will lead you through developing ideas using all three outline types.

07 Outlining for issues

Using the same idea for collections and shorts, and instead apply it to anthologies, which are both seasonal and not. This session will teach you what to do in either case and help you create your small anthology. As previously, this practical session will lead you through developing ideas using all three outline types.

08 Outlining worlds and societies

This session will ensure that students can effectively gain an introduction to outline worlds and start their world-building. This is sometimes one of the hardest things to do, but Eri will walk you through it. This session is an introduction to the wider ideas of the specific world-building course, coming in early 2026.

09 Novel notes for outlines

Novel notes for outlines can be tough to understand and even worse to execute. The idea of turning your book notes into a fully fledged draft is daunting, but Eri will walk you through it with ease and elegance, so you’ll attack your next draft with a keen eye and turn those notes into a fully fledged novel outline

10 Outlining for courses and developing these curricula

Developing curriculum and figuring out the world of course development, evaluation, and designing courses to be student-centred and focused is challenging. However, a qualified teacher, Eri, will walk you through developing student-centred lessons and a broader curriculum to develop the skills your students need on your creative writing course.

11 Developing radio plays

Outlining for radio is a different beast from outlining with other forms, with specific technicalities, structures, and quirks of the genre and form, which may make it suitable for other forms. This session will help you with this aspect of your professional practice and enhance your writing development, allowing you to outline your session effectively.

12 Workshopping Outlines

Picking one outline, you will bring this to a collaborative and supportive environment, where you will critique and work alongside other students to support each other sufficiently and provide development points for other writers and yourself.

All assessments are coursework-based. In the rare exception where this is not coursework-based, it will be practically based. Every module we run, regardless of level, has two components: 

• Component A: A creative writing piece (professionally in a specific form)

• Component B: A critical piece which contextualises what you've written 

Assessment

COMPONENT A (50%): Outline of a piece of writing, novel, course, or collection

• A 1000-word outline of a specific form of your choice using one of the modes studied in the course (novel, collection, course outline or radio play). The outline can be on any topic.

COMPONENT B (50%): A critical reflection on process

• A 1000-word critical reflection on the process of developing your outline - including iterations, successes and challenges -and how you embed specific techniques into your work. Critical reflection on the effectiveness of the process and the type of outline is essential.

Knowledge 

1. Students will be able to effectively develop skills in outlining a variety of forms of writing (including radio plays, novels, and course outlines).

2. Students will be able to understand the  process behind creating outlines and why outlining is important in relation to a specific form of writing which they have undertaken. 

Practice     

3. Students will systematically develop their outline through various stages and learn to iterate on their ideas.

4. Students will practically consider the reasons behind certain choices of presentation (narrative arc, curriculum sequencing, etc). 

Skills Developed 

• Critical Skills: Evaluation and justification of complex ideas; development of ideas; understanding and applying critical theory.

• Creative Skills: Idea-to-execution development; project management; editing; story development.