Start Writing Crime Fiction
12-week online writing course begins Monday 19 September 2022
Crime fiction is the biggest-selling genre in the UK and this course will help you to incorporate its building blocks into your own writing. Join the Queen of Domestic Noir, Julia Crouch, for an online creative writing course which will teach you how to write a crime novel. Explore the genre’s themes and appeal; looking at creating credible worlds and characters, developing and structuring story and building page-turning, tension-filled scenes.
What the course covers
- The Starting Point – what is the appeal of crime fiction? We look at generating material using news stories
- The Elements of the Crime Story – we identify the core elements of crime fiction, and how to apply them to story structure
- Endearing Monsters – the role of characters in your stories and how to develop living, breathing characters
- Genre and Detail – we look at the sub-genres of crime fiction, and how to find the devil in the detail
- Crime Story Structure – the plot dynamics of crime fiction, point of view, voice and tense. Plus: Plotter of Pantser?
- Ethics and Edits – examining the ethical issues of contemporary crime fiction, and how to edit your work into something even better
On this course, you will
- Explore what crime fiction consists of and why it is so popular
- Build a bank of story ideas
- Understand what sub-genre of crime fiction interests you, and why
- Explore the structure of crime fiction and how to build a plot
- Learn the building blocks of good writing.
- Learn how to create believable characters
- Learn how to build stories using details
- Develop an understanding of point of view
- Explore the importance of setting
- Learn about creating suspense
Designed by the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at University of East Anglia and the National Centre for Writing.
Feedback from students
‘The course was well-prepared and designed and the input and feedback was excellent.’ — Deborah Forbes
This course is intended for writers aged 18+. If you’re looking for courses suitable for younger writers, check out these online workshops!
About the tutor
Femi Kayode is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. He is a graduate of the MA in Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia, where his novel Lightseekers won the Little, Brown / UEA Crime Fiction Award. Lightseekers was called ‘a delight’ by the New York Times, ‘tense and disturbing’ by the Guardian and ‘a stunning murder mystery’ by the Independent.
Femi was a Packard Gates Fellow in Film at the University of Southern California and has built an impressive resume on prime-time television by creating, writing and developing several award-winning TV dramas.
Taster resources from Femi
Read: Five essential scriptwriting tips from Femi Kayode →
How it works
All you need is a computer and an internet connection. You can find out more about the requirements here.
The course is divided into six modules. Each module consists of reading and commenting on a short story, exploring an area of crime fiction theory, three short exercises to develop a craft aspect of writing crime fiction and a longer assignment. The assignments develop from the writing exercises and build cumulatively to help you develop a finished project.
The modules are posted fortnightly. Every two weeks you will submit an assignment to your tutor, who will then respond with constructive feedback and advice.
There are two live Zoom sessions during this course – dates are to be confirmed.
Click here to find out more about how our courses work and whether they’re right for you!
Designed by the University of East Anglia and the National Centre for Writing.
12-week online writing course begins Monday 19 September 2022 Crime fiction is the biggest-selling genre in the UK and this course will help you to incorporate its building blocks into your own writing. Join the Queen of Domestic Noir, Julia Crouch, for an online creative writing course which will teach you how to write a […]
Online Writers Centre Norwich