Study Dramatic Writing - improve your writing skills, learn how to plan your work.

• Learn to write compelling and engaging text.

• Develop your understanding of how to develop situations and plots.

• Learn about developing your characters - make them believable, understand how you can make your reader relate to them.

• Learn techniques and approaches to use in your writing.

This course will help you no matter what style of writing you do, or where in the world you live.

Lesson Structure And Content

There are 8 lessons in this course

1. Introduction

• Motivation

• Typing Time

• Types of Writing : Reflection, Exposition, Description, Explanation, Argument

• Making Decisions about what to Write

• Know your stuff

• The concept

• Synopsis

• Keeping a Notebook

• Process of Story Development

• Planning a Story

• Developing your Voice

• Useful terms

2. Characters

• Developing the characters

• Building Characters

• Main Characters

• Minor Characters

3. Theme and Genre

• Developing a Theme

• Universal Themes

• Sub Themes

• Creating Conflict

• Names

4. Plot Development

• First Decisions

• Ambiance

• The End of a Story

• Types of Dramatic Story: Memoirs, Biographies, Reflective Stories, Historical etc

5. Weaving a Story

• Techniques: Action, Emotion, Mirror; Parallel lives, Palm Cards

• Writers Block

• Developing a Story Line

• Things to Avoid

• Different Approaches: Dialectic, Transition

• How a Character Affects a Plot

• How Plot Affects Genre

• Goals

• Consequences

• Motive

• Flash backs and Flash forwards

6. Writing a Dramatic Short Story

• Main Character and Antagonist

• Creating a Sense of Place

• Counting Out Your Story

• Short Stories

7. Developing Sub Plots

• Method

• Plants

• Activity

8. Writing a Chapters for a Dramatic Work (Novel or Play)

• Getting Published

• Writing Resources

• Writing as a Business

• Vanity Publishing

• Dealing with Publishers

• Creating a Chapter or Segment of a larger work

Course Duration:   100 hours 

Do You Have A Story To Tell?

The desire to write is often borne from the need to express oneself.  Whether there is an issue nagging at you that you would like to resolve, or you need a creative outlet, writing is a good way of processing the world around you.  It is also a fantastic tool for non-violent conflict resolution. 

There are many reasons for writing,  one of the best reasons to write is that you have a story that you must tell.

Don’t be put off if this isn't the case.  Often the story may come to you slowly in random words and ideas and when you’re lucky it’s like a wave which washes over you and simply pours out of your fingers on to the page.

If you think for a few moments about the major turning points in your own life, you’re sure to find more than one story that you must tell.

There are many different types of writing – short stories, poems, novels, screen plays etc. Dramatic writing can fall into all of these categories.  

A short story usually takes place over a shorter period of time. It is often set in just one setting/scene, and the characters may be shown with broader strokes – there is not as much time to analyse characters as there is with novel writing.

A novel, however, allows more space to describe characters and scenes. There may be more than one scene and more than one plot.  The plots may be multi-layered.  
Writing comes in many guises, all of which can be creatively employed and manipulated by the writer regardless of the form (novel, poetry, travel guide, etc) in which she or he is writing. 

Decide on your Genre 

You may enjoy reading certain types of books, you may have a story you are bursting to write. The genre is important. If you don’t decide your genre at the beginning, you may end up going off on a tangent and writing a romantic comedy instead of the action thriller you were planning.  

Genre is a word often used to describe categories or types of written text. Some of the more familiar genres of creative writing are:

• Poetry of all kinds
• Short stories
• Novels - including: westerns, romance, science fiction, detective stories, mysteries, fantasy, etc.
• Stage play scripts
• Film and television screenplays
• Lyrics.

Other genres that we may not think of as creative writing are:

• Magazine articles
• Newspaper feature stories
• Essays
• Biographies
• Advertisements
• Card greetings
• Books or articles on science, history etc.

Know Your Subject

Before writing your story, consider – do you know about the subject area that you wish to write about?  Think about your motivation for writing. If you think - “I’d really like to write about wizards because J. K. Rowling made a fortune” but you know absolutely nothing about wizards or magic or mythology, then it might not be the right area for you. 

Your first thoughts need to be – “What am I interested in?”, “What do I know about?”

If you don’t know much about wizards but really want to write about them and think you have a good story, then your next step is research.

This is an essential step for anyone who wishes to write.  You may know a lot about what you want to write about.  But there may also be some facts or essentials for the story that require you to carry out research. 

So What Is Your Next Step?

Would you like to be a dramatic writer?

Take that step today and start learning dramatic writing skills and techniques - enrol now!

If you have any questions or want to know more about the course, please ask our writing tutors, they will be more than happy to help and advise. You can contact us now, by

Phone: (International) +61 7 5562 1088 or (in Australia) 07 5562 1088, or

Email us at admin@acs.edu.au, or use our

FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE.