Creative Writing Course Reviews

Unlocking Creativity

The ‘Unlocking Creativity’ course online with the Writer’s Studio was my timid step into a fantasy life I had secretly wished for but believed was beyond me. First I was too young, then I was too busy, and these days I’m just too old and worn out. The course was presented in a series of exercises, sprinkled with encouraging quotes from wise minds past and present. There was an opportunity to show our work, see the work of others, and feel the gentle guiding hand of the masters who had gone before us. It felt very safe for the timid.

From this course, I caught a glimpse of what structure can do for a good story idea. It has opened my eyes to the labour required to bring forth a complete story, and I have a deeper understanding of why writers moan about the agony of creation, and exult in its joys.

Unlocking Creativity

This course – Unlocking Creativity, has been a worthwhile experience for me. I really did it to check out the school, because I am interested in the novel writing course. And, hey, anything that could boosts your creativity has to be beneficial, right?

I have really enjoyed the support from other writers and been gratified to see how everyone’s work, and, in particular, how their confidence has grown throughout the course. Continuing to write is important to me and I am better at it but still want to become lost in my writing/one with my story. For the sheer enjoyment of it.

Unlocking Creativity

I feel better than I have in a long time. My soul is soaring high above the ground. My confidence and understanding of my abilities has grown and spilled over into all the realms of me. It's quite astounding.

Unlocking Creativity

On a whim, I enrolled in The Writers’ Course with no expectations, and I have thoroughly loved these four weeks of encouragement, magic and reality! I acknowledge it is unusual to describe something as being both magical and realistic. They seem opposites. But perhaps writing is a dance between the two.

Its magic lies in the methods it uses to open and engage my subconscious. We are all storytellers, and our minds are capable of creating wonderful things. We just need to know how to access this beautiful well of ideas. The course asks us to trust the process and write junk, something I initially found hilarious. But I have absolutely loved the junk that my brain has created.

The course has also given me practical tools to improve my writing craft. Its exercises and prompts have set me on a new learning journey. I have confidence that if I continue to practise and hone these skills, my writing can and will improve.

Most of all, I am incredibly grateful to have found this course and to be walking away with both the discipline and enthusiasm to continue writing. I actually feel very indulgent, as though I have been given permission to get lost in my own mind and thoughts with a pen in my hand. And perhaps that is my biggest takeaway of all. To be a writer, I must write.

Unlocking Creativity

I can absolutely see the value in a supported writing program, I really wouldn’t have come this far had I not signed up on that spur of the moment.

Unlocking Creativity

What a journey we’ve been on the last month. It’s been a month of self-discovery, creativity and unlocking our potential. I’ve learnt a lot about the writing and a lot about myself in the process. I’ve realised that I really am creative and creativity is one of my passions. It’s where I can express how I’m truly feeling and immerse myself in other worlds. I learnt a lot about the writing process. I particularly found centring a character around a desire and a moral weakness very helpful. I’d thought I’d known about the basics of storytelling but the way it was laid out in this course was clear and propelled me to write stories that had a pipeline.

Unlocking Creativity

I have just finished a creative writing course. I have enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed particularly how the course made me pay more attention to the world around me. I noticed literary devices in films and books – the tropes, the clichés, but mostly the surprises. I found myself going to sleep with an interesting phrase in my head, and I would wake with a different one. I even remembered my dreams more clearly.

I saw the other writers in my group become less worried about what they wrote. It’s funny – people start out worried they’re not doing it correctly, then the course teaches them some rules and though people don’t necessarily follow the new ‘rules’, their inhibitions loosen and their writing starts to have fun.

Unlocking Creativity

I’m so glad I signed up to Unlocking Creativity. I feel like some of the shackles of my soul are slowly being prised off and that recovering the enjoyment of being in a non-judgemental flow state is possible. I found that, because there is no right or wrong, and so much encouraging, positive feedback, that the course felt like an escape from the to-do list rather than an addition to it.

The feedback structure, and reading and critiquing other peoples’ work, was so helpful in identifying how my own work can improve and has also made me more excited and curious about reading again. It has also made me more present and observant in daily life. What are people doing, wearing? How are they walking, speaking? What can I see, smell, hear and feel?

I loved being in a group. It felt really supportive and I loved learning everyone’s unique style and voice. It was wonderful to see confidence, courage and creativity grow.

Unlocking Creativity

I’ve tried my hand at writing and loved it. Writing is something I will make part of my daily life now. Whether it be getting pen to paper or dreaming up my next great story. I view the world differently as a writer. Everything I experience, see and do is inspiration for writing. The course I have undertaken has allowed me to me to unlock my creative self and discover that I can write and will continue to write and refine my craft.

I am forever grateful to those who were on this journey with me. My tutors have been an incredible support and guided me through the process and offered gems of wisdom along the way. My fellow writers have been so generous and positive with their feedback that it has instilled confidence in my ability and potential as a writer. I am leaving this course with hope and ambition and I’m excited for the next step.

Unlocking Creativity

It has been an enlightening experience, so much more than I had even dreamed of. It’s like a door has been opened, allowing me to go places I never had the chance to go. It just blows my mind, I sit pen in hand, no idea what I am going to write and its as if someone else just takes over and without pausing or thinking I write, the stories just flow out of me, no hesitation. My creative writing has definitely been unleashed.

I feel the course has given me permission to write, the confidence to write plus the feedback has given me confirmation that I can write.

Unlocking Creativity

I've just done this fantastic 4 week writing course. It fired my creativity and made me think outside my box. The first person I thought of was you. It opened my eyes to being less introspective and self-critical and has taught me to take a deep breath, just be the character and write, pen to paper.

Lovely, empowering, journeying, living, feeling, soul expanding, mind blowing, Rollercoaster, heartbreaking, creativity.

Unlocking Creativity

The main gift, which is so giant I feel like I’m looking at the tip of an iceberg, is learning how to set the pen on the page and then let go. Writing comes out. The direction it takes is a magical link between my brain and something which I, as a secular person, am choosing to call The Force. The Force actually IS with me! This was an amazing discovery.

The community in our group has been fantastic. Supportive and generous, my fellow writers have been such a pleasure. It has been startling, probably to all of us, how our writing has improved as we learned. I loved reading everyone’s work!

Unlocking Creativity

I have just finished possibly one of the most inspirational four weeks of my life. This course has been brilliant. Throughout the course we’d post our writing, just snippets of what could be a story, and we’d receive feedback from the other participants and from the course tutor, and it made it so exciting, to read that people enjoy what I have to write about, and receive constructive feedback as well. It’s just the best feeling.

Unlocking Creativity

Doing this course has helped me experience what it would be like to spend time several days a week doing creative writing. It’s helped me with my attitude and mentality: just do it, get words on the page, without judgement. And it’s helped me see that I am ready to write my novel, to carve out the time, but that having more opportunity to learn skills around character development, setting and dialogue and other things will be necessary, alongside the accountability to myself and others through taking a course that requires sharing and commenting on writing.

Unlocking Creativity

After only four weeks I now feel very inspired to use the tools and techniques I have learnt to write my own memoir/auto-fiction/short story.

The feedback from the tutor as well as fellow students has been like a ‘hit’ or ‘high’ I didn’t realise was what I craved. I’ve seen my own and others writing develop and improve and there is so much potential for everyone to write for themselves as well as to share.

If you have ever thought about writing I highly recommend investing the time and effort into this course.

Unlocking Creativity

I didn’t know if I had any ‘potential’ to start, and the wonderful thing about that was entering into a supportive and safe space to open up the boundaries I made for myself. Doing the Unlocking Creativity course helped me see a whole new perspective in writing, as well as insights of my own that I would not have gleaned without the amazing guidance received from everybody involved. I know it may seem like a daunting step, but we all need to start somewhere. I don’t regret a single moment.

Unlocking Creativity

I was pretty apprehensive at first, especially about having to go into a room of people I didn’t know. However, it was probably the people that made the whole process so interesting. Learning different perspectives and stories was quite freeing and allowed for me to be able to re-think how I approach creativity. It was refreshing to find my own voice, and to be given freedom surrounded by structure.

Unlocking Creativity

I feel like all the curiosity I hold had been channelled towards professional and academic pursuits long enough, and I’d lost connection with the whimsy and meandering taste of writing for myself - until now. It’s been fantastic to remember the joy of playing with language.

Unlocking Creativity

It was as if I finally had permission to let the creativity out. To have a proper outlet to play and test whether writing was for me or not. You wouldn’t believe the difference four weeks can make. Not just in practical applications but in your confidence as a writer. As if each week, that inner voice gets a little quieter, emboldened by the excitement of what you might write next. Could not recommend it enough!

Unlocking Creativity

This course was something I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from when I signed up. But I dived in anyway, and what a ride it’s been: moments my stomach dropped as I challenged the inner critic; I discovered little gems I didn’t plan or pre-shape, and the exhilaration as the ride came to a close too soon, both on the page and at the end of the last class.

Unlocking Creativity

The last four weeks have been a journey deeper into the rabbit warren of my mind. I’ve opened doors and discovered details that made my writing more visceral but easy to follow. I’ve learnt more about my style but not least through listening to the words of some inspirational humans. This is not just creative expression, it is soulful wellbeing. To Richard and Liz - thank you - you made a real difference.

Unlocking Creativity

I participated in your online "Unlocking Creativity" program back in May, and got so much out of it. The exercises, the instructions and the peer feedback (and kind community that developed) was wonderful and incredibly helpful. But the most valuable thing I took from the program was a sense of confidence and discipline-driven momentum to actually pursue my writing goals. So since completing the course, I've finished my first commercial adult fiction novel manuscript, and after oodles of drafts and some invaluable feedback, I've now submitted it to a couple of potential agents and potential publishers. I have no idea if it will be picked up, but that's not really the point. "Better" lays ahead. What I took from the course was the daily writing discipline and the impetus to press "send". For that, I am eternally grateful.

Unlocking Creativity

I am so glad that I’ve undertaken this writing course. Who knew that there was such simplicity to it, and that the structure they teach would aid in my creativity. Each time I have sat down to write, I have honestly thought, in my conscious mind, I have nothing to say. Yet out it flowed. I have amazed myself at times, and even when I felt what I wrote was low worth, there remained something to cherish.

Unlocking Creativity

After many months of deliberating, I enrolled, I turned up and completed it! It has been the most rewarding, nurturing and inclusive course, guided and supported by the wonderful team at the Writers’ Studio, but especially our tutor Richard. I am inspired to continue the techniques and processes learnt to develop my writing for the first time in my life - feel the fear and do it anyway!

Unlocking Creativity

I have recently done the Unlocking Creativity Course to help me unlock some doors in my mind that prevent me from writing stories. It has been amazing over the past four weeks, and I have gained more confidence towards my writing from the exercises and feedback. The power of the imagination will take you anywhere as long as you ‘keep writing junk’.

Unlocking Creativity

It was wonderful. I loved learning about the process. The balance. Learning how structure can actually increase creativity and be an imaginative tool. It also helped me find my voice, reflect on what I enjoy to write; the stories I like to tell. It is Unlocking Creativity, but also confidence. I discovered things about my writing I wouldn’t have looked twice at.

Unlocking Creativity

When I first joined, the extent of my creative writing was nil. Since then, I’ve found the confidence to just write what I feel and let my imagination take the lead. It has been such a joy.

Unlocking Creativity

I did the Unlocking Creativity writing course – and loved it! I sat down and wrote every day – wow – what an amazing feeling that it is, guided by the course structure. Sometimes when I’d finished the prescribed pieces, I just wrote more junk, other stories, letting my pen loose on the words coming out of my head. I am going to continue writing and exploring the little nuggets of ideas that are starting to show themselves to me, and I can’t thank everyone for the encouragement they’ve given along the way, and for sharing pieces of themselves.

Unlocking Creativity

I’ve just finished my writing course, and I feel proud, a little sad it is over, and much more inspired than I expected – invigorated actually. I began the month wanting to learn how to write better, but I think what I really learnt is that fiction comes alive when a character is put under pressure. What surprised me most was how much everyone’s writing improved. It was wonderful to hear people become braver, more specific and more honest on the page. The feedback was generous, and it helped me see that my own writing had more emotional truth in it than I realised. I will never look at feedback the same, now I want it (the templates I will use forever)!

Unlocking Creativity

I’ve just finished quite a revelatory four weeks of intensive learning and writing as part of the Unlocking Creativity creative writing course. It has been revelatory mostly because I’ve discovered the things that have probably been stopping me from developing the confidence to commit my many creative and narrative ideas to the page and establishing a proper writing practice to date.
Those things are process, structure and prioritising time to write. I found the course has conveyed and illustrated many fundamentals of fiction writing, but all sit within the frameworks of process, structure and time. I have found this invaluable as it has created a kind of magic in the way I saw my own writing approach transform and in the quality and creative breadth my fellow writers demonstrated as the course unfolded. I believe the course has been the “dropped penny” of my lifelong writing aspirations. What it has taught me is that, if I sustain a regular, prioritised writing discipline, and apply the processes I’ve now used and proven, I now believe I am capable of capturing and developing my outlandish visions and finishing stories other people will want to read.

Unlocking Creativity

It was suggested to me, once, that I should get to know my characters through short stories, but when I tried, it just felt mechanical. This course gave me the opportunity to discover how to do this – I learnt about my characters by focusing on their emotional reactions to situations or events. I know my characters so much better than I did before. I also really appreciated the positive and encouraging feedback from everyone in the class, and the course’s focus on targeted constructive criticism. At no point was I left knowing I’d done something wrong but with no idea how to fix it.

Unlocking Creativity

It has been so fantastic. The odd story ideas I have been carrying around in my head, have had a chance to escape and breathe. The structure of the course, the short tasks and then the development of focusing on the emotion of the character, has helped steer the writing. The wisdom and guidance of the tutor, with his detailed feedback and suggestions has been just gold. I recognise my own see-saw of courage and fear, but the positive feedback has helped me to stay on task and move forward. Plus, the collective wisdom of the group, reading various styles and entering into new worlds they have created is just a phenomenal treat. I have learnt so much and enjoyed being part of this writing community. I look forward to continuing the journey in the near future.

Unlocking Creativity

My own writing has definitely improved – partly from stepping away from the stupid keyboard and picking up the pen and paper. It was liberating – I still crossed stuff out, but I just moved on, didn’t feel forced to correct anything as I went. This will be my approach from now on. I loved reading the work of my course colleagues, and particularly how those with ideas already conceived could use the exercises to develop and craft their work more fully. And we all tried out new ideas. There were so many different stories, themes and settings – it was exciting to witness. I hope to see many published very soon.

Unlocking Creativity

The guidance and exercises each week exploring story structure, character development, imagery and scene setting, and how to ground our stories in real emotions that unfold with our character’s journey of change and self-discovery – all this was revelatory for me. I’m now committed to keeping the habit alive – by working on a novel or a trilogy of novellas based in the East-West dynamic that has so inspired my life – with the support of a longer Writers’ Studio course and the welcome feedback of its participants.

Unlocking Creativity

I am so bloody pleased to have completed this wonderful course. I learnt so much that drove me beyond the prose and really challenged me to stretch myself. I’ve got to be honest there were a few moments where I contemplated giving up – but I didn’t.