Crime and Thriller Writing

This course is also offered as an intensive one-week summer school.

This ten-week crime writing course will include an in-depth look at how to write a thriller and what makes a good crime novel. It aims to make your own writing strong, compelling and ready to submit.

Areas covered will include plotting, characterisation and analysis of all the elements that give a book that page-turning quality. It is suitable for both beginners and also those who have already started writing but need some direction.

After this course, students might also be interested in Short Story Writing, Novel Writing and Longer Works, and Writers' Workshop.

Who is it for?

For new and more experienced writers who want to learn the fundamentals of writing crime fiction.

Timetable

Teaching takes place once a week for ten weeks, from 6.30-8.30pm.

City Short Courses follow the academic year, delivering courses over three terms. These include:

• Autumn - October
• Spring - January
• Summer - April

Benefits

• Unique opportunity to learn craft of crime fiction from a best-selling thriller writer
• Online, intimate classes
• Awarded a City, University of London certificate

You will learn a variety of techniques from creating characters that live off the page, to how to build a plot and how to use effective description. Other topics include building tension and pace into your writing; creating crime scene settings; and how to use research to bring veracity to your stories.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Define what makes a crime story work
• Create believable characters that will live off the page
• Understand plot twists and how to use them to the best effect
• Use effective description in your writing
• Build tension and pace into your writing
• Create settings that evoke a strong sense of place.

There is no formal assessment for the course but students are expected to contribute to class discussions, complete any homework assignments and be open to giving and receiving feedback on their work in progress.

Students who attend 70 per cent of the classes will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course.

No prior knowledge of crime fiction required as course is suitable for beginners or those who would like more direction.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.

• Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2013
• Someone Else’s Skin, Sarah Hilary, Headline, 2016
• And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie, Harper Collins, 2007
• Slow Horses, Mick Herron, John Murray, 2017.