Reading For Long Creates Imaginative Worlds In Creative Writing

University of East Anglia (UEA), UK is the first ever university to offer Creative Writing course at Undergraduate, Masters and Ph.D. level. With an aim of producing world acclaimed writers, UEA organizes creative writing competition for 11th standard students across 13 cities in India as a small step in expanding the horizons for India’s potential writers.

Jon Cook, Prof. of Literature at UEA talks about identifying and nurturing students to take up creative writing as a potential career choice and jobs available to the students  

How do parents and teachers spot creative streak and encourage them to take it up further?

You can spot a creative streak in a number of ways. Children who love to read, especially long books, may want to go on to create imaginative worlds of their own after being absorbed in the imaginative worlds of others. A delight in telling stories is another sign, and so is taking pleasure in language for its own sake, enjoying its sounds and the unexpected ways that words can fit together.

How do you develop a knack for creative writing?

Developing a flair for creative writing is by writing on a regular basis, by keeping note-books, by learning from other writers about techniques that you can adapt for your own purposes, and by a willingness to listen to and learn from the critical opinions of others about your work.

Do cultural values play a part in the creative writing style?

Yes, certainly, because cultural values are always at work in the medium of language that writers use. Words take on meanings that articulate cultural values. Writers work with those meanings, sometimes accepting them, sometimes resisting them or developing them in unexpected ways.

What does the UK have to offer Indian students pursuing higher education? What are the scholarships available to them?

The UK is internationally recognized for the quality of its higher education. So Indian students can expect a good quality of teaching provision, well-stocked libraries, contact with academics who are themselves researchers in their fields, and access to sophisticated online resources. Many UK universities are in cosmopolitan places, attracting students from many different nations and cultures. UK Higher Education can offer Indian students the opportunity to learn about cultures other than their own.

There are a number of scholarship opportunities available. The University of East Anglia, for example, provides students from India with a scholarship of between 3,000 and 5,000 GBP, the exact amount linked to academic achievement.  Students applying for bachelor programmes can also apply for larger scholarships of up to £30,000. 

What are the opportunities available for Indian students post completion of Literature & Creative Writing course?

Literature and Creative Writing courses equip students with a strong set of capacities in communication, creative thinking and teamwork. Both of these are increasingly recognized by employers as important assets. The opportunities available to students from Literature and Creative Writing courses are numerous. They include work in media, education, journalism, and diplomacy.

Rajguru Tandon

BW Reporters The author is a correspondent with BW Businessworld with keen interest in HR and employee welfare.