The field of creative writing does not require formal education. Those
with a flair for writing with imagination, observation and creativity
can excel as a creative writer. An educational background in English literature
or Journalism & communication will be an added advantage for a fruitful
career in creative writing.
Few institutes in India offer short term courses in creative writing
and these training courses enable a candidate to be successful in the
field of creative writing. The minimum educational qualification for applying
to creative writing course is Higher Secondary or 10+2 with humanities
or arts as the main discipline. The minimum duration of these courses
is one year. Most of the universities offers courses in creative writing
as an optional subjects with its bachelors and masters.
One can also avail a course in creative writing through distance education
mode, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Karnataka State
Open University, U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University are among the universities.
IGNOU offers Diploma and Postgraduate diploma in Creative Writing (both
in English and Hindi) through its distance learning program.
Course Content : Creative writing course content includes
lectures and workshops which helps students to bring out their hidden
talents and polish their creative potential to shape their thoughts in
the profession. Through these courses, one can get an idea about when
and how to use words liberally and develop their thoughts and imaginative
power to make their work a pleasing experience for readers. The students
are taught to write book reviews, travel articles, interviews, writing
for children as well as developing stories on their own. Several techniques
and methods are taught in the creative writing course and the successful
completion of the course enables an individual to create an excellent
piece of work in a professional manner.
Personal Attributes - Creativity, which is considered
as an in-born talent is the first and foremost quality needed to become
a good creative writer. Another equivalent trait is their imagination.
An aspiring creative writer must have tremendous passion for reading and
writing, should be a good observer and communicator and should have the
qualities like good vocabulary and comprehensive skills. They must possess
good communication skills, have the ability and interest to research on
different topics, have a sound knowledge of grammar and power to express
in words. Determination, hard work and honesty are very much required
in the creative writing field. Those who think differently and have
innovative ideas of presentation can excel in this field.
