Top 10 Creative Writing Courses in Ireland With Placements
You’ve probably heard the saying, ‘write what you know.’ But is that a good rule of thumb? It might not be the best advice when it comes to creative writing. Experts say that being creative doesn’t always mean writing about what you know. Believe it or not, there are a lot of genres out there that work well for creativity and writing. When you start writing creatively, it’s important to let your imagination run wild. You don’t have to restrict yourself to topics that you are familiar with. By using this approach, you will be more likely to write quality prose and generate excitement in your readers. In this article, we will talk about what creative writing is, how it benefits students & top 10 creative writing courses in Ireland.
What is Creative Writing?
Creative writing is a form of writing that deviates from the standards of professional, journalistic, academic, or technical genres of literature. It frequently exhibits a concentration on story development, character creation, the use of literary devices, or other poetic traditions. When you write creatively, you leave reality behind and enter a world created by your mind.
How Creative Writing Benefits a Student?
Writing creatively can benefit many people. It can improve their thinking skills and understand more about who they are as writers. Below are the 4 points on how creative writing benefits a student.
- Improve Imagination: The act of creating new worlds, scenarios, and people for your writing improves your imagination. When you encourage your brain to think outside the box, you come up with creative solutions and approach difficulties from various perspectives.
- Building Confidence: Creative writing helps in building confidence. You have more freedom to research and express your thoughts about ideas, people, and other things. By doing this, you’ll feel more at ease and confident while expressing your ideas in other publications.
- Better Communication Skills: Creative writing frequently use a variety of literary techniques, including figurative language and imagery to engage readers and reach them on a deeper level. It helps in adequately developing and communicating a topic to your audience.
- Broader Vocabulary: Creative writing helps in vocabulary. Through creative writing, you can associate words to remember them more quickly. Whatever level you are at in learning a language, associations can help you automatically retain new words.
How to Improve Your Writing Skills?
There are countless techniques you can use to improve your writing skills. Whether you want to write for business or pleasure, learning about effective techniques is essential for becoming a better writer. Here are 4 tips on how to improve your writing skills.
- Reading: Inspiration can be found in many different locations, but it usually comes from other authors. If you want to get better at writing, immerse yourself in reading. Reading broadly, especially from exceptional writers, can teach you a lot about the writing approach.
- Journaling: Keeping a journal can be a great way to explore your creative side. You can practice writing by making it a daily habit to write about anything. It promotes idea-gathering and self-reflection, two abilities that are crucial for creative writers. It will also grow your confidence level.
- Use Literary Devices: Literary devices are tools that are used by authors to enhance their writing and help them convey their ideas more clearly. Using literary techniques will help you write more vividly and create situations that are very descriptive and fascinating. If you use them frequently, you’ll quickly notice that your creative writing starts to flourish.
- Writing: Once you have learned the basics of effective writing, it’s time to start practicing. Make sure to write regularly and see improvement in your writing skills over time. The more you practice writing & letting your mind run wild, the easier it will be to write for extended periods.
Job Opportunities After Doing Creative Writing Courses in Ireland
Creative writing can be a successful and fulfilling career if you have a creative streak and want to explore your options. If you’re committed to improving your writing, earning a degree in creative writing is one of the greatest options. Here are 5 career options you can do after doing creative writing courses in Ireland.
- Author: An author is a person whose works have been published. In other words, authors are those who also develop the ideas and content for their written works. An author’s average salary per year is € 38,799.
- Copywriter: Next job you can do after doing creative writing courses in Ireland is a copywriter. A copywriter work alongside a graphic designer to create concepts for advertising campaigns and commercials in addition to producing copy. A copywriter’s average salary per year is € 50,000.
- Journalist: A journalist’s work is to gather material in the form of text, audio, or pictures, turns it into a newsworthy form, and then make it available to the general audience. A journalist’s average salary per year is € 33,411.
- Blogger: Bloggers create the content for their web pages or blogs, edit it, publish it, and promote it. They come up with concepts, develop pitches for them, write and edit blog entries, attract readers, and do research. A blogger’s average salary per year is € 33,244.
- Freelance Writer: A freelance writer is a writer who works as a self-employed contractor for an organization in contrast to being a full- or part-time employee. They frequently perform simultaneous tasks for numerous clients. A freelance writer’s average salary per year is € 42,512.
Top 10 Creative Writing Courses in Ireland
Although many believe that creative writing can’t be taught and comes from within, a creative writing course is essential. It will help you improve your observational abilities, overcome writer’s block, and find fascinating topics to write about. You will improve your ideas through observation, experience, and research. You will also learn from the instructor’s experiences, real-world examples, and life tales. Here are the top 10 creative writing courses in Ireland.
1. IIM SKILLS
IIM SKILLS comes first on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland. It is a well-known Ed-tech company having its headquarters in New Delhi, India, with a significant presence across India and the Middle East. Vaibhav Kakkar started it in the year 2015, and since then they have been training the students to become proficient in their respective fields.
IIM SKILLS has one of the best creative writing programs on the market. The Course is a four-week program. It includes 16 hours of lectures, 60 hours of practical assignments, and INR 30,000 in free tools. They also help in the development of portfolios for job seekers and freelancers.
Course Duration
The course is a 4-week program along with 3 months of internship.
Course Fee
This course is priced at 170.16 Euros.
This course is open to anyone with a writing talent who wants to showcase their abilities. They also teach writing articles, blogs, e-books, business listings, press releases, and other types of writing.
Contact
Phone:
2. University College Dublin (UCD)
Secondly, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have University College Dublin. It is a public research university in Dublin, and a member of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students, it is the most prominent university in Ireland and one of the most prestigious in the whole country.
Courses
UCD offers an MA and MFA in creative writing. The workshops, seminars, and supervision meetings provided by the MA program give committed students the support they need to finish a substantial piece of writing before the term ends. The MA in Creative Writing builds on the well-known commitment of the UCD School of English, Drama, and Film to support and nurture new writing.
The institution has a long history of affiliation with some of Ireland’s best writers, including Flann O’Brien, Mary Lavin, Anthony Cronin, and James Joyce. The teaching faculty includes novelists & poets and Booker Prize-winning author Anne Enright, who teaches creative writing.
Modules
Stage 1: Core
- Craft & Composition
- Chapter one: Beginning a novel
- Writing project
- Writing Poetry
- Writing Places
- Writing Project Preparation
Stage 1: Option
- Sound & Visual Poetry
- Creative Reading
Course Duration
UCD’s MA Creative Writing course is for 1 year.
Course Fee
For EU: € 8,650 per year
For nonEU: € 21,520 per year
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 1 716 7777
Website: https://www.ucd.ie/
Mail: Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
3. Dublin City University (DCU)
Thirdly, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have Dublin City University. It is a university with its main campus in Dublin’s Northside, Ireland. It was established in 1975 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin, and began accepting students in 1980. In September 1989, it was statutorily upgraded to university status.
Courses
DCU’s MA in Creative Writing aims to inspire the writer in the students by immersing them in drama, poetry, and fiction. Emerging and early-career authors can spend a year working with established authors in a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment to develop their work and strengthen links with the larger literary community.
The course also offers challenging, hands-on courses in writing prose fiction, theater, poetry, screenplays, and other genres in addition to specialized courses in critical reading and creative practice.
Modules
DCU offers full-time as well as part-time programs.
Some full-time course modules include
- Reading like a writer: Craft & Creativity
- Writing Project
- Poetry Seminar
- Fiction Seminar
- Drama Seminar
Some part-time course modules include
- Poetry Seminar
- Fiction Seminar
- Drama Seminar
- Screen Seminar
- Writing Project
Course Duration
DCU’s MA in Creative Writing full-time program is for 1 year & part-time program is for 2 years.
Course Fee
For Full-time
EU: € 7,400
NonEU: € 16,000
For Part-time
EU: € 4,000 per annum
NonEU: € 7,800 per annum
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 (0) 1 700 7096
Email: darran.mccann@dcu.ie
Website: https://www.dcu.ie/
Mail: Dublin City University, Collins Ave Ext, Whitehall, Dublin 9, Ireland
4. University College Cork (UCC)
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have University College Cork. It is a constituent institution of the National University of Ireland and is situated in Cork. It was founded in 1845 and was one of three Queen’s Colleges formed in Belfast, Cork, and Galway.
Courses
The MA in Creative Writing program is provided by the English Department, which is a part of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences (CACSSS) at UCC. This program is intended to provide students with the knowledge and abilities needed to write a book and other things that come after it.
This curriculum also aims to introduce students to the publishing industry while preparing them for careers in the creative arts and publishing. UCC offers a wide range of modules including those for creative reading, poetry, life writing, creative non-fiction, and fiction.
Modules
Students have to take 90 credits in total.
Some of the course modules include
Part I (50 Credits)
- The Business of Writing
- Fiction Workshop: Serving the Idea
- Creative Writing Workshop
- Writing for other media
Part II (40 Credits)
- Dissertation in Creative Writing
Course Duration
UCC’s MA in Creative Writing full-time program is for 1 year & part-time program is for 2 years.
Course Fee
For EU: € 7,330; € 3,700 (Year 1 part-time) & € 3,700 (Year 2 part-time)
For NonEU: € 16,700
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 (0)21 490 2584, +353 (0)21 490 3292
Email: e.walshe@ucc.ie, danny.denton@ucc.ie
Website: https://www.ucc.ie/
Mail: College Rd, University College, Cork, Ireland
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5. University of Limerick (UL)
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have the University of Limerick. It is a public research university located in Limerick, Ireland. The University of Limerick Act of 1989 authorized the conversion of the 1972-founded National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, into a university.
Courses
UL’s MA in Creative Writing program offers the choice of full-time study for one academic year or two academic years of part-time study. Through analysis of the works of well-known authors, research into the various facets of successful creative writing, assignments that promote revision techniques, and comprehension of the requirements of the redrafting, submission, and publication processes, it allows students to hone their creative writing skills.
Modules
UL has both full-time & part-time creative writing programs.
Some full-time & part-time program modules include:
- Creative Writing 1 & 2
- Applied Editing 1 &2
- Dissertation
- Literary modernism
- Feminist Literary theory
- Public fiction & private life
- Literature of Migration
- Politics & American Literature
Course Duration
UL’s MA in Creative Writing full-time program is for 1 year & part-time program is for 2 years.
Course Fee
For Full-time
EU: € 7,485
NonEU: € 17,650
For Part-time
EU: € 4,051
NonEU: € 12,000
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 61 202623
Email: Joseph.OConnor@ul.ie, Sarah.Moore@ul.ie
Website: https://www.ul.ie/
Mail: Castletroy, Co. Limerick, V94 T9PX, Ireland
6. Trinity College Dublin
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have Trinity College Dublin. The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth is the only constituent college of The Institution of Dublin, a research university in Dublin, Ireland.
Courses
Trinity’s three-hour weekly workshop of M.Phil. in Creative Writing experiments with different forms and genres throughout the first term to break bad habits and discover new opportunities for the students. The “Structure in Fiction and Poetry” module explores the internal dynamics of writing through its forms and uses. Reviewing and essay writing requirements are covered in “Writing for a Living.”
Throughout the second semester, several renowned authors are invited to appear in the lectures about the craft of writing offering students the to speak with a working author. The creation of a final portfolio marks the MPhil’s formal completion.
Course Duration
Trinity’s M.Phil. in Creative Writing is a full-time 1-year program.
Course Fee
For EU: € 9,580
For nonEU: € 17,770
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 1 896 1000
Email: emcname@tcd.ie
Website: https://www.tcd.ie/
Mail: Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
7. University of Galway
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have the University of Galway. It is a public research university located in Galway, Ireland. In 2012, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence. In 2018, the university was ranked among the top 1% of institutions by QS.
Courses
The University of Galway offers both B.A & M.A in Creative Writing courses. But in this article, they will talk about only the M.A. program. The MA in Writing requires one year of full-time study. It spans a range of genres and forms and interacts with other postgraduate programs in publishing, literature, and drama. The program is open to applicants from any discipline and embraces all writing interests.
Modules
The University of Galway offers both optional & required courses. Some modules include:
- Writer’s Seminar
- Study in Poetry
- Literature of North America
- Books Journalism
- Travel Literature
Course Duration
University of Galway’s M.A. in Writing is a full-time 1-year program.
Course Fee
For EU: € 7,190 p.a.
For nonEU: € 17,780 p.a.
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 91 524411
Website: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/
Mail: University of Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
8. Maynooth University
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have Maynooth University. The National University of Ireland, Maynooth, usually known as Maynooth University, is a member institution of the National University of Ireland and is located in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland.
Courses
The MA in Creative Writing combines seminars, workshops, and one-on-one writing project coaching. Students have the choice of enrolling in literature courses or other creative courses offered by the Faculty as a whole, like Writing for Screen Media. The MA will concentrate on assisting each student to further develop their voice as a writer and to expand their existing interests as a writer with fresh perspectives and a knowledge of stylistic approaches. It will be taught by award-winning, internationally famous writers.
Modules
Maynooth University offers both optional & required courses. Some modules include:
- Writing for screen media
- Creative Prose workshop
- Dissertation
- Literature, creativity & society
Course Duration
Maynooth University’s M.A. in Writing is a full-time 1-year program.
Course Fee
To learn more about their fee structure, visit their website.
There are some entry requirements that the students need to follow while applying for this course.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: +353 1 708 6000
Mail: lauren.arrington@mu.ie
Website: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/
Mail: Department of English, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
9. Kilroy’s College
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have Kilroy’s College. It is an online school located in Dublin, Ireland. The college is a certified QQI course provider. The organization was founded by P.J. Kilroy in 1932 when its full name was “Irish Correspondence College.”
Courses
For people who want to confidently hone this specialized ability, this creative writing course is for them. Through perseverance, learning new skills, and imagination, this course will help students establish a solid foundation upon which to build a lasting belief in their ability as writers. The students will be provided with their tutor at all times during the course who will assist them with any problems they may be experiencing and provide direction, criticism, and advice.
Modules
Unit 1: Introduction
Unit 2: The rough draft
Unit 3: A question of approach
Unit 4: Settings
Unit 5: Character
Unit 6: Style
Unit 7: Other forms of writing
Unit 8: Finishing touches
Course Duration
This creative writing distance learning course needs to be completed in 12 months.
Course Fee
This entire course is priced at € 595.
Contact
Phone: 01 639 4660
Mail: info@kilroyscollege.ie
Website: https://www.kilroyscollege.ie/
Mail: Kilroy’s College, Wentworth House, Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2, D02 Y970, Ireland
10. Marino College
Next, on the list of creative writing courses in Ireland, we have Marino College. It is located in Connolly House on Dublin’s North Strand. The College is next to the memorial park honoring the German bomber attack on this region in May 1941.
Courses
Marino College offers a creative writing course that takes place in a classroom and lasts for eight weeks. The requirement for the creative writing course is a Certificate of Attendance.
Course Duration
This creative writing course needs to be completed in 8 weeks.
Course Fee
This entire course is priced at € 90.
For more information, visit their website.
Contact
Phone: 01 833 2100, 01 855 7116
Mail: FurtherEd@marino.cdetb.ie
Website: https://marinocfe.ie/, https://www.courses.ie/course/creative-writing-2/
Mail: Connolly House, 171 North Strand Road, Dublin D01 Y160, Ireland
FAQs on Creative Writing Courses in Ireland
Q1. What is the golden rule of Creative Writing?
The writing strategy known as “show, don’t tell” involves employing sensory details and actions rather than exposition to engage the reader in the plot and characters.
Q2. What are the essential things required to become a Creative Writer?
The first and most important prerequisites for being a creative writer are the desire to write and the drive to communicate with words.
Q3. What are the 5 elements of Creative Writing?
The five essential components of any excellent story are the theme, setting, conflict, and character.
Q4. What is writer’s block?
A writer who experiences writer’s block either lacks the drive to produce new work or experiences a decline in their creative abilities.
Q5. Can I be a writer without a degree?
A profession in writing enables you to develop on the job without having to go to college or get any degree. As long as there is an internet connection, you can work remotely, saving you the daily journey to an office.