FutureLearn (OU) creative writing course:
I am taking the free part of an OU course (it goes on longer but is then chargeable - but still pretty affordable). It lasts around 10 weeks as I recall and I am about halfway through and enjoying it immensely. It is easy to get distracted though - even by indulging in the comments board (forum) where students can intereact with each other. I have just had a break of  four or five days - so I'm anxious to get back to the course and writing. I attend in any case a separate writers' group once a week in Louth (Lincs/UK) - another enjoyable treat every Monday - and available more than that too - website: http://www.louthpoetrygroup.co.uk/

I have a FutureLearn (OU) task to do:

Copy/paste:

Developing your plot line

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Developing the detail of your character will help you arrive at your story. And discovering causality – what causes your character to do things or to be the way they are – will give you plot. But how do you develop that plot?

Returning to the example:

‘A woman on the bus today carried her Pekinese dog inside her handbag. It had a red bow on its head that matched her sweater.’

Now consider:

• Why was she on the bus?
• Why did she have the dog and where was she taking it?
• Why did she look the way she did?
• Why did the dog have a red bow?

Have a look at my next post to see what I've written-up