Luke

I have a doctorate in creative writing and over a decade's experience in creative, academic, and podcast writing. Since 2011, I have published three historical fiction novels, several short stories and essays, and two graphic novels. My books have been adapted into audiobooks and licensed in India and Italy. I have had 30+ scripts produced for award-winning podcast companies. Through my MA and PhD, I have run and assisted in creative writing modules at the university level, teaching pupils the skills required for novel writing, short stories, plays, poetry, essays, and blog writing. I mentor creative writing MA and first-year PhD students, assisting with further academic knowledge and developing research skills.

Tutoring Experience

Tutoring / Post-Graduate Mentoring / Professional Writing

At Westminster University:
Provide targeted support to MA students in the early stages of their research, supporting their academic and creative studies, plus advising on potential career aims. As a mentor, I take a personal interest in the mentee’s professional development and share experience and knowledge to support their development.

Duties: Monthly meetings with mentees. Develop mentee’s resourcefulness, build general research skills, and broader networking and professional development. Give constructive feedback on creative and academic work. Provide guidance but ensure the mentee makes final decisions and resolves their problems. Maintain confidentiality.

At Kingston University:
Seminar tutor/peer-assisted learner. Gained Associate Fellow in the Higher Education Academy award.

Duties: facilitated the undergraduate student workshops for ‘The Craft of Poetry and Prose' (CW 5001), ‘Introduction to Creative Writing' (CW 4002), and ‘Special Study’ (CW 7004) modules. Prepared lessons, exercises, and student submission rota. Provided critical feedback on weekly submissions for students to build upon knowledge gained in lectures. Ensured students understand course requirements. Graded Pre-Assessment and Formative coursework following Kingston University Guidelines.

Provided targeted support to PhD students in the early stages of their research. Took a personal interest in the mentee’s professional development and shared experience and knowledge to support their development.

Duties: Met with mentees regularly. Helped develop mentees' resourcefulness, build their general research skills, and broaden their networking and professional abilities. Gave constructive feedback. Provided guidance but ensured the mentee made final decisions and resolved their problems. Maintained confidentiality.

Writing Credits
Authored 18 publications through various presses, including Flametree Publishing, MX Publishing, Storgy, et al., with particular works translated into Italian, French and German, licensed through Jaico Books India, and adapted into audio drama formats, and 31 additional script credits for podcasts.

See full writing credits here: www.lukedeckard.com/writing-credits

Tutoring Approach

When it comes to teaching creative writing or English, I follow a feet-forward approach. This means that my students will practically engage with the subject matter in fun yet valuable ways as they apply theory to practical application.

I believe practical engagement is vital to learning.

In a discussion-led environment for students who wish to improve their creative fiction writing skills, we will, for example, examine story structure, understand genre tropes and themes, how to create compelling characters and the role of archetypes in books, short stories, plays, and scripts.

For students needing to improve their creative nonfiction skills, I will teach them how to write clear and concise essays and understand essay structure and critical analysis. I will also teach students how to write effective blog posts and articles.

For creative and nonfiction writing, students must submit their work-in-progress before each lesson (as agreed upon) so that the work can be discussed during our time together.

After each tailored lesson, students will receive unique critical feedback on their work and be given tasks to complete before the next session. These tasks will consist of a mixture of writing exercises and relevant creative and academic readings.

If you need to improve your written and verbal English for academic, creative, and professional needs, please get in touch. I will meet the student where they are academically and work to elevate their understanding and skills through practical learning.

Areas I can help:
Creative Writing - novels, short stories, plays, scripts
Creative Non-Fiction - essays, blogs, articles, podcast writing
CV Writing