Xara Higgs, 25, fits in an MA in Creative Writing around working full time for a post-production film company. She is hoping to pursue a career as a scriptwriter.

'My ultimate ambition is to write a screenplay for an independent British film. I’d also like to write a sit-com but doing anything where I’m involved with scriptwriting would be fantastic.

After doing A Levels I wasn’t interested in going to university at all, so I surprised even myself by doing a Master's degree. I was 21 when I decided to improve my career prospects and did my first degree in Media Studies. After that I knew I wanted to write, so the MA in Creative Writing was perfect for me. It allowed me to explore all writing possibilities and I could fit it in with my job working for a film company up in London.

It really was the best decision I ever made. The creative industries can be difficult to get a foot in the door and the MA has opened up a lot more opportunities for me. On the course we studied both theoretical and technical aspects of writing. We also undertook a personal project and I went to the Caribbean to make a documentary about a performance artist. I had to create the order of narrative, write a script and even arrange the crew for the film, which was all great experience.

Writing my dissertation taught me a lot about the discipline of writing, but you get more out of a Master's than just what you learn from the course. Doing the MA has allowed me to specialise in what I’m really interested in doing and hopefully help me fulfil my potential.'

Frances Lewes, 28 is a teaching assistant with aspirations to be a children's author.

'I’ve never had the drive to actually finish anything I’ve written so my main reason for doing the course was because I needed the focus. One of the important things I’ve learned is how to structure my work, creating chapter outlines etc which means I’m much more organised now.

The books I enjoy are rooted in fantasy; set in other worlds while retaining recognisable elements from our own. But I've chosen a historical novel for my final project; it's set in 1949 a so I need to do plenty of research for it as well as actually sitting down and writing, but if you enjoy it then it's never a burden.

It’s a cliché but writing can be a lonely business and having the support of a group of people all striving towards the same goal definitely makes it easier.'

Quentin Bates, 45, is studying the MA Creative Writing course part-time over two years. He is a journalist toying with the idea of writing fiction.

'I already write for a living but I decided to study the MA Creative Writing to widen my horizons and that's exactly what the course has done for me. We examine different genres such as screenplays and novels and have a go at different writing styles through regular assignments.

As a journalist I'm used to my work being read but it took a while to get used to people reading my fictional work. We're encouraged to share our writing and comment on each others work which is a bit like having the stabilisers taken off your bike. But you soon discover that just because one person doesn't like what you've written doesn't mean it won't appeal to someone else.

I haven’t decided exactly what direction to go in with my writing yet but it's likely to be something unashamedly commercial and hopefully something which might be read!'

Tanya Hanna, 23, is from the Lebanon. She is writing a screenplay about experiences in her home country.

'My screenplay captures an event I witnessed back in the Lebanon when I was there last year. It's about a conflict between two villages over water. I’ve chosen a difficult subject but I've had a lot of positive feedback and encouragement.

I haven't done a lot of creative writing before so the opportunity to try different writing styles has been useful. I'm really learning how to think as a writer. The tutors also give us advice about pitching and selling our work which is essential in such competitive field.

Having completed a BA in Media Studies last year, the most satisfying element of the course for me is the fact that my work is not just about getting a good grade - it's about creating a piece of writing with potential to be seen and heard and which I can be proud of.'