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Write One Polished Short Piece (with a Craft Note)

The capstone project for Creative Writing — a free Creative course. Pass it and you earn a certificate anyone can verify.

Start the course free Download the project workbook

The project unlocks once you complete the lessons. The workbook is free to download now so you can see exactly what is expected.

What you will submit

One public, viewable link to a polished short piece (a short story of ~800–1500 words OR a set of 3–5 themed poems) followed by a short note explaining the craft choices you made.

What to do, step by step

  1. Choose ONE form for your piece: a short story (roughly 800–1500 words) OR a set of 3–5 poems on a connected theme. Pick what you're most drawn to write, and make it genuinely yours — ideally rooted in a Nigerian world, character or moment you know well.
  2. Plan before you write: for a story, jot your main character's want and flaw, the central conflict, and a rough shape (hook, rising trouble, climax, resolution); for poems, decide the theme, the images and the feeling you want each poem to land. Then write a fast, messy first draft to the end before you polish anything.
  3. Apply the craft from the course: open with a hook, build with conflict or strong emotion, show rather than tell using concrete sensory detail, write dialogue that sounds real and distinct (for a story), let your honest voice come through, and cut adverbs and purple prose.
  4. Edit in layers and rewrite at least once: read it aloud, fix the big-picture issues first (structure, clarity, what's boring or confusing), then tighten the lines, sharpen the strongest images, strengthen the ending, and fix all spelling and layout. If you can, get one honest reader's feedback and revise from it.
  5. Add a short craft note (about 150–250 words) at the end of your document explaining the key choices you made — for example why you opened the way you did, how you tried to show instead of tell, a voice or character decision, and one thing you changed in editing and why.
  6. Save your finished piece and craft note as a single publicly viewable link (a shareable Google Doc, a Google Drive PDF, a Medium post, a Wattpad chapter, or a Notion/Carrd page) and submit that one link.

Files to work with

Project workbook (fill in, then submit)The whole brief, an evidence checklist, the grading rubric as a self-check and the link-sharing steps in one file. Opens in Word, Google Docs or WPS.Word · 7 KB

How it is graded

CriterionWeight
Craft and storytelling: a clear shape with a hook and a satisfying payoff for a story, or strong images and a clear emotional arc for poems; conflict or feeling that holds the reader25%
Character and voice: living characters with a want/flaw and a distinct voice (story), or a strong, authentic personal voice and a clear point of view (poems)20%
Show, don't tell: concrete sensory detail and real, tight dialogue rather than flat telling; evocative, specific language over vague or purple prose25%
Polish and editing: clean spelling and layout, no slow or pointless lines, evidence of rewriting, and a piece that reads as finished and professional20%
Craft note: a thoughtful 150–250 word reflection that names real, specific craft choices (hook, showing, voice, an editing change) rather than vague comments10%

You need 65% overall to pass. A failed submission comes back with feedback and can be revised and resubmitted.

Before you submit: make your link public

If your work lives in Google Drive or Google Docs, open Share → General access and change “Restricted” to “Anyone with the link” (Viewer). Then paste the link into a private browser window: if it opens without sign-in, you are ready. A private link cannot be graded — it is the single most common reason a good project fails.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to finish Creative Writing before submitting the project?

Yes. The submission screen opens once every lesson in Creative Writing is marked complete. The lessons are where the methods, the Nigerian context and the worked examples the project depends on are taught.

How is the project graded?

An examiner scores each rubric criterion from 0 to 100 and weights them as shown on this page; you need 65% overall to pass. Most submissions are graded within minutes and you get written feedback on what was strong and what to improve.

Can I resubmit if I fail?

Yes. A failed project comes back with feedback; revise the weak parts and resubmit. A passed project is final — the certificate is issued and cannot be re-rolled.

What do I actually submit?

A write-up of what you did (under 5,000 characters) plus a public link to your work — a Google Drive folder, Google Doc, spreadsheet, GitHub repository or video. The link must open without sign-in; a private link cannot be graded. The free project workbook on this page walks you through all 6 steps.

Is the certificate real?

Yes. Passing this project issues a certificate with a unique verification code. Anyone — an employer, a client, a school — can open the verification page and see that the certificate is genuine and which project earned it.

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Ready to earn this certificate?

Creative Writing is free and self-paced. Finish the lessons, complete this project, and the certificate is yours to share.

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