Day One - Inspiration and Planning Your Novel (24th Oct)
2.00-2.30pm - Opening session
2.30-3.30pm - Developing the Idea for Your Novel (Nicky Watkinson) We’ll kick off the course with this workshop to help you expand your initial idea into something more substantial. Get ready for some quick free writes and exercises designed to spark creativity and develop your project. You’ll leave feeling inspired, with a list of topics and themes to address in your novel, ready to turn your idea into a story. 3.30-3.45pm - Break
3.45-4.45pm - How to Plot and Structure Your Novel (Reni K Amayo) The plot is the bones of your story: sturdy, structured and vital. In this workshop, I will outline the key elements for plotting a gripping story. We will go over how to identify your plot premise, the steps for building out an outline, and how to build suspense and approach plot twists. By the end of this session you should have a deeper understanding of how to structure your story as well as a fully-fledged plot outline in hand, ready to shape up into an amazing novel.
4.45-5.30pm - Free Writing Time
5.30-6.30pm - Research: How To Build a Book (Out of Other Books) (Sarvat Hasin)Writers are hatched out of readers. Most people who sit down to write fiction are voracious consumers of the stuff. So how can you read productively in the lead-up to writing a book? What is the best way to research (and stop researching)? In this workshop, I will talk about the research that went into writing my novels This Wide Night and The Giant Dark, both the academic research that goes into writing a book and the way what you consume around writing can feed your process: from historical references to playlists that soundtrack your world-building.The Write Life
6.30-6.45pm - Break
6.45-7.45pm - Creating an Effective Writing Routine (Nicky Watkinson) Do you struggle to find time to write? Find that traditional “just sit down and do it” advice doesn’t apply to your life (whether because of caring responsibilities, neurodiversity, or anything else)? This workshop is for you! I’m here to help you develop a sustainable writing practice, structured around your personal needs. We’ll set realistic goals for the course, discuss productivity tips and tricks, and you’ll leave with a tailored plan to help you tackle your project, working with – rather than against – your circumstances.
7.45-8.00pm - Debrief
Day Two: Creating Complex Character (7th Nov)
2.00-2.30pm - Opening session
2.30-3.30pm - Developing Character Arcs (Alex Sheppard) Do you know what drives your main character and why they act the way they do? In this workshop, we'll do a series of exercises to work out their external and internal goals.
3.30-3.45pm - Break
3.45-4.45pm - How to Create Rich, Distinct Voices (Yasmin Rahman) Learn how to make character and narrative voices rich and authentic. In this workshop, we will discuss how much Voice can impact the success of a piece of writing. We’ll be looking at what voice says about a character, and how to use character backgrounds to develop their voice. There will be tips and tricks to help you pin down and maintain your voice.
4.45-5.30pm - Free Writing Time
5.30-6.30pm - Bringing Characters Together (Okechukwu Nzelu): The first time characters meet can be a powerful moment in any narrative. It might be a romantic 'meet-cute'; it might be an origin story of a mage and their apprentice. It could be a fateful meeting between protagonist and antagonist, or it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Relationships between characters can spark engaging stories, or they can be the story. This workshop will help you create compelling characters and bring their relationships to life - whatever their relationships might be. 6.30-6.45pm - Break
6.45-7.45pm -What We Say and What We Don’t - Strengthening Dialogue (Caleb Azumah Nelson) In this workshop, we will explore strengthening character voice and dialogue. By digging deeper into character development and asking questions of your character(s), and exploring what we express and what we withhold, the workshop will encourage you to hear your characters voices more clearly. 7.45-8.00pm - Debrief
Day Three: Developing Themes and Ideas in Your Novel (21st Nov)
2.00-2.30pm - Opening session
2.30-3.30pm - A Moment for Self Reflection (Caleb Azumah Nelson): This workshop will give participants an opportunity to slow down and reflect on their process and intentions for the work. Why write this book? And why do you write? This workshop should serve as a moment of grounding for your work and yourself.
3.30-3.45pm - Break
3.45-4.45pm - Refining Your Authorial Voice (Nicky Watkinson) In this workshop, we'll look at some published novels and discuss their approaches to voice, then work through a series of exercises to help you find and hone an authorial voice which feels authentic to you and your project.
4.45-5.30pm - Free Writing Time
5.30-6.30pm - Developing a Thematic Statement (Rowan Ellis) Questions, truths, provocations, messages, motifs - in this workshop we'll be delving into the themes and ideas in your novel, and figuring out how to organically weave them into your writing.
6.30-6.45pm - Break
6.45-7.45pm - Writing High Stakes: How to Make Your Readers Care (Rowan Ellis) How do you raise the stakes in your story in a way that feels most impactful? In this session we’ll work to move away from the tired cliches of rape-revenge narratives, burying your gays, and “destroy the amulet or the universe will end!” stories to find out how to really make your readerscare.
7.45-8.00pm - Debrief
Day Four: Finishing and Editing Your Novel (5th Dec)
2.00-2.30pm - Opening session
2.30-3.30pm - The Novel as an Album - Arrangement and Editing (Caleb Azumah Nelson): In this workshop we will envision the novel as a music album. We will think specifically about rhythm, flow and intention, on a sentence level, chapter to chapter, and the novel as a whole.
3.30-3.45pm - Break
3.45-4.45pm - Editing Without Wanting to Die (Nicky Watkinson) So you've finished your novel, and now you have to ... tear it apart and start over? Editing is daunting, both because of the work involved, and because it means attacking your brand new baby of a novel. This workshop will equip you with the practical tools to start editing your novel, as well as coping skills to handle the emotional toll editing can take.
4.45-5.30pm - Free Writing Time
5.30-6.30pm - It's Okay to be Sensitive - A Workshop on Giving and Receiving Feedback (Maz Hedgehog) Useful feedback can accelerate your growth as a writer, both giving and receiving it. But knowing how to parse the difference between constructive criticism and baseless bashing is as difficult as knowing how to tell someone that their story need work. This workshop isn't going to tell you to grow a thick skin, or to stop being protective of your work, but it is going to help equip you with some of the tools you need to both give and receive feedback in a helpful and caring way.
6.30-6.45pm - Break
6.45-7.45pm - Working with Publishers (Lauren James) This workshop is an explanation of the process of editing with a publisher, with guided exercises in editing a chapter extract, swapping work and line-editing each other’s writing using Microsoft Word tracked changes and comments. NB: students will need to bring a scene or short story along to edit.
7.45-8.00pm - Debrief
Day Five: Getting Your Manuscript Publisher Ready (12th Dec)
2.00-2.30pm - Opening session
2.30-3.30pm - Marketing Your Book and Yourself (Reni K Amayo) Whether you're publishing traditionally or heading down the self-publishing route, one thing's for sure: you need to market your book. In this course, I will be going over the best strategies to ensure that your readers know about your book. This includes a run-through on marketing tools and campaigns, social media strategies, content creation and scheduling. By the end of this course, you have in hand a marketing schedule that will give you a better chance of a smashing release.
3.30-3.45pm - Break
3.45-4.45pm - Editors and Your Manuscript (Simran Sandhu) This workshop will be an exploration of what editors look for in a submission, and how to focus your opening chapters so that you make the biggest possible impact. We'll also talk through the different things editors need to keep in mind, beyond your book, that might lead to a rejection, the different kinds of responses you might get to your manuscript and how to grow your submission from that feedback. You'll need the first three chapters of your book ready to go for this workshop.
4.45-5.30pm - Free Writing Time
5.30-6.30pm - Writing a Query Letter and Working with Agents (Lauren James) This workshop is a breakdown of the author-agent relationship, and explanation of how to find a shortlist of agents which will suit different projects. We will work on the language used in writing short pitches, short outlines, author biographies and query letters, focusing on ways to improve your submission and draw out the commercial elements of the plot. We will also discuss how to self-edit your work, and choose an extract of your project to send out. NB: students will need a rough idea of their project for the activities, or they can use their favourite novel as an example, e.g. Harry Potter 6.30-6.45pm - Break