Write a Novel

"I read Casino Royale when I was 12. It changed my life. James Bond knew about all that intrigued me: cars, cocktails, guns, and - most of all - girls.- Ken Follet

This course is designed for new writers who want to write a novel, or experienced writers who are stuck. It is the best place to start your writing career. It will guide you through the process of writing a book from start to finish. You need nothing but your ideas in order to attend. You will end up writing a book

Unlike many courses that take you through the theory of writing and plotting, this course is geared towards getting you going on your novel. By the end of the four weeks (or eight modules) you will be well on your way to writing your book. You will have the entire book plotted, you characters developed and your first few chapters written. 

It’s a hard push to get you to engage with the dream of writing a book. But I also focus on getting you to write a publishable novel. 

You do not need to have a book idea already in mind, by the end of the first week everyone will have a story. 

Together we will make it into a plot, then a book. 

Learn how to write, edit and market your novel, structure and storytelling, character, plotting, advanced plotting and pace, how to construct scenes, best writing techniques, timelines and schedules, genre and finding your voice, preparing your manuscript, how to approach publishers, how to write your marketing material, new publishing models. 

I loved every minute of this course, and would do it again in a heartbeat. There is such a great intimate vibe to it, you really feel welcome to share ideas with the group. It was extremely informative, and gave me the perfect push into the direction I wanted. I finally managed to properly plan my novel for the first time, all because of what I learned! So thank you very much. Nola, July 2012

 

# Course modules

You will learn:

* The Elements of Structure

* Creating Plot, Place and Character Outlines for Any Genre

* Active Versus Passive Writing: Some Tips, Tools and Techniques

* Identifying Your Audience

* The Role of Research

* Developing Your Voice and Point of View

* How to Stay On Track

* Sourcing Tips and Techniques

* How to Present Your Book to Publishers

* How to Improve your plotting, pace and structure

* How to make your characters unforgettable

* Adding Depth and Layers

 Module 1: Ideas.

All professional writers get asked the question 'Where do you get your ideas from?' We'll start off the course by trying to answer it. We'll look at: Recognising and developing ideas; Reading as a writer, and getting into good writing habits; Defining your idea through titles and outlines, and the role of planning.

Module  Two: Character.

Creating convincing, realistic characters that readers are compelled to find out more about is at the heart of successful novel writing. We'll begin to build a character, looking at different ways you can approach this, what makes a successful character, how to develop your characters and begin to think about how character and plot interact - an issue that lies at the very heart of how to construct a compelling novel.

Module  Three: Story, plot and narrative.

How do you create a compelling plot that keeps readers turning the page? We'll start to think about what makes a story a story as opposed to a series of events, introduce you to the idea of archetypal plots, and look at the roles of pacing, hooks and conflict all play in story-telling.

Module  Four: Structure.

Once you know what your story is and who's in it, you need to start thinking about the best way to tell that story. Writing a novel means making a series of decisions about things like structure, point of view, genre, setting, time and place. We'll look at what the implications of these choices might be for your story.

Module  Five: Style.

This is where we get down to the nuts and bolts of writing. Dialogue, prose style, the elusive concept of 'voice', description, and the much-discussed 'show don't tell' will all be covered.

Module  Six: Editing and the business of publishing.

How many drafts should you write? How do you know when something is 'ready'? Many writers say that getting to the end of the first draft is just the start - that's when the real work begins. From structural editing to polishing your prose, we'll go through the stages involved in editing your novel. We'll also aim to give you a brief overview of how publishing works, and what to do with your novel once you've written it.