About the Course:

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21 sessions, fortnightly on Fridays (with seasonal breaks)

3 monthly Novel Writing Support Group meetings (with the option to continue on at £5 a month)

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Do you have an idea for a long form narrative project but aren't sure how to start? Perhaps you're already working on a project and would benefit from some support with maintaining motivation and momentum?

Write Your Novel is designed to support, guide and motivate writers to sustain writing a long-form narrative project. This might be a novel, a memoir, narrative poetry, a screenplay or a hybrid project. We will meet every other Friday for 21  structured sessions. These sessions will consist of a mix of facilitator presentation, group discussion, small group sharing & feedback, and guided writing. Writing invitations between sessions will keep your draft moving forward. You will also be put into a smaller group for support with accountability and motivation between sessions and over seasonal breaks (and often even after the course ends!) All structured sessions will be recorded and shared with all ticket holders, so it is possible to engage with the sessions even when you are unable to attend a session live.

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This course takes a neuroqueer approach to writing, learning and creative practice. This means: 

• leaning into our individual, unique ways of creating 

• acknowledging and embracing the inherently iterative, spiraly, non-linear nature of the creative process. You will never be shamed or 'called out' for the ways in which you write and engage with your creative practice. 

• no set expectations, milestones or discussion of word counts.

• prioritising community as an integral part of the creative process

• establishing connections, concepts & practices that help you establish a writing practice that is sustainable after the course ends.

• accessibility and empathy are the foundations on which the course is built.

• no language/grammar policing!

As this is a year-long course and is limited to 30 writers, regular attendance and a strong commitment to your project are encouraged. No refunds (or payment plan cancellations) can be made later than 14 days before the start of the course. 

Structured Sessions:

*The below represents the planned course structure of the upcoming intake. Adjustments may be made before the course start date, and throughout the course in response to the group's specific needs and interests. 

Part 1: Practice, Planning & Development

Session 1: Introductions

We'll get to know each other, our projects, and main characters.

Session 2: Practice & Process

We'll consider alternative frameworks for maintaining a sustainable writing practice.

Session 3: Whose Story is it?: Developing Protagonists

We'll start to develop our primary characters personalities and back stories.

Session 4: What Gets in Their Way?: Establishing Antagonists & Conflict

We'll establish what hurdles our characters will have to face.

Session 5: What Happens?

We'll lay out the series of events our story will cover

Session 6: When, Where and for How Long?

We'll delve into setting and world-building

Session 7: Planning & Progress

We'll consider long and short-term aims, and experiment with ways of tracking progress (that don't always rely on word counts)

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​WINTER BREAK

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Part 2: Voices & Scenes

Session 8: Who's Telling the Story?

We'll experiment with point of view and tense.

Session 9: Voice & Style 

We'll focus on character, narrative and authorial voices.

Session 10: Dialogue

We'll explore how our characters speak on the page.

Session 11: The Outline

We'll consider what needs to happen and when, and make a notecard 'outline'

Session 12: Writing a Scene?

How can we create active, engaging scenes, from beginning to end? 

Session 13: Feedback Session 1 (The Positivity Pass)*

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SPRING BREAK

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Part 3: Plotting & Pacing

Session 14: Managing Pace

We'll break down the different ways of managing time in fiction.

Session 15: Conflicts & Confrontations

We'll focus on building tension and our main dramatic turning points

Session 16: Feedback Session 2 (Questions Only)*

Session 17: Crisis & Climax

How does it all end? What is the big turning point?

Session 18: Plotting & Structure

We'll experiment with our outline/scenes and consider how best to structure our overall narrative.

Session 19: Editing & Revision:

We'll consider tools for refining our writing at the line level.

Session 20: Final Feedback Session (The Final Pass)*

Session 21: Genre, Pitching & Next Steps

We'll consider where our project sits in the publishing landscape, how we might create an engaging pitch, and what comes next in our process. 

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*Feedback sessions do not follow a traditional 'workshop' structure. Instead, written feedback is submitted to the writer in advance of the feedback session. Then, in the live session, the writer leads the conversation using the group's feedback as a jumping off point for questions, clarifications and discussion. 

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The Novel Writers Support Group Meetings:

We know writing a novel can take years -  so we won't leave you stranded at the end of the course!  All attendees will receive a free three-month subscription to the Novel Writers Support Group which consists of live, monthly, group progress check-ins, with the option to continue for £5 a month. Novel Writers Support Group sessions will not be recorded.