Category Archives: Workshops

Five-Day Short Story Writing Course with Cynan Jones

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If you’re working on a short story and would like to learn essential techniques to unlock the story’s potential and make it the best it can be, then this brand new Curtis Brown Creative course for you. Across five days – from Monday 17 May to Friday 21 May – award-winning writer Cynan Jones (author of Stillicide, The Dig, The Long Dry) will show you how to develop your characters, narrative voice and the world of your story to maximum effect; how to refine your prose to make it work harder for you; and how to approach and edit your work with fresh insight and confidence.

15 talented writers will be selected to take part in this intensive five-day short story course. The course will be hosted through a combination of live Zoom meetings/webinars for the student group and tutor, plus writing and work-sharing time on the CBC online Learn platform. Teaching sessions will focus on interrogating aspects of the short story craft and identifying areas for improvement in your own work as well as giving you the tools to make those improvements. Cynan will set exercises to help you practise what you’ve learnt and try out new techniques and skills as well as generating new material to give your work a fresh lease of life. You will be encouraged to post and discuss your work on our forum and read and comment on the work of those in your group – this will help not only to explore your work in more detail but also to hone your editorial eye and critical faculties.

You will also get a one-to-one tutorial with Cynan, which will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion about your story-in-progress and how to develop it further, as well as a chance to talk about any specific difficulties you’re having with your writing. On the final day of the course, students will attend an industry Q&A with literary agent Lucy Luck (C&W) and short story writer Chris Power in the morning, followed by a celebratory reading event and farewell with Cynan in the afternoon. You will be invited to read from your work and there will be advice on how to keep going and move forward with your writing.

The fee for this course is £480.

Find out more & apply by Sun 18 April.

Three-Day Fiction-Writing Workshop

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Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey, Co Wexford 

March 14-16, 2020.  9:45am–5pm

A 3 day fiction-writing workshop concentrating on works-in-progress submitted by the participants. Manuscripts (novel excerpt or short story of up to 3,000 words) are due on or before March 1, distributed to every participant, and read with care by all.

Keegan will read every text before the workshop begins, and then discuss every text with the group. Discussion will include the structure of a narrative, paragraph structure, time, tension versus drama, melodrama, statement, description, suggestion, conflict, character, humor, point of view, dialogue, place and time. The aim, always, is to help each author with the next draft.

The workshops will be of particular interest to those who write, teach, read or edit fiction — but anyone with an interest in how fiction works, improving their prose and/or helping others to do so, is welcome to attend. While most participants like to submit a manuscript, this is not a requirement.

The fee for this 3-day fiction-writing workshop with Claire Keegan is 450 Euro. To book your place, contact ckfictionclinic@yahoo.com

More info here

Residential Writing Weekend with Claire Keegan

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Teach Bhride Holistic Centre, Tullow, Co. Carlow, Ireland 3 to 5 January 2020

This residential weekend will see all participants arriving at Teach Bhride on Friday afternoon before dinner. The next two mornings will be spent writing in any genre in well lighted, quiet spaces without mobile phones.

Lectures and discussions will be held in the afternoons and evenings on the following:

  • Letters by Anton Chekhov & others

  • Paris Review/Writers at Work Interviews

  • Essays by Eudora Welty, Frank O’Connor and Flannery O’Connor

  • Hemingway’s advice on writing

  • Some poems on writing and creativity

  • Viewing of A Private World, a documentary on John McGahern

Tuition includes all meals and two nights’ accommodation, with everyone arriving before dinner on Friday, helping themselves to breakfast both mornings, and leaving before dinner on Sunday evening. This course will suit anyone interested in a quiet weekend of writing. None of what is written will be read aloud. It’s a chance to engage with the intricacies of the creative process and use your imagination.

To book your place, contact ckfictionclinic@yahoo.com Tuition is 400 Euro. A 50% deposit secures. See CKFictionClinic for more information.

KEEGAN ClaireClaire Keegan’s portrait taken in the offices of Sabine Wespieser, Publisher, Paris

Claire Keegan’s story collections include Antarctica, Walk the Blue Fields and Foster (Faber & Faber). These stories, translated into 17 languages, have won numerous awards. Her debut, Antarctica, was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. “These stories are among the finest stories recently written in English,” wrote the Observer. Walk the Blue Fields, her second collection, was Richard Ford’s Book of the Year in 2010, and won the Edge Hill Prize, awarded to the strongest collection published in the British Isles. Foster won the Davy Byrne’s Award, the then world’s richest prize for a single story. New Yorker readers chose Foster as their story of the year. It was also published in Best American Stories and is now on the school syllabus in Ireland. Keegan has earned an international reputation as a teacher of fiction, having taught workshops on four continents.

“Every line seems to be a lesson in the perfect deployment of both style and emotion.” – Hilary Mantel

“The best stories are so textured and so moving, so universal but utterly distinctive, that it’s easy to imagine readers savoring them many years from now and to imagine critics, far in the future, deploying new lofty terms to explain what it is that makes Keegan’s fiction work.” – The New York Times

“Every single word in the right place and pregnant with double meaning.” – Jeffrey Eugenides, The New York Times

“Keegan is a rarity, someone I will always want to read.” – Richard Ford

WONDER- seeking short story writers for a candlelit immersive live lit event PLUS FREE writing workshop!

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White Rabbit is Bernadette Russell and Gareth Brierley- a multi  award-winning arts organisation which creates films, podcasts, theatre and immersive live lit /storytelling events. 

We are writers and performers who are passionate about stories and storytelling. We are delighted to be working with Revelation in Ashford to create two immersive live lit evenings of short stories on the theme of WONDER.

We are inviting short story submissions inspired by the  theme of WONDER, with a maximum of 1500 words in any style. Priority will be given to Kent writers or writers with an association with Kent. 

We will select stories from the submissions to be performed live on two consecutive evenings by our team of professional actors, in  the candlelit environment of the beautiful and ancient St Mary’ Church (referenced in the Doomsday Book in 1086!).

We look forward to this event being a great opportunity for Kent writers to showcase their work. As writers you need do no more than submit your work, once it is selected then you can come along to the event, relax and enjoy the show!

Deadlines for submissions are: Midnight on 14th February 2020. Please submit your stories on the theme of WONDER to gbbrierley@btinternet.com with the subject heading WONDER. Please ensure your name is on each page of your story (in the header or footer if possible) 

The shows are 21st and 22nd March 2020 at 7.30pm. 

We are also hosting two FREE writing and performing workshops- the first being on 9th November- a chance to be inspired by the beautiful church and graveyard and to have a space to write! Details are here

Our website is currently under re-construction- so in the meantime please visit this link for further information and FAQ: https://www.bernadetterussell.com/single-post/2019/10/10/WONDER–FAQ-for-writers 

If you would like to see a film of previous storytelling events please go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogo9Pl6LSCE 

This project has been commissioned by Revelation Ashford and is supported by Ashford Borough Council, Arts Council England, Kent County Council and Music Venues Alliance

Northern Lights Writers Conference 2019 – tickets available now

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Creative Industries Trafford (CIT) is running its popular Northern Lights Writers’ Conference for a sixth year, at Waterside in Sale, a short hop by tram, bus, car and bike from Manchester city centre.

Northern Lights Writers Conference 2019

Northern Lights Writers Conference 2019

The day-long event for emerging and established writers includes one-to-one advice sessions on writing, editing and submitting short stories, poetry and creative non-fiction; workshops on creating scripts for TV and collaborating on graphic novels; talks and panel discussions on funding, training and development opportunities for writers, pathways to publication, and diversity in the publishing industry; networking possibilities and book signings, plus a keynote speech and ‘in conversation’ session looking at different genres, platforms and adaptations by bestselling author Jane Rogers.

Saturday 21 September, 11am–5pm (registration from 10.30am), Waterside, Sale, £35 (£25 concessions). Book online or call 0161 912 5616. More here.

What’s the Point in Talking? A Weekend on Dialogue with Claire Keegan

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The Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey, Co. Wexford

9:45 am – 5 pm, October 5 & 6.

In response to many requests, Claire Keegan will be directing a weekend on writing dialogue. Keegan will argue that our speech is full of casual and consequential misunderstanding. Some of what characters say is what we do not wish to say or reveal or realise. We will also look at other human factors: why it isn’t always possible to hear what is being said, and why we cannot often or do not wish to listen. And how despite our attempts to say little, we reveal a great deal. How, through our speech and silences, we give ourselves away.

Course participants will be asked to read scenes, and stories, examine and edit scenes – and we will also look at why and how dialogue works, and why it sometimes doesn’t. We will also take a look at accents, dialogue layout, pacing, humour and balancing descriptive paragraphs with dialogue.

This course will likely be of interest to those who read, write or edit novels, short stories, plays, memoirs, screen plays, creative non-fiction or are simply interested in how and why people talk.

The reading list is as follows:

1. Opening five chapters of Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

2. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 

Short Stories:

3. “The District Doctor,” by Ivan Turgenev, translated by Constance Garnett 

4. “Sarah,” by Mary Lavin   

5. “Miss Brill,” by Katherine Mansfield 

6. “Music at Annahullion,” by Eugene McCabe 

7. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” by Raymond Carver 

8. “Kathleen’s Field,” by William Trevor 

9. “Bullfighting,” by Roddy Doyle 

All the works in the reading list will be provided free of charge by email.

To book your place, email ckfictionclinic@yahoo.com. Tuition is 350 euro. A 100 euro non-refundable deposit secures a place. There are only two spaces left on this course. All welcome.

For more information, see ckfictionclinic.com

 

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New Short Story Workshop for Autumn 2019 with award-winning writer, Kiare Ladner

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Wednesday evenings, 6.45pm-9.15pm; dates October 30, November 6, 13, 20, 27, December 4 2019; cost £99; venue Writing Room 

The short story – liberating to get down, exacting to get right! Over six intensive sessions, we’ll explore the art and craft of the form. In doing so, we’ll look rigorously at your own stories, alongside a diverse range by other writers. From the traditional to the experimental, from character-based to thematically driven, from stories that expand a moment to those that cover a lifetime, we’ll discuss what works, how it works and why it works. Come along if you’d like to be inspired, motivated and challenged in your practice. All levels welcome. more details here! /http://haringeyliteraturelive.com/autumn-cour

About Us

Now in its seventh year, Collage Writing Room aka Haringey Literature Live is best known for its much-loved, friendly, supportive and affordable writing courses for adults which run throughout the year and cover poetry, novels, short fiction and life writing among other disciplines, all taught by our superb teaching team. The venue is our wonderful teaching studio, the Writing Room, close to Wood Green tube and Alexander Park station in London, N22. Our students have access to two free drop in groups (Start Your Writing Week, and Feedback Fridays) and also to extras like our end of term celebrations at Karamel Restaurant, where they can read their work to their friends and family

Read about Kiare here! Kiare Ladner

How Fiction Works: A Study of Narrative Using Works by John McGahern

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Linenhall Library, Belfast. May 13 & 14, 2019. 10am–5pm, both days.
Claire Keegan will direct this fiction writing course using works by John McGahern to explore and demonstrate the mechanics of writing and narrative structure.

1. The Leavetaking

2. “Christmas”

3. “Parachutes”

4. “The Conversion of William Kirkwood”

How do stories begin? How and why does an author make an incision in time and build tension? How is a reader drawn into a narrative? Why is a reader sometimes not drawn in at all? Keegan will discuss the structure of a narrative and go into what she calls the much-neglected middle, the trunk of the story. Are endings natural? Why do stories need to end, to find a place of rest? The discussion around endings will focus on falling action, emotional consequences and inevitability. Participants will also examine the differences between the short story and the novel. This course will be of particular interest to those who write, teach, read or edit fiction — but anyone with an interest in how fiction or reading works is welcome to attend. To book your place, contact ckfictionclinic@yahoo.com  Tuition is £300. A 50% deposit secures.

 

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Claire Keegan’s story collections include Antarctica, Walk the Blue Fields and Foster (Faber & Faber). These stories, translated into 17 languages, have won numerous awards. Her debut, Antarctica, was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. “These stories are among the finest stories recently written in English,” wrote the Observer. Walk the Blue Fields, her second collection, was Richard Ford’s Book of the Year in 2010, and won the Edge Hill Prize, awarded to the strongest collection published in the British Isles. Foster won the Davy Byrne’s Award, then the world’s richest prize for a single story. New Yorker readers chose Foster as their story of the year. It was also published in Best American Stories is now on the school syllabus in Ireland. Keegan has earned an international reputation as a teacher of fiction, having taught workshops on four continents.

Novella Fever Writing Course – with Kiare Ladner from Haringey Literature Live

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If the short story is like a photograph and the novel is like a film, the novella is like a fever.

In six weeks, we will aim to start (or finish) drafting a novella. What you work on may be only slightly longer than a short story or slightly shorter than a novel. You may have an idea to explore, or a short story that’s growing, or something resembling a novel in progress. On the course, we will look at what gives this particular form its power. We will think about the value of the instinctive in our writing. We will discuss the general shape a story of this length this may take. In intensive weekly sessions we will workshop both writing and story ideas. All levels welcome.

6-week course, Wednesday Evenings 645pm-915pm; starts 30 Jan

http://haringeyliteraturelive.com/kiare-ladner/

http://haringeyliteraturelive.com/spring-courses/

 

 

 

 

 

Short Story Workshop with Tom Vowler

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The Unthank School is pleased to announce that we have a new, online and ongoing Short Story Workshop with Tom Vowler now taking enrolments for January.

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Following a successful first run of Tom’s Short Fiction Masterclass, the Short Story Workshop is designed to provide continuous bespoke feedback and a community for short story writers with some experience or who are working on a collection and would like the support and input of an experienced short fiction writer and editor.

For more details or to enrol click here.

If you have any other questions or queries, email us on enquries@unthankschool.com

If you would like to hear more about Tom’s philosophy, have a look at Kick, Bite and Voltage. 

 

What our students are saying

“Masterclass is an exceptional course which has seen me writing seriously again. Regular deadlines, top-quality teaching and peer critique provided a doorway back into the discipline of writing fiction with passion and a sense of taking risks.

Tutor feedback was outstanding: incisive and well-considered with that very rarely found sentence-level analysis, which opened up my story’s potential, and really pushed the writing on.”

Rachael Smart

“Made us all strive to do better as we attempted Tom Vowler’s challenges to think more, welcome others’ opinions, to look up the word ‘obliquity’ and make use of our new understanding. And don’t expect the course to take only 2-3 hours a week. It’s worth a lot more.”

Jane Hayward

Short Story Masterclass

 

KbnAfrEj_400x400The introductory Short Story Masterclass is also running again in January after an invigorating and successful first session.

  • Explore the elements of successful short fiction with prize-winning writer and experienced editor, Tom Vowler
  • A friendly and relaxed course to unravel (some of) the mysteries of this demanding form
  • Discover how great stories are crafted
  • Join lively discussions about writing with your tutor and other students

For more details or to register, click here.

Agatha Christie in the Bath and Two Online Courses

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The A3 Review hosts a monthly writing contest, and this month’s theme is Naked and Nude. We read here that Agatha Christie wrote in the bath while eating apples. We googled for images, but there weren’t any, so we’re wondering: Who’ll write the story of the bathing novelist who said she specialised in “murders of quiet, domestic interest”? We like a good title, so how about: “Agatha Christie in the Bath”? Click here for more naked inspiration.

Deadline is 23rd September. 150 words max, or if you’re sending us artwork, it should fit nicely into an A6-sized panel. Click here to see all the new themes for Issue 8, The Gold Issue.

In the meantime, Issue 7 is almost here. The Silver Issue. We have 12 contributors, plus a story from flash fiction writer extraordinaire, Kathy Fish. There’s a maritime theme running through the new issue. Flowing through it! Whales and shrimp, to be precise. As well as stories and poems about a nun who steals a cross, a boy scout who’s unprepared, a teacher who learns, and some people who revel in their own dirt! From the depths of the ocean to the moon and space, with some complicated earthly relationships in between. If you haven’t pre-ordered already, you can do that by clicking here.

Some details about the two online courses… New dates are up for The A3 Review editor, Shaun Levin’s How to Map Your Book online course. The current one filled up pretty quickly, so you might want to grab a place for the course starting in November. If you’re eager to join a course now, there are still a few places on the Write Around Town online course that starts next week. Both courses are practical and focused on your own writing. It’s a great chance to get detailed feedback on your work, too. Check out both courses by clicking here.

Any questions about the courses or The A3 Review, please contact maps [at] writingmaps [dot] com

Silver, Gold, and Some Hard Cash

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gold thingsWe’ve got a silver-themed contest with a looming deadline; six new themes for Issue 8: The Gold Issue; and an increase in our cash prizes.

There’s still one last chance to be part of The A3 Review‘s Issue 7, The Silver Issue. This month’s theme is SILVER THINGS, so make sure to get your sparkly work in by Saturday the 26th August. Click here for glittery inspiration and to submit. The issue will also include a story by guest flash-fiction writer Kathy Fish alongside the winners of the last 5 months of contests, and this month’s winners, too.

In other news… The A3 Review‘s founding editor, Shaun Levin, is launching a new online writing course, How to Map Your Book. The course is suitable for writers at all stages of a book project, so if you’re putting together a collection of short stories, you might want to check out the details here.  There’s an early-bird rate for bookings up until the 20th August.

Do please spread the word about our new themes for Issue 8: The Gold Issue. Naked and Nude, Windows, and Betrayal are just some of the dramatic themes coming up! And, because our submission numbers are up, we’re able to increase the prize money from this issue. Click here for inspiration and more details.

Play With Words

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Words are meant to be fun!

Join us at this creative writing workshop for adults; a space in which to explore storytelling, learn new techniques, stimulate ideas, channel your creativity – and put some words on paper. Open to all levels and experience, the session will include exercises, prompts, activities and discussion to help get your imagination and pens flowing. After the session you’ll have plenty of sparks to form the beginnings of some short stories – and longer ones!

Date & Time Wednesday 31st May 7-9pm

Location Happy & Glorious, 47 High St, Cranbrook TN17 3EE

Cost £25 per person or two tickets for £35 – price includes a glass of wine/tea and coffee and nibbles.

Tickets are available here.

Francesca Baker is a word lover, book geek, literary enthusiast… Armed with pencils, coffee, headphones and a spring in her step, she likes to explore and scribble her way through life. Find out more at her website and follow her in a legal way on Twitter here

Seven Days of Story Inspiration from Writers’ HQ

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writers' hq seven ideas in seven days online writing course

SEVEN IDEAS IN SEVEN DAYS – 1 WEEK ONLINE WRITING COURSE – STARTS 5th JUNE (£20)

Learn how to see, hear and think like a writer with Writers’ HQ’s 5-star online creative writing course, Seven Ideas in Seven Days.  Designed to fit around every day life and a busy schedule wherever you are in the world, we’ll give you techniques and exercises for generating ideas and turning them into usable outlines for brilliant stories.

If you’ve ever sat down with good intentions to write a short story but find your brain (and the page) utterly blank, then this is the writing course for you. Ideas are the bedrock of story writing. Sometimes they come thick and fast, and sometimes they seem to languish in the dank cellar of your subconscious and refuse to come out to play. Seven Ideas in Seven Days will help you to turn into an idea-generating machine using inspiring exercises, forum discussions, writing prompts, feedback and support.

Over the course of the week, we’ll teach your brain to germinate those idea-seeds. (Seedy ideas? Something like that.) We’ll give you techniques to spot ideas in both the fantastic and the mundane, exercises to encourage them to grow and bloom, ways to record them for when you need them, and generally help you get into the habit of THINKING.

By the end you will have: seven ideas that can be grown into fully fledged stories, or inserted into existing stories to make them even better. Book your place HERE!

WHAT YOU GET

  • Seven ideas that you can use, grow, nurture, or throw on the floor in frustration (then pick up again and hope no one saw)
  • Daily inspiration, whip-cracking, writing exercises and prompts
  • Top tips from tip-top authors
  • A private student forum to discuss ideas, techniques and get advice from your tutors and fellow writers
  • Dedicated support by email from your fantastic tutors
  • Feedback and writerly conversation from the LOVELY social media community of Writers HQers

STARTS MONDAY 5th JUNE (and costs just £20!) – BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!

Still not convinced? Check out just a few of the 5-star reviews from previous students:

“More ideas than you can shake an inspiration stick at! Fab exercises for toning up your idea muscles. A fun, inspiring week.”

“Super splendid idea generating joy! I’d been feeling like I’d lost the ability to generate ideas but this course gave me my confidence back. You’ll get the chance to play around with some really fun exercises and just see what happens! I got at least seven really decent ideas to develop further. It’s great value for money and will really give you a great big creative kick. Five gold stars from me!”

“A mysterious benefactor gives you a task a day and – shazam! – by the end of the week you’re a-fizzing with ideas. Tis witchcraft. Do it.”

“Inspiring! A really varied crash course in ideas generation. It was great sharing the course with a small group of fellow students and Sarah is a wonderful course leader. I’ll definitely use the ideas I came up with and the techniques I learned in my writing. Five gold stars!”

” Just a fab way to work. Really enjoyed myself and discovered so many aspects of the writing process I didn’t know or ignored. They throw you in at the deep end but best way to question your process and the way you work. We are so easily stuck in a rut. And this course is a real encouragement to define a box and then think outside it.”

Folk Tales in New Fiction – 1-day workshop

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Sara Maitland wrote that folk tales speak deeply to us because they are ‘filled with the reverberations of everyone’s dreams’. On this course, we will explore the different ways in which we can harness the strange power of folk tales in our writing.

Folk tales have long been borrowed by writers, from Charles Perrault’s first ‘literary fairy tales’ in Mother Goose, to Angela Carter’s subversive and riotous remixes in The Bloody Chamber, to Lucy Wood’s Cornish folklore-infused Diving Belles.

Such writers have engaged with folk tales in myriad ways, from full-blown rewrites, to weaving in recognisable characters and symbols, to using tales as jumping off points for completely new work.

As well as exploring folk tales themselves, we’ll look at a range of published fiction that demonstrates this range of approaches. This might include short stories from writers such as Angela Carter, Marina Warner, Sara Maitland, Donald Barthelme, Joyce Carol Oates, Kirsty Logan, Lucy Wood and more.

We will try out these methods for ourselves, using folk tales, themes, characters and objects in writing exercises throughout the day.

If you have a favourite folk tale, or folk-tale inspired short story or novel, please feel free to bring it along to discuss.

This course is aimed at new or established writers, who are either already experimenting with using folk tales in their writing, or who would like to learn about this approach for the first time.

This one-day workshop will be led by London Lit Lab’s Zoe Gilbert, who is currently completing a Creative Writing PhD on folk tales in new short fiction. Her own book of folk tale-inspired stories will be published by Bloomsbury in early 2018. You can read her award-winning stories online here and here.

Course fee: £99 early bird bookings. £129 full fee.

Date and time: 20th May 2017, 10am-4pm (please arrive 15 mins early)

Location: Clapton Laundry, London, E5 8DJ – a luxurious, inspiring space in East London, where lunch will also be provided. For more info, look here.

Places are limited to 12. To reserve yours, or for more information, please contact us at info@londonlitlab.co.uk. Find out more about London Lit Lab here.

Try a FREE taster of the Writers’ HQ Short Story course!

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The next round of Writers’ HQ’s 6-week online Writing Short Fiction course starts on the 20th of March but you can try out a FREE taster week HERE!

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Writing Short Fiction

6 Week Online Course from Writers’ HQ

Starts 20th March, £140 (Get 10% off when you use promo code SHORTSTOPS10 before the 12th of March!)

Short stories aren’t just easier versions of the novel. They’re a broad, complex and rewarding art form in their own right. Writers’ HQ’s new online writing short story course will help you see the bigger picture and compress it into short stories with real punch.

Short stories have been here since the dawn of time. Based in the oral tradition (stop sniggering at the back), they’re the apocryphal family legends our grandmas/weird uncle used to tell us over Christmas dinner; they’re the school-yard urban myths; the sleepover ghost stories; the soliloquies in our diaries; the wine-soaked rants to that random person you cornered in the kitchen at that party after so-and-so dumped you. Short stories are all around us. <cue X-Files theme>

But super short stories are not super easy for writers, natch. In fact, the shorter your story becomes, the harder it is to distil what really matters onto the page. I would have written a shorter letter, so the famous quote goes, but I didn’t have the time.

So what makes truly great short fiction? The kind that leaves you dribbling, slack-jawed, slap-faced when you finish it. The kind you remember forever, like some weird dream-memory. Well. We can’t write it for you, but we can give you a nudge, a shove, and a poke with a sharp stick (whatever floats your boat) to help you on your way. With the help of writing prompts, advice from award-winning short fiction writers, inspiring exercises, and our awesome little online community, you’ll come out the other side at least one fully formed short story to call your very own.

TRY OUT A FREEBIE WEEK HERE AND BOOK YOUR PLACE! (Don’t forget to use promo code SHORTSTOPS10 to get 10% off when you book before 12th March.)

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Write and Edit a Short Story in a Weekend

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This two-day course (8th-9th April) from London Lit Lab is designed to get you both writing and editing, by combining dedicated creative time with an intensive tour through ways to improve your draft.

On day one, we’ll kick off by exploring ways to turn our ideas into full stories, from getting first words down to finishing a draft. You will then have ample time and space (and tea and cake) to write, in the quiet company of fellow scribblers.

On day two, we will work through a series of editing approaches, which you will be able to apply to your own work.

This course is suitable for both beginners and committed writers. By the end of the course you will have a draft piece of work, and a range of editing skills to apply to it!

We’ll be based at a beautiful, luxurious location in East London, and the course will be led by two writers, Lily Dunn and Zoe Gilbert.

For more information about the course, and to read testimonials from previous London Lit Lab course attendees: http://www.londonlitlab.co.uk/?page_id=343

London Lit Lab: 1-day intensive beginners’ workshop 28th January

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This one-day workshop is for anyone who would like to start writing creatively in 2017, or who wants to kickstart a lagging writing habit! Whether you want to finish a short story you’ve started, or face down the blank page for the first time, this friendly course will get you writing and improving.

We’ll cover five key areas during the day:

  • Generating ideas: how to pluck ideas from the world and turn them into stories
  • Building strong characters: creating characters that feel real, and how much character dictates plot
  • Creating a sense of place: analysing those settings that come to life, and looking at ways to reflect your characters’ inner states
  • Writing great dialogue: looking closely at how dialogue works best on the page, and how it differs from ‘real life’ conversation
  • Developing plot and story: giving your story a satisfying shape, and figuring out where to start and end.

For each topic we’ll look at great examples from published short stories and novels, discuss techniques, and do some writing exercises together. There will be plenty of time for questions and trouble-shooting along the way, and of course to stop for tea and cake.

Location: Keynes Library, Gordon Square, London – originally the home of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.

Date and time: 10am-5pm, Saturday 28th January 2017. Please arrive 15 mins early for a 10am start.

Cost: Full price £169. Special offer: book two places together and each receive 20% off.

Tutors: this course will be taught by both Lily Dunn and Zoe Gilbert of London Lit Lab. By leading workshops together, we are able to bring two perspectives to everything we teach, and therefore everything is up for discussion! Sharing our differing approaches to writing helps to create a richer learning experience, which we believe benefits everyone who comes on our courses.

To read testimonials from our past courses, learn about Lily and Zoe, and see all the London Lit Lab courses available in 2017, go to http://www.londonlitlab.co.uk/

To contact us directly with queries or to reserve a place, please email info@londonlitlab.co.uk.

Making History Come Alive – The People’s History

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Bideford Bay Creatives (BBC) Events | Eventbrite

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/bideford–bay–creatives-bbc-8125755897

Saturday the 4th of February – Venue – Royal Hotel, Bideford, UK

The People’s History – An Historical Fiction Creative Writing Workshop celebrating the people whose lives were interwoven with Bideford’s Eastern Wharves.

A donation of £2 per person will be collected at the door.

Age range: For adults (over the age of 18)

This workshop will last for approximately two and half hours with a very short break for refreshments. Registration at 9.45am and starting at 10am to 12.30.

Content: This is a practical, fast paced workshop focusing on Biographical Historical Fiction writing based around ‘real’ people whose lives were interwoven with the history of the Wharves including the 17th and 18th century potters, the 18th century tobacco merchants and the ‘unknown’ and often undocumented who were transported or who went from Bideford as indentured workers.

You will be provided with a free work pack to take away. The structured session will guide you through the process of writing a short story or opening of a novel based on historical fact.

You will have the opportunity to showcase your writing from this workshop at the end of project celebration at the Pollyfield Centre, East the Water on February 26th, and online. All you need to bring along to this session is your imagination and a pen.

Your workshop facilitator will be Myfanwy Cook who is currently the Features Editor for the Historical Novel Review Magazine and an associate fellow at two UK universities see www.historicalnovelsociety.org and https://twitter.com/MyfanwyCook

Saturday the 4th of February – Venue – Royal Hotel, Bideford, UK

Hidden History – A sense of place – An Historical Fiction Creative Writing Workshop aimed at evoking the atmosphere of Bideford’s Eastern Wharves throughout its history.

This workshop will last for approximately two and half hours with a very short break for refreshments. Registration at 1.45pm and starting at 2pm to 4.45.

A donation of £2 per person will be collected at the door.

Age range: Over the age of 16

Content: You will be introduced to time-slip historical fiction and historical descriptive writing based around key locations for instance the late 17th century extension to the ‘key’(kay) for ships in 1692, Colonial House and the 19th century shipyard (on the Brunswick Wharf site).

This is an opportunity to experiment with Historical time-slip fiction and Manga in a light hearted way. You will be provided with a free work pack to take away from this practical, structured session.

You will have the opportunity to showcase your writing from this workshop or you Manga style drawings at the end of project celebration at the Pollyfield Centre, East the Water on February 26th, and online. . All you need to bring along to this session is an open mind, your creative spirit, a pen and if you are an artist your sketchbook.

Your workshop facilitator will be Myfanwy Cook who is currently the Features Editor for the Historical Novel Review Magazine and an associate fellow at two UK universities see www.historicalnovelsociety.org and https://twitter.com/MyfanwyCook

Solstice Shorts Festival

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Filed under live lit, short story festival, Workshops

This year the Solstice Shorts Festival, held on 21st December, the shortest day of the year, takes Shortest Day as its theme. As a result all the stories being read are really short – under 1000 words. As with previous years the stories are read by actors, and there is live music. This year however there was a two part call out, and some of the stories are inspired by the music, and vice versa.

We are back on two sites, with free poetry music at Made in Greenwich Gallery 324 Creek Road, Greenwich, SE10 9SW 6-7pm,  and free stories and music at West Greenwich Library Greenwich High Road, Greenwich SE10 8NN 7.30-9.30pm, (with, we hope, a procession led by a choir between the two sites- we have to work out who can cope with singing and walking at the same time!) The main event is followed by a Night Write workshop for writers led by poet Ruth Steadman back at MiGG from 10pm-midnight, £10.

For the musically inclined there is an ‘advent’ event on 26th November 12.45-17.15 St Hilda’s Church Hall, Courtrai Road SE23 1NL to learn folk songs suitable to the season from internationally acclaimed folk singer, community choir leader and all round lovely person, Lester Simpson. £25.

Book tickets for all events here

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Stories from CB Droege, David Mathews, David Steward, Katy Darby, Lee Nash, Liam Hogan, Pippa Gladhill, Polly Hall, Roger Hecht, Rosalind Stopps, Sarah Evans, Sarah James, Tom McKay.

Poems from A.J. Akoto, Frank Rubino, Jill Sharp, Joan Leotta, Karen Bovenmyer, Karina Lutz, Laura Page, Lisa Kelly, Mario Duarte, Marlee Cox, Megan E. Freeman, Pat Tompkins, Scott-Patrick Mitchell, Steph Thompson, Tim Cremin.

Music from Zachary Gvirtzman, Vocal Chords Choir, Sarah Lloyd & Ian Kennedy, Juliet Desailly. Specially written lyrics from Alison Craig, Moira Quinn.

All performances are BSL interpreted.

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