Tag Archives: Creative Writing workshop

Haringey Literature Live – a wealth of Masterclasses and Short Writing Courses coming up

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North London’s HARINGEY LITERATURE LIVE has an inspiring range of writing courses & Masterclasses coming up from April – June 2018.

Energising writing workshops on the Short Story, Life-Writing, the Novel and Poetry can be found here: http://haringeyliteraturelive.com/workshops-programme-autumn-2016-springsummer-2017/

Fabulous Masterclasses from successfully published writers kick off with novelist Helen Gordon here who will be giving expert advice to writers of both short and long fiction on Sunday April 29th: http://haringeyliteraturelive.com/writing-masterclasses/

http://haringeyliteraturelive.com

Creating Short Fantasy Fiction from Dartmoor Myths and Legends – A free workshop

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Creating Short Fantasy Fiction from Dartmoor Myths and Legends – A free workshop led by Myfanwy Cook www.myfanwycook.com as part of the 15th Tavistock Festival www.tavistockmusic.co.uk

Come along and be inspired to write the opening to or a mini-short story based on a selection of the myths and legends such as Old Dewer’s ‘Wisht Hounds’ and cream eating pixies.

Venue: Tavistock Library

Start time: 10.30 am am till 12.15 pm

Date: 25th of April, 2018

Booking is essential through: tavistock.library@librariesunlimited.org.uk

Telephone: 01822 612218

St. John’s Well, Tavistock

Deadline Day is Coming! London Independent Story Prize

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Just a few days left until the Deadline! 10th of January!

Polish those 300-word short-short stories and take your chance. Become a part of this wonderful community of writers and storytellers. Take the chance of winning the prize! Give your story a chance to be recognised.

Check out the 2018 Calendar from here LISP.

LISP judges are looking for strong and unique voices, check out the interviews with the judges on the website.

‘Originality must come from other resources: from one’s own voice, personality, character.’ Luis Pizarro, LISP judge.

‘Given that the story can only be 300 words, I am looking for something beyond the ephemeral, a story that will make an impression.’ James Kirchick, LISP judge.

‘LISP is based on creating a great community and, of course, all the writers who attend the competition will definitely be a part of this network. However, winners are winners, and they will have the greatest advantage. First of all, the prize and publication, and when you win a competition, it means that your pen has been recognised, which is a great feature for any writer. Not only while trying to reach agents or publishers, but also the personal satisfaction is priceless. Especially for young writers, it’s a way to build confidence.

As an award winner, I can also say that it helps you to improve. Now you see that you can write things that others appreciate as well, which encourages you to be even bolder.’ Ozge Gozturk, LISP founder.

How to turn a short story into a novel

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Have you ever had a short story get a little… out of hand? Perhaps it starts out as a mere spark of an idea, maybe just a little piece of flash fiction, and then it grows, and grows, and evolves and morphs and mutates into this enormous monster that’s too huge to possibly be contained in a few thousand words.

So what then? How do you move from writing short stories into the great big daunting world of novel writing?

The short story and the novel are two very different beasts, but the writer’s brain is a wonderful thing, and if the thought of churning out 80,000 odd words leaves you in a cold sweat, what you need is some serious PLOTSTORMING.

novel writing course

Writers’ HQ’s online novel outlining course will teach you the fundamentals of plotting your story from start to finish. Designed to fit around everyday life and a busy schedule, all you need to get started is an idea, and after six weeks’ furious plotstorming, you’ll finish with a comprehensive outline of your novel, so that you’re rip-roaring ready to get that first draft out.

This in-depth online plotting course contains everything you need to expand your short story into a novel. You’ll learn the fundamental elements that make up every good plot and the basics of story structure:

  • Explore who’s in your story, what their roles are, and how to make compelling characters
  • Learn how to add tension and conflict so that your novel is unputdownable
  • Break your story down into chapters and scenes so that it feels more manageable
  • And find out what to do with your outline once you have it (hint: a whole lot of writing lies in your future…)

Exercises, examples, group discussion, tutor feedback, swearing and productive procrastination (eg: research, day-dreaming, tea-drinking) will enable you to grow your fictional world and build your story plan into a detailed outline, taking it from ‘random idea in your head’ to ‘actual real story that’s ready to be properly written’!

The next Plotstormers course starts on the 7th of August. Get ready to help that epic short story reach its full potential and take the leap into novel writing!

If you’re still not sure, try a FREE one-week primer course here, or get in touch with the procrastination-busting whip-crackers at Writers’ HQ who will soothe your fevered brow and bribe you with gold stars. BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!

And if you’re absolutely, positively sure novel writing isn’t for you, check out the WHQ Writing Short Fiction course instead. It might help you find a way to contain that behemoth of an idea into a self-contained piece of short fiction, and help you make the most of each idea that springs into your head, covering everything from characterisation to structure to narrative voice to getting your stories published.

Find out more about Writers’ HQ online courses and regional writing retreats at www.writershq.co.uk or chat with the WHQ crew on Facebook or Twitter.

 

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.”

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

Two free workshops, a fund raiser and a Christmas present

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Two free workshops, a fund raiser and a Christmas present

Tavistock Heritage Festival

October 25th, 26th and 27th 2014

http: tavistockheritagefestival.org.uk

Twitter: Tavistock Heritage@TavistockH2014

 Free Historical Fiction Writing Workshops

Workshop 1

“Tavistock and the Tamar Valley’s 19th century mining heritage”

       “Tavistock and the Tamar Valley’s 19th century mining heritage” is an historical fiction writing workshop run by Myfanwy Cook features editor of the Historical Novels Review (www.historicalnovelsociety.org) and author of ‘Historical Fiction Writing a practical guide and tool-kit’. She has carried out extensive research on the Tamar Valley on behalf of the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project and the workshop will include original research and recordings

This workshop is aimed at providing aspiring writers with the opportunity to experiment with the skills needed to write engaging historical fiction based on local historical facts. (Saturday 25th October. Tavistock Library, Plymouth Rd, at 2pm. A free event for over 18s including a work pack. Booking is essential as there are only limited places, contact 01822 612218 or email tavistock.library@devon.gov.uk.

Workshop 2

“Medieval mayhem and murder at

Tavistock’s Benedictine Abbey”

       This workshop is aimed at introducing aspiring writers of historical crime fiction to the delights of combining local heritage and history with murder most foul! (Sunday 26th October. Bedford Hotel at 10.00am. A free event for over 18s including a work pack. Booking is essential as there are only a limited number of places contact 01822 612218 or email tavistock.library@devon.gov.uk.

 

Historical fiction workshops that aren’t part of the Tavistock Festival

Workshop 3

The Museum of Dartmoor Life

Fund raiser for the http://www.museumofdartmoorlife.org.uk/

enquiries@museumofdartmoorlife.co.uk

‘Okehampton’s forgotten voices – A tribute to those who took part in WW1 – A Practical Historical Fiction Workshop’. 

Workshop 4 –Christmas present

http://www.orchardlearningstudios.co.uk/

E: orchardstudio@yahoo.co.uk

The Tamar Valley’s Klondike – A practical Historical Fiction Writing 2 day Course

An intensive weekend (2 day course) for aspiring historical writers – January 31st/Feb 1st, 2015. If you have a friend or family member who is interested in Historical Fiction Writing buying a voucher as a Christmas present might make an ideal and unusual gift.