Whether you are writing directly about your life or writing fiction, ultimately you base your stories on your experiences and those of others – the common human experience. This course will use life’s experiences as a source for your writing and will help you to bring them alive so that readers will want to keep reading.

 

You will consider the reliability of memory and use techniques to help you remember details from your past. It will look at the importance of observing with a writer’s eye in order to lay down rich memories in the first place, which will in turn provide inspiration for tomorrow’s stories. You will practise the skills needed to write about people so that they appear real and unique thus creating engaging characters. You will learn how to describe places you have visited or lived and use them as a source for your stories. Throughout the course you will practise writing in a way which makes your experiences vibrant and interesting.

 

Your characters are key to your story, indeed the only reason your story can happen. Whether you are writing short stories, novels, plays or screenplays, this course will enable you to write characters and stories readers will want to keep on reading.

 

Working in a supportive, encouraging environment you will explore each of these areas through class discussions and written exercises. Regular feedback and guidance will be provided by the tutor. There will be plenty of time for independent writing in and around the inspirational College and gardens.

 

On this course you will gain a better understanding of how to write a compelling piece of flash fiction, complete stories of fewer than 1,000 words. This includes creating a vivid story world; using sensory detail, metaphor and imagery; exploring character movement; and editing a piece where the feel as well as meaning of every word matters. Through written exercises you will explore each of these areas and discover how they can be used to write a story which is short on words but long on depth.

 

You will be given advice about the process of submitting work to competitions and for publication.

 

Working in a supportive, encouraging environment you will give and receive feedback on each others’ work and receive regular feedback and guidance from the tutor. The focus will be on making your flash fiction story as impactful as it can be. There will be plenty of time for independent writing in and around the inspirational College and gardens.

 

By the end of the weekend you will have developed an understanding of the nature of flash fiction and written and edited several pieces. You will leave with increased writing skills, several completed flash fiction stories and the confidence to write more.

Do you want to write about your life but have no idea where to start? Or have you started writing and feel you have lost the plot? This course will help you find a focus to your story, structure your memories and make them come alive on paper.

 

Writing about a lifetime of rich experience in a way that captures the essence of the people and places involved can be challenging. This course will look at how to tell your life story in a way that will make a compelling read.

 

Working in a supportive, encouraging environment you will explore each of these areas through class discussions and written exercises. Regular feedback and guidance will be provided by the tutor. There will be plenty of time for independent writing in and around the inspirational College and gardens