Our writing world in your home
Live online courses
Building Blocks of Fiction
Designed to equip you with the skills you need to write engaging, publishable prose, this course is primarily aimed at fiction writers, but is also suitable for writers of memoir and creative non-fiction. Good writing is good writing and anyone can do it when they know how. Together, we will explore how it’s done.
Be prepared to be hands-on, and be ready to get a generous amount of tutor feedback. The work we do together will give you confidence in the quality of your prose and greatly increase your chances of successful publication. The course runs for 10 weeks and costs £475.
Shape a Publishable Novel
To write a great novel you need to know how to structure a great story. Fine writing by itself won’t land you a publisher, but throw in excellent structure and a cracking story idea and the odds will massively increase in your favour. But pulling all that together is a challenge, which is where this course comes in.
Maybe you’ve already written an entire draft of a novel or screenplay. Or perhaps you simply have the idea for a story lurking amid a rambling collection of post-its. Either way, by the end of this course you should have a strong structure in place, one that gives your novel the clarity of purpose it deserves. The course runs for 10 sessions and costs £575. Check out when this course is running next on the Course Information Page.
Nail the Agent Submission
We spend so long writing a novel, it’s understandable that many new writers just want to get on with submitting once they are finished with the manuscript. They throw their submissions package together and hit send. That’s a massive mistake. Getting the submissions package right is vital to your chances of securing a traditional publication contract.
If the package itself is wrong, the agent or publisher aren’t likely to read your pages, and they are never going to know how amazing your story is, even if it really really is. This highly practical and hands-on course is designed to keep your manuscript out of the slush pile. The course runs for 4 sessions and costs £90.
Live online critique groups
Support & critique groups
We run several 3-hour weekly critique groups on Zoom, each with a maximum of four clients plus tutor. These groups run in rounds of six sessions at a time, allowing clients to come and go in response to the inevitable demands of daily life. You can work on projects such as novels, short stories, memoir etc.
These groups are designed to be mutually supportive while offering critical feedback on works in progress. Each week, two members present around 2,000 words for critique by their peers and the tutor. There’s no better way to hone your writing skills and find your writing tribe. A round of six sessions costs £90 and we operate a waiting list so email us to discuss.
One to One on Zoom
One to One on Zoom
Our one to one service is entirely bespoke, tailored to your individual writing needs. We can work with writers of any genre, covering areas such as individual tuition on aspects of craft, feedback on a work in progress, advice on your writing development, overcoming your writing blocks, thrashing out your plot or preparing to approach agents and publishers. We can act as cheerleaders or whip crackers, encourage you on or hold you to account, whatever will help you along on your writing journey.
Self-directed online mini-courses
The Seven Stories
You might have heard that there are only 7 stories in the world. This workshop is a masterclass in what they are and how they can help you.
£25
The Character Archetypes
This workshop explores the main 8 archetypes that populate our fiction and our lives. You’ll learn to recognise them, then put them to good use.
£25
The Hero’s Journey
This workshop walks you through the twelve steps that take your hero from ordinary nobody to heroic somebody, all in the space of a story.
£25
Editing services
Editing Services
If you have a completed manuscript of a novel, short story or memoir that you would like professional help with, check out our editing services by clicking on the ‘Learn more’ button below.
If you are seeking a service that isn’t covered by any of our listed offers, drop us an email letting us know what you require, and if we can help you, we will. We do offer bespoke services and can help with things like individual mentoring, ongoing support, brainstorming plot points etc. So long as it’s writing related, we’re here for you.
We use cookies to improve your experience and to help us understand how you use our site. Please refer to our cookie notice and privacy statement for more information regarding cookies and other third-party tracking that may be enabled.
© 2022 The Writing Retreat