writingclasses.co.uk, online creative writing classes, the short story

Novel Writing I - The Basics

In writing a novel, when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns.

Raymond Chandler

This is for all those who are working on a first novel, or who would like to start their first novel. Some writing experience is preferred, but is not essential.

Course objective : to study the basic principles of novel writing and advance creative writing skills. Each conference is a mixture of course notes and writing assignments.

By the end of the course it is hoped that all participants will have completed a brief plot synopsis for their intended novel, and/or a rough draft of a chapter.

orientation week	Familiarisation week
week 1	What's a good idea?
week 2	Whose story is it?
week 3	Planning
week 4	Dreams
week 5	Handling time: summary and scene
week 6	Once upon a time, in a land far away, on a dark and stormy ...
week 7	Dialogue
week 8	Writing is about rewriting
week 9	The novelist: the saint at the typewriter

Story writing courses for all levels. We are a creative writing school offering novel writing, short story writing, magazine writing and general fiction writing using an interactive online conferencing programme. The classes are for the beginner to the more experienced writer. The aim of the school is to encourage and help develop story writing techniques in all who attend our classes. Please follow the links at the top of this page to find out more about us.