Starting your novel

About this course

The course examines the craft and content of novel writing, including character, point of view, structure, style, dialogue and scene-building. Participants also consider sentence-level writing and ways to sustain readers’ interest. Teaching combines discussion of writing issues, problem-solving activities, writing exercises and peer evaluation. Workshop sessions provide opportunities to submit and discuss participants’ own work. Learners develop a long-form fiction project, either starting from a novel idea or continuing a work in progress, with some writing and reading tasks expected outside class.

What you'll learn

• Assess and respond sensitively to pieces of writing
• Apply critical and editorial skills to fiction
• Use a range of techniques for effective prose writing
• Develop writing in areas such as character, point of view, dialogue, structure and style
• Complete at least one chapter of a novel

Is this course right for you?

The course is intended for writers with some experience of fiction who have an idea for a novel or are already working on a long-form project. The Improver level suggests learners developing beyond fundamental techniques. Participation includes sharing work for workshop and peer evaluation, completing writing outside class and reading novels.

• Some experience of writing fiction is expected
• Suitable for learners developing their own novel project
• Work is prepared for submission and discussed in workshops
• Learners should be enthusiastic readers of novels

Before you go

• Bring writing materials.
• If possible, bring a summary of the novel idea of no more than 300 words to the first session.
• Work must be submitted before class by a set deadline.
• Reading and writing assignments may be set as homework.