Autumn Creative Writing Courses

Starting September 20th and 21st I will be starting two 12 week courses.You can sign up for all or some of the weeks. 15% off level 1 pricing until Sept 17th~

All workshops are writing intensive and designed to get you experimenting in your writing.

For the first time I will be offering a sliding scale pricing system to ensure that there is greater access to the courses no matter financial status. Levels 2 and 3 are limited to 5 spaces and are offered on a first come first serve basis. I will still also offer a number of free bursary spots on both courses. I ask that you please sign up for the level that most suits your specific situation. When you register please indicate which level.

12 Week Courses

• Tuition Level 1: £300/all or £25/per week
• Tuition Level 2: £150/all or £12.50/per week
• Tuition Level 3: £75/all or £6.25/ per week
• Payment Plans Available

Hybrid and Experimental Memoir

This course is suited to all skill levels and open to all genres, though it is specifically designed for anyone wanting to explore personal narrative non-fiction or who may have a memoir manuscript in process.

Starts September 20th Mondays 6-8 pm

Week One September 20th: Family

One of the biggest questions when working on memoir is how will my family react? How can I write about family members that are still living? In this week we will explore ways of approaching these questions through various writing exercises and examples.

Week Two September 27th: Time and Place

This week we will be focusing on the all important parts of a memoir, time and place. We will be looking at different ways we can experiment with both of these and trying out writing exercises that offer unique ways of representing both time and place.

Week Three October 4th: Fiction

This week will look at ways of embedding fiction as a component of memoir. Exploring ways of fictionalizing elements of the personal narrative as well as personification of varying parts of your project.

Week Four October 11th: Essay and Research

This week we will be looking at how we can root personal narrative within a framework of research and essay writing. We will explore the topics that might be linked to your project and will do some writing that blends memoir with more critical/academic writing.

Week Five October 18th: Poetry

In this week we will be writing some poetry and looking at confessional poetry and other ways of expressing personal narrative through the lens of poetic writing. You don’t have to be a poet to attend! Writing exercises will get you exploring ways of taping into poetry as further expression of your story!

Week Six October 25th: Pain

Pain can have a variety of meanings and present in our lives in various ways. Physical pain, emotional pain, inherited pain. This week will investigate how we can use our pain as a resource for creative work. We will also explore how we can experiment in the ways we represent it on the page.

Week Seven November 1st: Humour

In this week we will explore turning the horrible into the funny. Writing about the embarrassing things we have experienced.  It isn’t the easiest thing to capture humour in writing, but through a variety of writing exercises we will make an attempt!

Week Eight November 8th: Trauma

This week we will be exploring ways to protect ourselves while writing about trauma. Exercises will get you experimenting with creative tactics that will allow you to create space for yourself.

Week Nine November 15th: Writing about Writing

How can we use writing about writing as a way into our memoir? If we are writers than writing about our experience of writing can ground a story of who we are. This week we will write about our experiences and process of creating text as a way of talking about who we are.

Week Ten November 22nd: Visuals/Images

What images do we include in our text? Photos? Art? This week will investigate ways of embedding visuals and images with the written word. Come prepared with images you love as we will write with them and in response to them.

Weeks 11 and 12 November 29th and December 6th: Forms and Structures

In our last two workshops of this course we will be experimenting with ways to bring all of your writing together. Exploring different kinds of structures and the ways that these can act as extensions of the writing.

December 13th: Optional Open Mic Night

A chance for you to share your work in a supportive and comfortable space.