Unto the breach once more.

COURSE DETAILS

KICK START YOUR WRITING JOURNEY

Unlocking Creativity is our flagship creative writing course and the first step towards achieving your writing goals, whatever they may be. Your writing improves from the very first session and continues to do so as you implement tools and techniques that make other people want to read what you have written.

Professional writers, graduates of university writing programs (including MAs and PhDs) through to complete beginners have raved about the dramatic impact the course has had on their writing and storytelling skills. You will also gain a deep understanding of the fundamentals of classic story structure, which most people find a profound and lasting revelation.

There is an old saying that you can’t be taught to write, but you can learn. The four weeks will take you through a transformative creative process. As one participant said, ‘I have just had the most amazing month of my life. From dreaming about being a writer, I now feel that I AM a writer.’ If your dream is to write, this course will get you doing it.

COURSE STRUCTURE

1. In Week One you will do a series of exercises that will give you tools and techniques to tap into the power of your imagination – the true source of creative power.

2. In Week Two you will learn how to create emotion in your writing using bricks of significant detail which will connect you with your reader and bring your characters and writing to life.
  
3. In Week Three you will be introduced to the character journey and start writing scenes. You will gain key insights into story structure and how a story works at a deep level. You will also learn how to build images into your work, one of the fundamental building blocks of fiction.

4. In Week Four you will write a guided short story applying everything you have learnt from the course. It will also show how storytelling is a profound dance between structure and imagination. 

Over the four sessions, you will be amazed at how much your creative confidence grows and the dramatic improvement in your writing. 

COURSE OUTCOMES

During the four-week process you will:

• Unlock the power of your unconscious. Discover your creative power and confidence. Find your voice and the stories you want to write.
• Discover what is stopping you from writing to your potential. Learn to silence your inner critic and overcome writers’ block.
• Create images that evoke emotion. You’ll learn how to bring your characters to life, draw readers into your fictional world and keep them there. Discover the power of using significant detail. It will have an immediate powerful impact on your writing.
• Be introduced to how classic story structure works. You will learn how story structure exists to reveal character. They are two sides of the same coin. 
• Experience the creative joy and fun of writing from your imagination. You’ve got to learn to get out of your own way and make the process of writing fun and exciting in order to tap into your creative potential.
• Learn how to give and receive creative, targeted feedback in a positive, supportive online environment that will bring out the best in you and your writing.
• Write a guided short story in the final session.

HOW THE ONLINE COURSE WORKS

One day before the class commences, we will send you instructions and passwords enabling you to access the online course materials and our interactive Writers’ Board.

We will assign you an experienced tutor who will coach and guide you every step of the way. They will keep you accountable, motivated and inspired as you work through the online materials and master the key lessons of each session.

One of the advantages of the online course is that you can work at your own pace. It is not a chat room set up where you have to be online at a certain time. However, you need to be disciplined and follow the program. Finish Week 1 in Week 1 and Week 2 in Week 2 etc. and try not to fall too far behind.

Each week, you will work through specific daily exercises designed to put the tools and techniques you are learning into practice. Once you’ve done the exercises you will post them onto your class Writers’ Board. Your tutor will give you feedback on two pieces of your writing every week.

As well as receiving feedback from your tutor, you will interact with your fellow writers by learning to give and receive targeted feedback. This will nurture your creativity and develop your writing. To improve, you need to see how others respond to your own work and become a more discerning reader of other’s work.

The time required for actual writing per day starts off with as little as 10 -15 minutes. It is by doing a little every day and forming a writing habit that you become a writer. This way you experience the pleasure of accessing your creativity on a regular basis and working towards making your writing dreams a reality.

However, the whole process from reading your lessons, writing your exercises, typing them up and then posting them onto the Writers’ Board and giving feedback could take around 45 minutes to one hour a day, five times a week. You can do much more if you have time!

The practical application of the tools and techniques provided, coupled with the interactive writing exercises and targeted feedback, will enable your writing to take a quantum leap forward over the four weeks.