5-week Online Short Course: First Steps in Creative Non-Fiction

This 5 week, online course will run on Tuesdays from the 8th September to 6th October 2026, from 19:00-21:00 BST.

Course Overview:

Creative nonfiction includes forms such as memoir, personal essays, nature writing, and narrative nonfiction.

In this course, you’ll focus on writing from your own experiences, whether that’s a memorable moment, a relationship, a place, or a period of your life, and shaping it into a vivid, engaging piece of writing.

Through a mix of short teaching sessions, guided writing exercises and group discussion, you’ll explore key elements of creative nonfiction including scene, voice, structure and reflection.

You’ll build your skills step by step each week, developing a piece of writing from an initial idea through to a polished draft.

This course will focus on:

• Drawing from your lived experience to turn memories, places and experiences into engaging stories
• Crafting vivid scenes using sensory detail and dialogue
• Developing your own unique voice as a writer
• Learning how to shape and structure your work, with a clear beginning, middle and end.
• Learning simple techniques to strengthen and polish your writing

This course will allow you to:

• Build your confidence with accessible exercises that develop your skills week by week
• Share your work in a friendly, encouraging environment
• Develop a toolbox of practical techniques you can continue to use in your own writing practice
• Connect with a group of like-minded people and share ideas in a relaxed setting

Tutor bio:

J.B. Smith is a freelance writer and journalist based between South London and Shropshire, specialising in creative nonfiction, culture, nature, and neurodivergence. His work spans personal essays, features, and reviews published in outlets such as Psyche.co, The i Newspaper, New Humanist, Interalia Magazine, and Hinterland Magazine, where his essay Between Falling and Flying was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, one of the most prestigious honours for writing from independent presses.

His creative nonfiction draws on lived experience, exploring subjects including addiction, neurodivergence, the outdoors, and friendship. In addition to essays, Joe has written fiction and features for a range of online and print publications.

Joe holds an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London, where his studies focused on both creative nonfiction and fiction for younger readers.

Who is this course suitable for?

• Writers looking to take their first steps in crafting true stories from their lived experience
• Anyone interested in personal storytelling, including memoir, essays, or nature writing
• Writers from different disciplines, such as fiction or poetry, who want to develop their creative skills in this exciting form

Details:

The sessions will take place online via Zoom Online Meeting software. It is free to download and you will only need the free version to attend. Please download it and check it is working before the course.

Your Zoom link will be sent out in your confirmation email.

Please try and be somewhere you can concentrate and won’t be interrupted. Headphones can be useful if you have some, to cut out other noise.

Bursary Scheme 2026-2027:

We understand that not all writers are able to pay for their writing courses to further their career, and we run a Bursary Scheme as a consequence. If you feel you need a bursary, please contact us: info@writingwestmidlands.org.

Please note: you must sign up for the full course even if you cannot attend all dates. No partial course ticket is available.

Short Courses are for over 18s. If you are a young writer, you can sign up for our Spark Young Writers Programme.

All Writing West Midlands short courses are collaborative, and you will learn as much from your fellow course attendees as from the tutor. You will be expected to play an active role in group tasks, and you will also have time to reflect on your own writing during sessions.

Course handouts are sometimes (but not always) available, and notes may be available in advance upon request. If you have any additional needs, please contact Writing West Midlands in advance of the course starting and we will try to assist you.