5-week Online Short Course: Writing Romantic Fiction (Feb 2026)

A 5-week online course taught by award-winning author Alison May, over 5 live and interactive sessions.

This course will run on Tuesdays from 17th February – 24th March 2026 from 19:00-21:00 GMT (please note there is no session on the 10th March)

Course Overview:

Romance is an eternally popular genre and right now it’s making waves with a new generation of readers.

Learning to incorporate love and romance into your stories is beneficial to every writer, whether you aspire to being the next Jilly Cooper, Sarah J Maas or Emily Henry, or whether you simply want to add emotional depth to your fiction.

Alison May is an established romance author, and experienced writing mentor, and freelance editor. Across five zoom sessions she will share the skills and knowledge to create romance on the page and incorporate emotion and love stories in your fiction.

This course will focus on:

• Creating characters who are destined to fall in love (and who your readers will fall in love with)

• Understanding the structure of the perfect romance plot – from meetcute, to darkest moment to happy ever after

• Learning about the genre, the sub-genres, the place of tropes and how best to meet, and subvert, your readers’ expectations

• Creating conflict within, and between, your characters

• Putting emotion on the page in your story – from passion, to the initial sparks or romance to the despair of lost love – we’ll look at how to make that impactful and believable for your reader

• Providing a chance to write, hone and get feedback on the pitch for your romantic story

Participants will benefit from:

• Live Zoom Sessions: Enjoy five interactive live Zoom sessions where you’ll receive expert guidance from an established author and editor. Engage in real-time discussions, Q&A sessions, and personalised feedback to enhance your writing skills.

• Sessions tailored to the needs of the group to give you skills you can use during the course and long afterwards

• Writing Community: Connect with a community of like-minded writers during each live session. Share your progress, exchange ideas, and receive constructive feedback in a supportive online environment.

Tutor bio:

Alison May is a novelist, writing mentor, and editor who has published romances under her own name and as Ally Sinclair and Amelia Berry. She’s also a former Vice-Chair and then Chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) and is currently the Programme Co-ordinator for the Romance Writing Festival, Bournemouth.

As well as working one to one with developing novelists, she has taught for NAWG, the RNA, Worcestershire Litfest, the Open University and the University of Worcester, and she was shortlisted for the RNA’s Indie Editor of the Year award in 2022. Past students and mentoring clients have gone on to achieve agent representation, publication with traditional publishers – including Avon, Boldwood, Bookouture, Fourth Estate, Headline, Head of Zeus and HQ – and to self-publish successfully.

Alison’s romantic comedies have been shortlisted in both the Love Stories and Romantic Novel of the Year awards. Writing in collaboration with Janet Gover, Alison has also published two reinterpretations of misunderstood classic novels with HQ/HarperCollins, under the penname Juliet Bell.

Who is this course suitable for?

• Aspiring romance novelists

• Writers who want to add romance and love interest to their wider prose

• Authors writing, or aiming to write, in any romantic sub-genre.

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 2025-2026:

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.