ONLINE 5-week Short Course: Writing and Publishing Your Fiction (September 2023)

With Roya Khatiblou

Mondays, 7-9pm, live teaching via Zoom Online Meeting

Starting 18 September, then 5 September and 2, 9, 16 October 2023.

[Zoom link in ticket confirmation]

Writing often begins with a simple question: Where do I begin? In five online sessions, we’ll cover the basics of writing fiction: character, setting, plot, point of view, and how to submit to literary journals.

This course will answer questions like:

• How do I make my characters come to life on the page?

• I know how plot works, but what happens between my introduction and climax? How do I fill that space?

• How do I evoke setting without getting bogged down in details?

• I’ve written my story—now how do I get it published?

One of the best things for imagination is play, so we’ll do exercises for each subject, which you can complete as one-offs to generate inspiration or use as building blocks for a story you have in mind. We’ll also read some very short stories as examples.

This course is great for beginners looking for an introduction to craft or for experienced writers looking for a refresher course to get their creativity flowing.

Biography:

Roya Khatiblou taught fiction and nonfiction writing at University of Illinois, where she was also an editor for Ninth Letter, the university’s award-winning literary journal. Her essays and short stories have appeared in Salon, Reflex Fiction, Chicago Review and elsewhere, and she is the recipient of a Developing Your Creative Practice Grant from Arts Council England towards her novel in progress.

Details:

The workshop 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 day of the workshop.

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.

Short courses 2022/23:

We are running a mix of short courses and workshops online and in person, so you can choose to attend the session you are the most comfortable with.

All our short courses and workshops are priced at £15 per taught hour.

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.