Begin Your Novel Course

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TUTOR: Helen Moorhouse is the author of five novels ‘The Dead Summer, ‘The Dark Water’, ‘Sing Me To Sleep’, ‘Ever This Day’ and ‘The Gallery of Stolen Souls’ published by Poolbeg Press. A lover of stories, particularly the paranormal, her writing was featured in two anthologies – ‘All I Want For Christmas’ (2012) and ‘If I Was A Child Again’ (2013), and her short story ‘The Night Nurse’ was commissioned as the 2018 RTE Radio 1 Book Show Christmas ghost story.

A DIT journalism graduate, she has extensive copywriting experience across many areas – commercial radio advertising and branding, corporate video, speechwriting and speech consultancy, long and short form articles and more. Helen was an op-ed contributor to the Irish Independent 2012-2014, and has published articles and stories across many Irish newspapers and magazines.

Start Date: 16th April, 2024

Duration: 6 Weeks

Price: €170

3 places remaining

Start Your Novel: Join Our 6-Week Online Writing Course

Get ready to ignite your passion for novel writing with our 6-week online writing course. Tailored to inspire and guide aspiring authors, this course offers personalised guidance, weekly assignments, and flexible learning modules. Whether you’re a novice writer or in need of fresh inspiration, this course is your perfect choice. Register early to secure your spot, as our courses are in high demand!

Course Highlights:

  • A 6-week program with weekly modules, designed to be completed in just 2-3 hours per week.
  • No set class times; access new text lessons whenever it suits you during the week for maximum flexibility.
  • Receive personalised feedback from dedicated tutors based in Ireland, open to students globally.
  • Gain lifetime access to course materials even after completion.

How It Works:

Upon enrolling in the course, you’ll receive an email from your tutor on the course start date, containing the first module. Make sure to check your Spam/Junk folder for this email. Each week, you’ll submit your written assignments for personalised feedback from your dedicated online tutor to help you stay on track and monitor your progress.

What You’ll Learn:

Our ‘Begin Your Novel’ course equips you with the tools and guidance to develop and refine your novel idea, characters, themes, and plot. Through weekly writing assignments, notes, and reading resources, we’ll guide you through a six-week journey that will transform your writing and your characters. Here’s a look at what you can expect each week:

Week One: Thinking like a novelist

Maybe you have an idea for a novel, or think you might have. Perhaps you think it’s less an ‘idea’ more a series of thoughts. Or maybe you are quite sure, it’s definitely an idea. Whatever the case, this week, we get serious about it and get started. This week is all about ‘thinking like a novelist’, getting our heads in the game, getting real about things. You’ll start planning how you’re going to do this.

Week Two: Plotting your plot

We’ll examine what is meant by ‘plot’ and what the constituents of various plots are. We’ll consider where you want to take your reader and how you think you might get there. We’ll consider pace and time, and ‘narrative drive.’ You’ll create a ‘bare-bones outline’ of how you (initially) see your plot developing.

Week Three: Character Creation

We’ll investigate how to create characters, and what it is that will make your readers want to read about them. We’ll look at the difference between character-driven narratives, and plot-driven narratives.

Week Four: Finding your voice, taking chances and flexible thinking

We’ll experiment with narrative voice and structure – perhaps you might be guided just a little bit out of your comfort zone. Be prepared to try out different voices and different viewpoints so that you can begin to see what techniques work well for your characters or plot and for your novel as a whole.

Week Five: Mapping

By now you’ll have a much better idea where you’re going with your novel, so this week, we’ll be looking at openings and closings and you’ll be mapping a more detailed timeline or a framework of the novel as a whole. You might have some idea of some scenes you think you might want to include. Where will they happen in the overall plan, and what will the lead up to them be? How will it all hold together?

Week Six: Get a grip and move on

In this final week, it’s time to get hold of your novel and prepare a chapter plan. By now you’ll know where you’re going with it and how you want it to move. You’ll show that you’ve found your voice, and will be able to sense that your novel is ready to be written.

Start Your Novel Writing Journey Today

Don’t miss the opportunity to refine your writing skills and bring your novel to life under the guidance of experienced tutors. With limited spots available, early registration is highly recommended. Enrol now and begin your adventure into the world of novel writing!

To find out more about how the online courses work, or if you have any further queries, you can check out our Frequently Asked Questions or email us at info@creativewriting.ie

Our cancellation/refund policy may be viewed here.

Start Date

16th April

Duration

6 weeks

Price

€170

Tutor

Helen Moorhouse
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