Emma Read is a children’s author and creative writing mentor and tutor. Her debut novel for young readers, Milton the Mighty, was one of The Times’ Best Children’s Books of 2019. It also won the N. Somerset Teachers Award and was shortlisted for the Bath Children’s Novel Award. Other published works include short stories and flash fiction.
Emma provides mentoring to unagented writers and, when possible, also runs in-person workshops for schools, libraries and festivals.
She lives in Bath, with her young family and many, many notebooks.
Start Date: 28th January, 2025
Duration: 6 Weeks
Fee: €190
3 places remaining
Unlocking Your Imagination: Join Our Online Beginners Fiction Course
Embark on a journey of self-expression and storytelling in our beginner-friendly creative writing course. Designed for aspiring writers of all backgrounds, this course will help you discover your unique voice and ignite your creativity.
Over six engaging sessions, you’ll explore the fundamentals of creative writing, including character development, plot structure, and descriptive techniques. Through a variety of writing exercises, group discussions, and constructive feedback, you’ll build confidence in your writing skills and learn how to transform your ideas into compelling narratives.
Whether you dream of penning a novel, crafting short stories, or exploring poetry, this course will provide you with the tools and inspiration you need to start your writing journey. Join us and unlock the storyteller within!
Limited Enrolment: Reserve Your Spot Today
To ensure a high-quality learning experience, this course is strictly limited to ten students. We recommend early booking to secure your place and embark on your literary journey.
Extended Access: Lifetime Access to Course Materials
Even after the course ends, you will have access to the course materials for an entire year, allowing you to revisit the lessons and refresh your learning as needed.
Global Reach: Open to Students Worldwide
You don’t have to be based in Ireland to enrol. Our online courses are open to aspiring authors from around the world. Join our global community of passionate writers and benefit from their diverse perspectives and experiences.
Weekly Assignments and Personalised Feedback
Upon the course start date, your tutor will email you with your first module (check your Spam/Junk folder for this email and add us to your contacts to ensure smooth communication throughout the course). From there, you will receive weekly written assignments designed to hone your skills and keep you on track. Each assignment will be assessed by your dedicated online tutor, who will provide personalised written feedback to help you grow as a writer. Our course is structured around weekly modules, with new materials released in the form of text lessons. We recommend spending 2-3 hours per week on the course, but with no set class times, you have the flexibility to study at your own pace.
Course Outline
Module 1: The Premise
Beginning, like David Copperfield, at the beginning. Here we examine ideas – assessing what works, what doesn’t and where to find inspiration when we get stuck. How to build an idea into a premise and beyond into a solid pitch for a viable story
Module 2: Character
The heart of any story is a memorable cast of characters. Here, we’ll be looking at what makes a compelling and believable character, and why this is important. The module will also introduce the concept of ‘voice’ and how dialogue and point of view tie a character to their story
Module 3: Plot vs Story
What is plot and how is it different from story? In this module we’ll discover how our fully-formed characters will drive the plot forward, and search for the story at the heart of it all. We’ll also be looking at plot structures, introducing a simple, four-act, method to begin building on and learning how sub-plots can enhance the main thread
Module 4: Stakes, Goals, Conflict
Next we’ll be taking a deeper dive into how our characters interact with their story, how their wants and needs will be thwarted throughout the plot, creating pace, tension and reader engagement. From saving the world, to surviving the day, we’ll discover how characters’ goals connect the reader to the work
Module 5: Craft Tools
Ready to get writing? First let’s take a look at the basics of good writing craft – techniques such as varying sentence length, showing internal thought, writing believable dialogue, showing rather than telling (or sometimes the opposite), avoiding purple prose and finding your author voice
Module 6: Starting, Finishing
Examining opening lines and hooks and overcoming being daunted by the blank first page. And once you’ve started, you must finish, so this module will provide tips to get to the end, to keep going when you’re struggling, to find a writing routine or motivation that suits. Finally we’ll take a quick look at editing skills, so you can start to look back over your work and polish it to a high shine.
Getting Started – Enrol Today
By joining our Online Writing for Beginners Fiction today, you’ll not only be investing in your growth as a writer but also in the imagination of readers who eagerly await your stories. Your words have the power to spark dreams, ignite curiosity, and foster empathy, shaping the minds and hearts of the next generation.
Don’t miss this chance to embark on a life-changing adventure and leave your unique mark in the world of fiction. Enrol in our Online Writing for Beginners Fiction Course today and begin your journey towards crafting unforgettable stories that will enchant, inspire, and delight readers for years to come!