How to Write a Novel
Greg Mosse will lead a challenging, intensive, full-week course for writers who wish to build upon their existing understanding of the basic elements of fiction - plot, character, location, dialogue, suspense, style.
This is an extremely well-regarded course covering an extraordinary range of writing techniques and skills. The program runs from:
Sunday 9 December to Friday 14 December 2007.
Greg will be assisted by two further professionals during the week, showing participants how to develop and combine their writing skills, exploiting structure, point of view and tone of voice to make the most of their fictional ideas.
The majority of workshops will be collaborative. They will be conducted in a relaxed, supportive - but hard-working - atmosphere.
Participants are invited to submit a story or part of a story of up to 2000 words before the course begins. Detailed editorial feedback will be available to participants during the course.
COURSE TIMETABLE
Sunday 20h15 - 21h15
Session 1 - What novel?
In this rapid and enjoyable introduction, we will work out exactly what
it is about our favourite novels that we enjoy - as well as trying to
decide why we don't like some of our best friends' favourites too.
Monday 9h15 - 10h30
Session 2 - What's the story?
Plot is the basis of fiction. Readers want to know what has happened
and why. Then - we hope - they will want to find out what happened next.
What makes a successful plot?
Monday 11h00 - 12h30
Session 3 - Who?
The characters you people your book with must be engaging - they must
excite some emotional response in the reader, positive or negative.
How do we create fully fleshed-out characters and how do we keep them
fresh for the reader and the writer?
Monday 14h00 - 15h30
Session 4 - Plot and character together
This is the engine room of fiction, the machinery that gives drive to
our stories. Plot and character are like gears that mesh together, turning
the wheels, pushing the story on. How does that work?
Monday 16h00 onwards …
Session 5 - Private writing
Participants will use this session to develop a synopsis - an idea
for a story - using elements we created earlier today.
Monday 20h15 - 21h15
Session 6 - Sharing
… a short, 1-hour session for reading and discussion.
Tuesday 9h15 - 10h30
Session 7 - Where - part 1?
In yesterday's workshops, we will have chosen locations for the action.
From those starting points, we will look at why particular kinds of
locations - caves, country houses, battlefields - continually crop up
in fiction and ask one another how they contribute to the drama.
Tuesday 11h00 - 12h30
Session 8 - Where - part 2?
This is a scouting session - conducted using the internet - for the
a new location to set our stories, somewhere that we are convinced no-one
has ever used before. Then we will discuss its dramatic possibilities
and how it might tie in with some of the plots and characters we have
already developed.
Tuesday 14h00 - 15h30
Session 9 - Intricate
We will spend this session developing an extremely intricate and detailed
plot plan using one or two of the locations scouted in session 8.
Tuesday 16h00 - 17h00
Session 10 - Feedback session 1
An opportunity to hear feedback on work submitted prior to the course.
Wednesday 9h15 - 10h30
Session 11 - Review
A recap of the main ideas thus far:- What kind of story?- What happens?-
Who does it happen to?- How do they respond?- What does that lead to
next?- Where does all this take place?- Has anyone been here before?
Wednesday 11h00 - 12h30
Session 12 - What do they sound like?
This session is an introduction to dialogue - an area that even successful
novelists have difficulties with. People often say that the best dialogue
is created by repeated rewriting. But what is the author looking for
in that process?
Wednesday 14h00 - 15h30
Session 13 - Why should I change it?
Learning to edit your own work is the key to making progress as an author
- being in control of your creative output. This doesn't mean you must
always be thinking about structure and tone of voice. Far from it. You
must try to write fluently, without hesitation. But then you will bring
your critical intelligence to bear … This is a session on revision.
Wednesday 16h00 - 17h00
Session 14 - Feedback session 2
An opportunity to hear feedback on work submitted prior to the course.
Thursday 9h15 - 10h30
Session 15 - I wonder …
If you can make sure that your reader wants to know what is going
to happen next, or why something happened in the way it did, or who
it was who did it, or who that other person was that has not yet been
named … If you can do all that, then the reader is yours. They
will turn the page … This is a session on creating and managing
suspense.
Thursday 11h00 - 12h30
Session 16 - How will it end?
Resolution is what happens when you - as author - give the answer to
one of the questions the reader has been wondering about. The challenge
is then how to stop your story from flagging, how to carry suspense
and energy over to the next section … Resolution is also what happens
at the very end, so this session will also consider how you integrate
several plotlines into an overall, satisfying dénouement.
Thursday 14h00 - 15h30
Session 17 - Feedback session 3
An opportunity to hear feedback on work submitted prior to the course.
Thursday 16h00 onwards …
Session 18 - Private writing
Participants are invited to use the time between tea and the after-dinner
session to develop a timeline for the events of their novel, including
precise dates, ages of characters, 'dead' time and so on.
Thursday 20h15 - 21h15
Session 19 - Sharing
A chance to read and discuss private writing.
Friday 9h15 - 10h30
Session 20 - Who is speaking?
The voice of your novel - the narrative voice - must engage the reader's
interest. It may be sympathetic or not - but it must capture the imagination
and seem real. In this session we will discuss first person - 'I did
this, I did that' - third person - 'he did this, she did that' - and
stories with multiple points of view.
Friday 11h00 - 12h30
Session 21 - Would you like to buy my book?
Your novel has many audiences - the agent that you want to persuade
to take you on and help promote your career, the editor in a publishing
house who will design and shape the finished book, the sales reps who
must also be persuaded that your work 'has legs', the retailers who
will give your volume cherished shelf space and - finally - the reader
browsing for something for a holiday or to read on the train or in bed.
This session is about how to promote your own work, including blurbs
and synopses.
Friday 14h00 - 15h15
Session 22 - Question and answer
This session give participants the opportunity to ask questions and
follow up points of personal interest. We will recap the main teaching
points and try to identify the best 'next step' for each participant.
Participants will also be able to feedback and share their appreciations
of what they have learnt or rediscovered.
Use this link to see a local map showing the location of West Dean College. For more information on booking and accommodation, please call 0844 4994408 from the UK or +44 1243 811301 from abroad.
