Begin Your Novel Course with Kerry Hadley
With Kerry Hadley-Pryce. Starting 07/07/2021Start Date: July 7th, 2021 – 1 place remaining
You don’t have to be online at any particular time or day. Instead, this creative writing course is carried out through email correspondence, so you can read the notes whenever it suits you. There will be weekly notes and assignments over the course of six weeks. Your tutor will read each assignment and provide written feedback.
Note that this is a course for adults.
So, you think you want to write a novel. Great! This Begin your Novel writing course is designed to help you navigate the thorny pathway to putting pen to paper (or fingertip to keyboard) and keeping going. Maybe you have an idea or have even started writing your novel, but feel you need inspiration or encouragement? This six-week course will show you techniques and guidance to get going and keep going. Each week a new module will build on the week before using tasks, assignments and resources to keep you on track and help you find your characters, work on your plot and develop your voice. More importantly, it will help you to think like a novelist. Your tutor will provide you with personal feedback on the assignments you submit 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.
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.co.nz.
Our cancellation/refund policy may be viewed here.