Write a Novel in a Year
They say there’s a novel in all of us. Certainly getting your life from where it started to where it is now, wherever that may be, has been a journey of sorts and much of what you’ve seen, done and learned might not be out of place in a novel.
But getting the ideas out of your head and on to a page, or into a computer, isn’t as straightforward as some would-be writers believe. Even thinking about it can be intimidating. A novel may only start with a word, as illustrated above, but getting started is probably hardest of all. Remember the problems Jack Nicholson had in The Shining, pictured above left?
But after listening to those who been part of my creative writing courses over the last ten years or so, and reading some of the superb work they produced, I decided to take the plunge and offer, through the WEA, an opportunity for anybody to write a novel in 12 months.
Those taking part didn’t even need to get out of bed. This was because the lessons were delivered on-line in weekly, two-hour sessions. You didn’t even need to be in the UK, only somewhere on the planet with Broadband.
You didn’t need any qualifications, a degree or GCSE English. You didn’t need to know about grammar or be a good speller. All the participants needed to do was turn on their computer, access the Internet and download some free software called Zoom. This is like Skype or FaceTime in that they could see me, I could see them and we could talk to each other.
Back-up material was posted each week which was downloadable from a private, but dedicated website along with reading suggestions. The numbers on the course were limited. We started with 25 enthusiastic, would-be novelists, but predictably the numbers fell away as life got in the way. For some, the venture was highly appealing, but once they got going it proved more overwhelming than they believed possible. Family issues meant that the five who stuck at it, dropped to four.
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Hi there,
Can I check in with you to learn whether there are any creative writing workshops coming up in the near future please? And whether there are any age limits – my 15 year-old daughter and her friend should like to attend too.
Kind regards
Trevor.
Trevor:
There’s a series of six Tuesday evenings coming up in Looe from 2 February.
It depends where you’re based.
If your question means there are three of you, both the WEA and Cornwall College may be able to help, as the trend now is to take courses to the community rather than the other way round. Last year, for example, I was involved with sessions in Truro, Treverbyn, Newquay, Fowey and Lostwithiel. The WEA has a group in Lerryn.
Funding is difficult to find for one-day workshops.
There are no age restrictions on my courses, but some of the senior members struggle if they haven’t read much. I really enjoy having teenagers in a group because they open up discussions and haven’t the baggage that some of the older members have. Unfortunately, teenagers are sometimes the first to drop out because the course does not meet their preconceptions, they become anxious about revealing their emotions or haven’t read sufficiently widely.
I hope this helps.
Please note my email address: douglasbence@btinternet.com