How to start writing your novel – and keep writing it

Novelist Ed Docx provides budding writers with practical tools that will help you get the best from your native creativity

Bursting with ideas, research and fragments of writing – but struggling to turn them into a cohesive novel? In this two-day masterclass, award-winning novelist Ed Docx shows you how to the indispensable tools of the writer's trade to solve any creative problems the writing process may throw at your manuscript.

The course offers a no-nonsense introduction to the defining mechanics of plot, character, style, voice and point of view, and will equip you for the testing journey from initial concept to completed first draft – the steepest part of the learning curve for any writer. The emphasis of the weekend is on providing practical advice– attendees will leave with an armoury of useful, usable techniques that can be put into practice instantly. An inspiring event which will boost your confidence, and stand you in good stead throughout your writing career.

Course description

This is a practical, hands-on course designed to help budding authors learn basic structural and problem-solving skills, enabling writers to spend more time indulging their creativity and less time stressing over the mechanics of writing. Topics covered include:

• Interrogating your ideas, and finding focus
• The relationship between plot and character: how to develop one without destroying the other
• The elements of style
• Establishing a voice
• Find the point of view that works for you
• Working lessons from great authors

This course is for you if…

• You have a firm idea of a story you want to write, but no previous technical training in long-form prose writing
• You have a basic understanding of writing techniques, but lack confidence in your abilities

Tutor profile

Ed Docx is an author and journalist. His first novel, The Calligrapher, was published in 2003 to widespread acclaim. It was selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as a best book of the year and has now been translated into eight languages. In 2007, his second novel, Self Help, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and went on to win the Geoffrey Faber prize. His third novel, The Devil's Garden, was published in 2012.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website