Explore ways of engaging your reader’s interest, from the opening paragraph of your story to its conclusion, with Professor Jem Poster and Dr Sarah Burton of the University of Cambridge creative writing programme.

How do we elicit readers’ interest in the story we want to tell? How do we make readers care about our characters and the lives they lead? How do we create the fruitful tensions that will keep our readers turning pages?

Through a combination of practical exercises and relevant discussion you will be guided towards a deeper understanding of narrative energy and the complex relationship between writer and reader. In this supportive and relaxed - but firmly-focused - learning environment, you will also learn how to gain and hold the reader’s attention.

This masterclass is suitable for all aspiring fiction writers, from beginners seeking guidance to more experienced writers wanting to sharpen and energise their practise. It is part of our workshop series with Professor Jem Poster and Dr Sarah Burton, founders and former leaders of the master’s degree course in creative writing at the University of Cambridge.

Book the series ticket and save over £75.

Course content

Grabbing your reader’s interest
Holding your reader’s interest
The dynamics of narrative
Understanding the relationship between writer and reader
Some feedback will be given during the course

Tutor profiles

Jem Poster is the author of two novels – Courting Shadows and Rifling Paradise – as well as a collection of poetry, Brought to Light. He has also recently completed Volume 3 of the six-volume series, Edward Thomas: Prose Writings. He has won major prizes in the Cardiff International Poetry and the Peterloo Poets Open Poetry competitions. He is emeritus professor of creative writing at Aberystwyth University, and has been chair of the editorial board of New Welsh Review and programme advisor to the Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education’s MSt in creative writing. He is currently director of the institute’s international summer programme in creative writing and is an affiliated lecturer of the institute. He is director of academic programmes for the Financial Times Oxford Literary Festival and in 2014 was writer in residence at Arizona State University.

Sarah Burton was founder of the creative writing MSt at Cambridge University’s Institute of Continuing Education and was its director from 2013 to 2017. Her publications include two critically acclaimed biographies, Impostors: Six Kinds of Liar and A Double Life: A Biography of Charles and Mary Lamb, which was shortlisted for the Mind Book of the Year award; a children’s book, The Miracle in Bethlehem: A Storyteller’s Tale; a page-to-stage guide, How to Put on a Community Play; and the humorous Complete and Utter History of the World By Samuel Stewart, Aged 9.

All Guardian Masterclasses are fully accessible but please contact us at masterclasses@theguardian.com if you have any queries or concerns.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website

Engaging your reader: A masterclass with Cambridge University’s creative writing tutors