Finish Your Novel – Eight Months | Online Course
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Finish Your Novel – Eight Months
Get all the way to the end of that tricky first draft on this advanced course, with help and advice from three expert author-tutors and a supportive peer group.
Our eight-month advanced course is designed for writers already at work on a novel who feel like they would benefit from a structured course plus a supportive peer group as they write. The course also includes dedicated writing time to ensure you continue to make steady progress on your novel throughout the eight months. We'll provide dedicated advice on your work-in-progress and teaching on useful topics from expert tutors, and smattering of deadlines to help you get all the way to that oh-so-elusive ending. This course will run from 2 Oct 2023 to 13 Jun 2024.
The List of Suspicious Things is my first novel and I very much learned as I went – CBC was absolutely invaluable in that process as it gave me some structure and feedback so that I knew I was on the right track… The other thing I loved about my CBC courses was the focus on the industry.
Bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things
Tutors
Simon Ings
Simon Ings is an author, editor and critic based in London. His eight critically acclaimed novels include The Weight of Numbers and Dead Water – and the science fiction novels Hot Head and The Smoke; while his non-fiction includes Stalin and the Scientists and The Eye: A Natural History. As editor of New Scientist magazine’s Arc project, he published Margaret Atwood, Kim Stanley Robinson and others. He writes an SF column for the Times, and was on the judging panel for the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Simon has run workshops and classes for literary festivals and for the Arvon Foundation, and has been a tutor and editor on many of Curtis Brown Creative’s courses.
Wyl Menmuir
Wyl Menmuir is an award-winning author based in Cornwall. His 2016 debut novel, The Many was longlisted for the Man Booker Award and was an Observer Best Fiction of the year pick. His second novel Fox Fires was published in 2021 and his short fiction has been published by Nightjar Press, Kneehigh Theatre and National Trust Books, and appeared in Best British Short Stories. Wyl's first full-length non fiction book, The Draw of the Sea, published in 2022, won the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors. A former journalist, Wyl has written for Radio 4’s Open Book, the Guardian and the Observer, and the journal Elementum. He is co-creator of the Cornish writing centre, The Writers’ Block and lectures in creative writing at Falmouth University. Born in Stockport in 1979, Wyl now lives on Cornwall's north coast with his wife and two children. When he is not writing or teaching writing, Wyl enjoys messing around in boats.
Photo by Oliver Udy.
Jacob Ross
Jacob Ross is a novelist, short story writer, editor and anthologist. Ross tutors Narrative Craft internationally. His crime novel The Bone Readers won the inaugural Jhalak Prize in 2017. His literary novel Pynter Bender was shortlisted for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers Regional Prize and selected as one of the British Authors’ Club’s top three Best First Novels. Ross’s collected short fiction Tell No-One About This was listed by the 2017 Bocas Literary Prize among the best Caribbean fictional works. His most recent crime novel Black Rain Falling was published in spring 2020. Jacob Ross is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Associate Fiction Editor at Peepal Tree Press.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Join live Q&A sessions with top UK literary agents, authors and publishers.
What does this course give you?
- Live teaching sessions: Each tutor will lead three Zoom teaching sessions, covering topics such as how to get rid of writer's block, how to inject pace into your writing and how to deepen your characterisations and nail that pesky plot.
- A community of writers: Our selective applications process means that you will be writing your novel in a peer group of 15 students working at a high level. We have developed a bespoke learning platform exclusively for our students. Here you can give and receive feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and tutors. Many of our former students have found their trusted readers with us – and form strong working friendships with classmates which go on long after the course is over.
- Writing workshops: You'll get three dedicated workshops focused on an extract from your novel-in-progress offering in-depth written feedback from tutor and peer group. They are also designed to help develop your self-editing skills.
- 1-to-1 tutorials: You'll get a 30-minute one-to-one tutorial with each tutor, during which you can address specific concerns about your writing.
- Industry masterclass: Join a live Zoom session with a top UK literary agent or publisher, they will talk about writing, editing and the submissions process, drawing on their experience of real-life publication journeys. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
- Alumni services: At the end of the course you'll be offered access to our exclusive alumni services (such as our full manuscript report, which will be available at a discount for three months after the course ends, discounted from £750 to £700 for a manuscript of up to 90,000 words – £35 extra for each additional 5,000 words). Read more about the opportunities available to our alumni here.
- Help submitting to agents: We’re committed to helping you submit the novel you worked on with us to literary agents at Curtis Brown and C&W. Whenever you’re ready – no matter how long after your course – we want to hear from you.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Please note that precise dates of sessions and details of course speakers are subject to change.
STAGE ONE – WITH CAROLYN JESS-COOKE
Week 1: Mon 2 Oct – Sun 8 OctWeek 2
Mon 9 Oct – Sun 15 OctWeek 3
Mon 16 Oct – Sun 22 OctAUTUMN WRITING BREAK
Mon 23 Oct – Sun 29 OctWeek 4
Mon 30 Oct – Sun 5 NovWeek 5
Mon 6 Nov – Sun 12 NovWeek 6
Mon 13 Nov – Sun 19 NovWeek 7
Mon 20 Nov – Sun 26 NovWeek 8
Mon 27 Nov – Sun 3 DecWINTER WRITING BREAK
Mon 4 Dec – Sun 7 JanSTAGE TWO – WITH WYL MENMUIR
Mon 8 Jan – Sun 14 JanWeek 2
Mon 15 Jan – Sun 21 JanWeek 3
Mon 22 Jan – Sun 28 JanWeek 4
Mon 29 Jan – Sun 4 FebWeek 5
Mon 5 Feb – Sun 11 FebWeek 6
Mon 12 Feb – Sun 18 FebFEBRUARY BREAK
Mon 19 Feb – Sun 25 FebWeek 7
Mon 26 Feb – Sun 4 MarWeek 8
Mon 4 Mar – Sun 10 MarSPRING WRITING BREAK
Mon 11 Mar – Sun 15 AprSTAGE THREE – WITH JACOB ROSS
Mon 15 Apr – Sun 21 AprWeek 2
Mon 22 Apr – Sun 28 AprWeek 3
Mon 29 Apr – Sun 5 MayWeek 4
Tues 7 May – Sun 12 MayWeek 5
Mon 13 May – Sun 19 MayWeek 6
Mon 20 May – Sun 26 MayMAY WRITING BREAK
Mon 27 May – Sun 2 JuneWeek 7
Mon 3 June – Sun 9 JuneWeek 8
Mon 10 June – Sun 16 June
Course Fees
The course fee of £1,500 (inc VAT) per student is payable, in full, by bank transfer or cheque, before the course begins. If you are unable to pay the full fee upfront, let us know and we can discuss a payment plan.
Ready to apply?
This course is suitable for anyone who is working seriously on a novel, irrespective of whether you’ve studied with us before. Former students of our three- or six-month Writing Your Novel courses (online or in London) will be given automatic entry to this course – on a first come, first served basis – on completing the application form. All applicants should already have produced at least 15,000 words of their first draft.
The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided. The deadline for applications is midnight, end of day Sun 17 September, and we will respond to applicants by Thurs 21 September.
We read all application material promptly after the closing date and make our selection of students swiftly at that time. However if you require an earlier response from us in order to be able to take part in this course, please email us with full details and we will consider and respond on a case by case basis.
Please upload your application via the form at the end of this page. If you encounter any problems during the application process, or have any more questions about the course, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk for assistance.
Get all the way to the end of that tricky first draft on this advanced course, with help and advice from three expert author-tutors and a supportive peer group.
Tutor
Simon Ings
Wyl Menmuir
Jacob Ross