As well as offering 1-1 Mindful Mentoring here at The Mindful Writer, I teach courses and workshops online through my creative venture, Retreat West and my literary journal, WestWord. Some are forum-based to work through at the time that suits you best, others are scheduled Zoom sessions where we meet live.
I also run regular free mindful writing hours on Zoom. See all the upcoming dates and sign up here.
2024 Courses and Workshops
Writing Striking Settings That Work Hard
Sat 13 Apr 2024 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM BST
Zoom
When word count is small, you have to make sure that any you give to descriptions are really working hard for you. In this workshop we'll be looking at how you can create settings in short stories, flashes and micros that do some heavy lifting to develop your storyline, characters and themes.
We'll look at examples of stories of different lengths and you'll do writing exercises to get you creating settings and descriptions that immerse your reader in the world you're creating and develop atmosphere, move the story on, and reveal more about your characters.
Join me to get ideas, inspiration and new drafts of stories where your descriptions are powerhouses!
Short Story Club
Start date: 1st May
Cost: £40
Limited to 5 writers.
Join me to dig deep into the art and craft of short story writing. On the 1st of the month, you'll receive an in-depth craft development essay with a short story reading, writing exercises and a new work prompt. We'll have two Zoom sessions - one to discuss and analyse the short story and the craft elements highlighted in the essay, the other for you to bring the story you have written for developmental feedback from the group.
Zoom Sessions
Session 1: 15.00-16.30 BST 16th May
Session 2: 15.00-17.30 BST 30th May
Why work with me?
I’m a writer, editor, teacher and publisher with over 15 years’ experience of working with writers.
I’m the author or two novels, As If I Were A River (2016) and Remember Tomorrow (2019), and a novella-in-flash, Pressure Drop, (2024). I’ve had many stories published, placed and listed in competitions, including the Mslexia Flash Prize, Fish Flash Prize and Flash500. You can read some of them here.
I’m currently working on a nearly-finished flash fiction collection, a whole host of short stories that are at various stages of development, and my third novel (or it might be a novella - I’m not sure yet!).
At my creative venture, Retreat West, which I started in 2012, I run an online community for writers, design and teach online courses, and provide editorial services. I also published books from 2018 until 2023 and brought 24 of them to the world in that time. In 2020 Retreat West was named Most Innovative Publisher at the Saboteur Awards. In 2022, I founded an online literary journal, WestWord and I also write The Tao of Storytelling.
So I bring experience of both sides of publishing, as well as a passion for storytelling, to your work.