Short courses 2018
11:15-12:15 & 2:15-3:15 Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
09:30 - 10:30 & 11:15 - 12:15 Tuesday
Each day there is a selection of two-part courses for you to choose from, each led by an expert tutor. The courses cover a range of genres and subjects, from non-fiction to novels, performance to poetry. Follow your favourite area throughout the week, or branch out and try something new - the choice is yours.
09:30 - 10:30 & 11:15 - 12:15 Tuesday
Each day there is a selection of two-part courses for you to choose from, each led by an expert tutor. The courses cover a range of genres and subjects, from non-fiction to novels, performance to poetry. Follow your favourite area throughout the week, or branch out and try something new - the choice is yours.
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Song Writing – Paul Dodgson
In this tuneful workshop we will delve deep into the mysteries of the song writing process. There will be examples of songs both live and recorded and participants will get up close and personal to lyrics, melody and structure and observe how they all relate to each other. We will learn from the practice of established songwriters and discover techniques to inspire song writing that beat hanging around waiting for inspiration to strike. And maybe, just maybe, you will have written a new song before the end of the session. You don’t need to be a singer and you don’t need to play an instrument (but if you do then bring them along), just come along with an open mind and be prepared to try something new. |
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Writing for Competitions - Ingrid Jendrzejewski
Have you ever considered entering writing competitions but don’t know where to start? Have you had some contest experience but would like to up your game? This course is designed to help you move from the slush pile into the shortlist – and beyond – no matter what your starting point. We’ll cover the dos and don’ts of contest submissions, strategies for both themed and non-themed contests, tips on how to find the right competitions for your work, and practical advice that will help you plan, draft, edit and polish your contest entries. There will even be a mini-competition for you to enter, should you wish. |
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Writing as a Business: Part 1 Business Start-Up - Kate McCormick
Any writer who works as a free-lancer is running a small business. But chances are you would prefer to spend time being creative, rather than dealing with administrative tasks. Kate McCormick presents a toolbox of business skills aimed at making running your business as simple and straight-forward as possible. This is a practical course, with worked examples and participative exercises, suitable for anyone hoping to turn their writing into a business or is moving from employed to self-employed status.
Any writer who works as a free-lancer is running a small business. But chances are you would prefer to spend time being creative, rather than dealing with administrative tasks. Kate McCormick presents a toolbox of business skills aimed at making running your business as simple and straight-forward as possible. This is a practical course, with worked examples and participative exercises, suitable for anyone hoping to turn their writing into a business or is moving from employed to self-employed status.
- Session One: Business Start-Up covers business planning; objectives; thinking about finances; finding customers; doing the work; getting paid; working for nothing; business structures; tax matters; informal networks; professional networks.
- Session Two: Finance Matters covers keeping financial systems appropriate; income records; expenditure records; an introduction to accounting statements; profit and loss statements; cash flow planning; and risk management.
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Writing as a Business: Part 2 A Business Approach to Independent Publishing - Kate McCormick
Any writer who works as a free-lancer is running a small business. But chances are you would prefer to spend time being creative, rather than dealing with administrative tasks. Kate McCormick presents a toolbox of business skills aimed at making running your business as simple and straight-forward as possible. This is a practical course, with worked examples and participative exercises, suitable for anyone considering going down the indie route and needing pointers on the effective, business-based approach to take.
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The Theory and Practice of Scrivener - Kate McCormick and Vikki Thompson
Scrivener is a popular tool for writers and those who are experienced in its use are extremely positive about its benefits. However, although it is easy to use, it can appear daunting to new users. Aimed primarily at beginners, but also useful as a refresher for more experienced users, this course will cover the main elements of the software and an explanation of terms and functionality. The two one-hour sessions will include a practical demonstration of a live project built up step-by-step on screen. Delegates will be provided with a written specification of the demonstration at the start of the session, allowing them to simultaneously work through the exercise on their own laptops if they wish. The demonstration will take place using Windows on a PC; main differences for Mac use will be highlighted where appropriate. |
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Grammar – Geoff Parkes
The first session will deal with common mistakes involving subject and object, e.g. “you and I” vs. “you and me”, “us writers” vs. “we writers”; misrelated participles; singulars and plurals (e.g. phenomenon, crisis); defining and non-defining clauses; misuse of adjectives and adverbs; tautology; problems of number and discord. The second session will focus on punctuation problems: use of commas; difference between colons and semi-colons; uses of the apostrophe; difference between hyphens, n-dashes, and m-dashes; use of inverted commas; when to capitalise words; when to leave gaps or lines; when to indent and how much. |
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Tracking Down Your Wild Words: A Survival Kit – Bridget Holding
A step-by-step guide to surviving and thriving as a writer. Cultivate the key skills necessary to unleash passionate, powerful words. Then, learn how to harness them on the page without losing your sanity. Bridget draws on her experiences as a psychotherapist and film-writer, and her work with writers through her company ‘Wild Words’. She’s noticed that there’s a certain freedom from restraint, experienced by Swanwickers as they leave their normal lives for a week, which feeds into the discussion on what it means to write wild, rather than write tamed. Being a writer is a dangerous job, but is there anything else in the world you’d rather be doing? |
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Publishing - Rosemary Kind
Are you ready for people to read your work? Session one will look at finding an established publisher, how to approach the search and the pitfalls to avoid. Session two will cover self-publishing and consider the steps you need to take in order for this to be a profitable route. We will cover e-books, paper and hardbacks as well as audio opportunities. Whether you don’t know where to start or have already dipped your toe in the water, these sessions will help you move your writing to the next stage in not only finding an audience, but earning money from your work. |
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Creating Believable Characters Using The Enneagram - Veronica Bright
Many writers are fascinated by what makes people tick. If you’re one of these people, then this course is for you. The Enneagram is a study of nine basic personality types. It explains why we behave the way we do, and describes ways in which different personalities function, including our good and bad points. It’s a useful tool for writers, because it can help us create realistic characters. In this course we will consider the basic personality types, each given a number and a name. The course will include light-hearted questionnaires, and a short exercise focussing on one particular character of their choice. |
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Editing Essentials – Hazel Prior
Love it or loathe it, editing is a must for all writers. Essential editing skills transform even the dullest writing - and may make the difference between acceptance and rejection. This two part course explores ways to tighten plot, to make the language sing and to draw the reader in. From first to final stages of editing we will tackle the tricky question of what to add and what to subtract. We’ll also dissect some passages and experiment with effective word choice. Bring your thinking cap… and your red pen! Hazel Prior astonished herself by winning her way to Swanwick in 2014. Since then her writing has been published in many anthologies and magazines and she has won multiple prizes for stories, poems and her evolving novel. |
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Writing for Children - Benjamin Scott
How do you write a story that children will love and that will get published? On a whistle stop tour of children’s market, we’ll be looking at what publishers look for and what appeals to children. Our story train will take us on a journey from lyrical picture books to gritty young adult novels, and along the way we’ll be stopping off to visit early readers (5+), series fiction (7+) and middle grade (9+) novels. And, along the journey, we’ll stop occasionally for some writing exercises. |
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The Secrets of Sitcom – Daniel Page
This course is suitable for those who love comedy and want to learn the secrets to writing a successful sitcom. Through a mixture of discussion, exercises and examples, you will work in small groups to explore and discover the key elements of PREMISE, CHARACTERS, PLOTTING and HUMOUR used in some of the most successful sitcoms ever made. Led by freelance Writer and Script-editor Daniel Page (Newsjack, Breaking the News, Top 14% BBC 2015 Comedy Scriptroom) you will:
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Andy Croft - The Music of Poetry
A practical workshop exploring the conscious use of musical pattern in poetry – rhythm, rhyme, breath, echo, assonance and alliteration. What’s the difference between a trochee and a spondee? How can the silent page convey the melody of a poem? What’s so special about iambic pentameter? What is the relationship between poetry and song? Why are feminine rhymes funny? What is the connection between shared anticipation and collective memory? Andy Croft’s books include Ghost Writer, Three Men on the Metro (with W.N. Herbert and Paul Summers), 1948 (with Martin Rowson), A Modern Don Juan (with Nigel Thompson) and Les éléphants de Mudfog. He runs the T-junction international poetry festival in Middlesbrough, the Ripon poetry festival and independent poetry press Smokestack Books. He has given poetry readings in many places, including Paris, Sofia, Moscow, Novosibirsk, New York and Basra. http://andy-croft.co.uk |
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Swanwick on Screen – Fiona Samuel
Ever wanted to make your own movie? Then here's an opportunity to capture the Swanwick week using your phone. The first session will cover the use of phones and tablets as cameras, how to storyboard and shoot chronologically so there's no need to edit. It will cover basic camera angles and framing to help produce films of around 90 seconds to 2 minutes. In the second session you will then be allocated a mini project, create a story board and carry out a practice exercise. You'll then have the option of working alone or in pairs to begin film making during the rest of the week. One of the outcomes of the course will be to create a filmic record of Swanwick at Seventy, that will be put up on the website. |
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Succeeding on Purpose - John Lamont
Human beings are smart. We’ve been to the moon (and got back again), cured diseases, composed symphonies, penned masterpieces …….the list goes on. Intelligence, education, experience, culture and an opposable thumb have all got something to do with it, but the biggest influence on our success is always our mind – and how we use it. In this course we’ll take a light-hearted look at how the mind works (or doesn’t) and how we can better use it to succeed in our purpose in life – and even be happier on the way. We’ll then explore a variety of simple tools we can use to change the way we approach any aspect of life or writing ….. and give ourselves the very best chance of success. Along the way we’ll have some fun but we’ll leave with a set of effective techniques to help us succeed – on purpose. |
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World building - Paul Beatty
World building is usually limited to fantasy or science fiction, where the necessity to build a fictional world is obvious. Less obvious is the need to build a world in historical, crime and even contemporary fiction and all stories need an ecology in which to live. There will be plenty of exercises try out new skills in the area. If you want to be a swat read China Mieville's The City and the City to see how a world-class fantasy writer uses his world-building skills to frame a crime thriller he wrote for his mother! |
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"A week immersed in the creative energy of all levels of writers has been a fantastic and addictive experience." Rosemary Kind
