"An opportunity to try new things out of your comfort zone. Too good to miss."
Specialist Courses 2021
9:30-10:30 Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Our selection of specialist courses form the backbone of the Swanwick programme, running throughout the week. These in-depth courses provide the opportunity for you to learn more about your chosen subject and develop your skills over the four sessions.
Our selection of specialist courses form the backbone of the Swanwick programme, running throughout the week. These in-depth courses provide the opportunity for you to learn more about your chosen subject and develop your skills over the four sessions.
Writing Historical Fiction - Michael Jecks
This is a new course which is intended to be fun and interactive, for those who are new to the idea of writing in the past, but who want to explore this fascinating area.
Over the four sessions Michael will talk about writing historical fiction from the perspective of the writer, from selecting the first ideas all the way to presenting the work to a publisher. It will cover his favourite resources for research and give ideas for where to get ideas.
Michael will be available between sessions to talk through ideas and will be happy to review existing projects with students.
This course will cover where to get ideas and formulate them into a story:
Over the four sessions Michael will talk about writing historical fiction from the perspective of the writer, from selecting the first ideas all the way to presenting the work to a publisher. It will cover his favourite resources for research and give ideas for where to get ideas.
Michael will be available between sessions to talk through ideas and will be happy to review existing projects with students.
This course will cover where to get ideas and formulate them into a story:
- First day: choosing your period and genre, and then where will your characters come from?
- Second: where to set your story, settings, locations, and researching. How best to understand the landscape?
- Third: planning the basics of the story, making the most of your period and locations and how to think about language so as not to distract the reader.
- Fourth: writing to succeed - using music and distraction-free writing tools for success; editing, rewriting, and searching for the right publisher.
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Michael Jecks is the author of some 43 novels. His work encompasses his highly acclaimed Templar series of historical thrillers, his humorous Bloody Mary Tudor series, the Vintener trilogy, and a modern spy story, Act of Vengeance: ‘an instant classic British spy novel’ - Lee Child. His books are inspired by history and legends covering the moors where he lives, but his stories are grounded in real life and real people: what motivates them, and what makes them turn to violence.
Death Ship of Dartmouth (Headline, 2006) was short-listed for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and he has been published by HarperCollins, Headline, Simon & Schuster, Canongate and Severn House. |
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The founder of Medieval Murderers, he has served on the committees of the Crime Writers’ Association, Historical Writers’ Association, and The Detection Club. He has taught writing at Swanwick, Evesham, and tutored for the Royal Literary Fund at Exeter University. His work has been celebrated by Visconti and Conway Stewart pens and in 2014 he was the International Guest of Honour at the Bloody Words festival in Toronto, and as Grand Master of the first parade in the New Orleans Mardi Gras!
The Complete Article Writer - Simon Whaley
This is an interactive, workshop-based course suitable for new writers looking to break into the magazine market, and those who’ve had some articles published and want to build upon their success.
Session 1: Idea Analysis
From where do we get our ideas, and what makes a good article idea? How do you turn one idea into six … or more? This workshop will explore how to develop ideas and identify which ideas works for different magazine formats.
Session 2: Market Analysis
In this workshop we’ll analyse a magazine to identify who its readers are and how to twist our idea to make it of interest to them. There will also be an opportunity to analyse similar magazines as a group exercise to see how readerships differ amongst the same subject matter.
Session 3: Structure Analysis
How do you structure an article? We’ll explore the multitude of middles, the breadth of beginnings and the endless possibilities for endings.
Session 4: Pitch Analysis.
Don’t write your article until you’ve sold the idea first. How? Pitch it. We’ll discover the art of pitching to help you secure your next article sale. Oh yes, and you’ll have a go at drafting a pitch too
Session 1: Idea Analysis
From where do we get our ideas, and what makes a good article idea? How do you turn one idea into six … or more? This workshop will explore how to develop ideas and identify which ideas works for different magazine formats.
Session 2: Market Analysis
In this workshop we’ll analyse a magazine to identify who its readers are and how to twist our idea to make it of interest to them. There will also be an opportunity to analyse similar magazines as a group exercise to see how readerships differ amongst the same subject matter.
Session 3: Structure Analysis
How do you structure an article? We’ll explore the multitude of middles, the breadth of beginnings and the endless possibilities for endings.
Session 4: Pitch Analysis.
Don’t write your article until you’ve sold the idea first. How? Pitch it. We’ll discover the art of pitching to help you secure your next article sale. Oh yes, and you’ll have a go at drafting a pitch too
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Biography
Simon Whaley is freelance writer, bestselling author and photographer. With over 800 articles published in magazines in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada, he’s learned how to be the Complete Article Writer. His articles have appeared in Coast, Outdoor Photography, The Simple Things, Country Walking, The Author, Discover Britain, The Countryman and Celtic Life International. He regularly contributes travel and real life pieces to The People’s Friend and, since 2014, has produced the monthly Business of Writing column in Writing Magazine. Simon regularly delivers workshops at various locations across the UK, spent ten years as a tutor for the Writers Bureau (and even wrote the non-fiction modules of their Creative Writing Course) and previously tutored at Swanwick in 2010. For more information, visit www.simonwhaley.co.uk |
How to Write Brilliant Flash Fiction - Della Galton
This is an interactive course – workshop based – during which we will aim to produce one or more pieces of (brilliant) flash fiction of up to 500 words.
You may have to do homework in between, but there will be opportunity to read out your work and get feedback within the sessions, as well as to write.
Suitable for beginners or experienced writers.
You may have to do homework in between, but there will be opportunity to read out your work and get feedback within the sessions, as well as to write.
Suitable for beginners or experienced writers.
Session One
What is Flash Fiction?
Three things that really work when writing flash.
Three things to avoid.
Session Two
Three ways to catch a competition judge’s eye.
Workshop – the beginning and the middle.
Session Three
Craft your ending and choose a winning title.
Session Four
Three markets for Flash Fiction.
Editing and submitting.
What is Flash Fiction?
Three things that really work when writing flash.
Three things to avoid.
Session Two
Three ways to catch a competition judge’s eye.
Workshop – the beginning and the middle.
Session Three
Craft your ending and choose a winning title.
Session Four
Three markets for Flash Fiction.
Editing and submitting.
Biography
Della Galton is a novelist, short story writer and journalist with over 30 years’ experience and over 1800 short stories published.
She is the agony aunt for Writers’ Forum magazine and is a qualified Adult Education tutor.
Her latest novel, Summer at The Bluebell Cliff Hotel will be published by Boldwood in 2020.
Her ‘How to Write’ Books are available from Amazon.
For more information about Della see www.dellagalton.co.uk
Della Galton is a novelist, short story writer and journalist with over 30 years’ experience and over 1800 short stories published.
She is the agony aunt for Writers’ Forum magazine and is a qualified Adult Education tutor.
Her latest novel, Summer at The Bluebell Cliff Hotel will be published by Boldwood in 2020.
Her ‘How to Write’ Books are available from Amazon.
For more information about Della see www.dellagalton.co.uk
Writing Compelling Crime - Kate Bendelow
Whether you are a planning a crime novel, short story or cosy crime, this delegate-led course aims to provide you with the skills, knowledge and authenticity necessary to master the crime genre.
Over four fun and inspiring sessions, we will look at:
Over four fun and inspiring sessions, we will look at:
- Characterisation: Police & offender culture, jargon, language and lifestyle. The human emotion behind the crime scene tape and where to find humour, fear and conflict.
- Realism: What does a prison cell, dead body or suspect’s house look and smell like? How can our senses allow us to layer crime scenes with realism and depth? What type of crime do our characters want to commit and how easy is it to portray?
- Information: How long do DNA hits and toxicology results take? How long does it take to examine a crime scene and which other experts do we need to consider?
- Misconceptions: Examples of page and screen will allow participants to learn from other writers’ mistakes. We will replace the stereotypical detective and introduce some fresh-faced protagonists.
- Entertain: How policing and forensic techniques can be used to create a plot twist. How to embrace gallows humour to creative expressive, fraught and memorable scenes.
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Biography This is a crime writing course with a twist, as it is presented by someone who really knows what goes on behind the crime scene tape. Kate Bendelow is a serving Crime Scene Investigator with over 17 years’ experience. She is also a writer and the author of The Real CSI: A Forensic Handbook for Crime Writers. Kate’s wealth of experience of working on countless crime scenes allows her to share her knowledge from the procedural to the emotional. |
Eliciting the Past, Present and Future through Poetry - Roy McFarlane
Elicit: Drawing forth (something that is latent or potential) into existence.
How do we look at historical moments, take account of the present or imagine the future? We’ll be drawing from the wells of memories, dreams, identity, and the environment we inhabit to bring into existence poetry that shines a light on a world around us, helping us to makes sense of where we live and planting seeds for an imagined future.
We’ll be looking at poets who have taken the personal narrative and merged it with historical facts. Poets who have evoked gods, taken on forms or created personas guiding us by the hand from the past into the future.
How do we look at historical moments, take account of the present or imagine the future? We’ll be drawing from the wells of memories, dreams, identity, and the environment we inhabit to bring into existence poetry that shines a light on a world around us, helping us to makes sense of where we live and planting seeds for an imagined future.
We’ll be looking at poets who have taken the personal narrative and merged it with historical facts. Poets who have evoked gods, taken on forms or created personas guiding us by the hand from the past into the future.
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We’ll be digging deep into the soils of myths, local stories and news events, ingrained with personal or imagined narratives, we’ll wear a mask or walk naked into the truth and elicit what’s in the heart. Ruth Padel said … we need good, resonant, reflective poem, which can help us pay attention to what’s going on in our hearts, and open us up to what our hearts see when they look at the world.
Roy McFarlane was born in Birmingham of Jamaican parentage and spent most of his years living in Wolverhampton and the surrounding Black Country. He has held the role of Birmingham’s Poet Laureate and presently the Birmingham & Midland Institute Poet in Residence. His debut collection was Beginning With Your Last Breath (Nine Arches Press 2016) followed by The Healing Next Time (2018), nominated for Ted Hughes award, Jhalak prize, Poetry Book Society recommendation and one of the Guardians best poetry titles of 2018. He’s also a graduate of the MA in Writing Poetry with Newcastle University and a Jerwood Bursary recipient. |
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