thi wurd’s creative writing class, Writing Fiction: The Short Story, returns on Tuesday 19th January 2021. This sold out before being advertised, and therefore a second night has been added, beginning on Wednesday 20th January, 7-9pm. Both groups will run for 10 consecutive weeks. The price is £100. During the term there will be additional reading events that will bring both groups together and provide writers with opportunities to present new work to informed and supportive audiences. More detailed information below …
The Writing Fiction classes began in October 2001 and have run for almost 20 years. In that time, they’ve produced, nurtured and helped around 1,000 writers and been part of the creation of a large and incredible range of published work.
The basic approach of these sessions involves:
Critique – group critiques of fiction submitted by participants is the life-blood of what we do. This process involves writers submitting pieces of fiction that are distributed and group-critiqued in detailed, supportive and constructive ways. Emphasis is always upon honest feedback that gives writers valuable insight into their own work and helps them redraft that work to a higher level.
Reading and Discussing Published Fiction – we read and discuss carefully chosen fiction in order to learn about major elements such as voice, narration, underlying plot structures and perspective. We discuss literary techniques and learn more about them and the numerous ways they can be employed. By understanding how techniques work in published fiction, writers become more able to use techniques effectively in their own writing.
Writing Tasks – we write during each session and also work on projects and writing tasks as optional ‘homework’.
Events – thi wurd is well-known for putting on great literary events. An extra aspect of the term will be additional events, providing writers with an opportunity to read their own work.
Over the years, a community has built up around these classes and events. From this environment thi wurd emerged in 2006, putting on literary events, teaching in communities, offering editorial support to writers, and publishing magazines and books.
The class costs £100 (which is very cheap for what we do – the aim is to keep them affordable.) At the moment all classes are taught online using Zoom. The added bonus of Zoom is that participation is available to people anywhere in the world. The classes suit experienced writers but also welcome beginners (who tend to thrive in such a supportive community). Typically, all who attend dramatically improve their writing and in the process become more sophisticated readers of fiction.
If you’d like more information, or want to put your name down, please just drop an email to editor@thi-wurd.com
Alan McMunnigall