Start Your Novel
Have you been struggling to start (or finish) a novel? This fun, engaging and supportive online course might be for you! In each of the six course modules, we’ll build your novel through workshops on plot and structure, three-dimensional character, dialogue, description and tension. The course takes place over six sessions on Zoom on Wednesday evenings. By the end, you’ll have a solid structure and a polished draft of the novel’s opening chapters. Each workshop session will consist of in-class exercises, periods of discussion and analysis, and time for sharing the work we’re writing. Simple homework assignments along the way will help you develop your novel.
During this course, you will learn how to:
- Use a range of engaging strategies to plot your novel.
- Locate your novel’s inciting incident and learn where to begin.
- Craft memorable characters that leap off the page.
- Build atmospheric and immersive settings.
- Create compelling dialogue and character conflict.
- Make your work tight and taut by editing.
Beginnings
Weds 2 July 2025, 6-8pm BST
- What is an inciting incident?
- Asking ‘what if’ makes the ordinary exciting.
- How to create a compelling hook chapter.
Three Dimensional Characters
Weds 16 July 2025, 6-8pm BST
- Invent memorable & compelling characters.
- Whose story is this? Find your POV & voice.
- How to craft character in three dimensions.
Observed & Dynamic Detail
Weds 30 July 2025, 6-8pm BST
- 3 ways to research your locations.
- Worldbuilding with dynamic and specific detail.
- Let narrators observe in their own words.
Plot, Pacing, and Tension
Weds 13 August 2025, 6-8pm BST
- Finding the best pacing for your novel.
- Heighten tension using story beats.
- Working twists and turns into a plot arc.
Dialogue & Conflict
Weds 27 August 2025, 6-8pm BST
- Building dialogue ‘icebergs’ with subtext.
- Conversations that propel your novel forward.
- Dialogue, conflict and character.
Editing & Polishing
Weds 10 September 2025, 6-8pm BST
- How to choose your best work for queries.
- What to look for when editing your work.
- How to query; novel competitions; agents.
Kate Horsley has a BA from Oxford and a PhD From Harvard University and has lectured at Harvard, Lancaster, Chester and Hull universities. Her first novel, The Monster’s Wife, was shortlisted for the Scottish First Book of the Year Award. A subsequent novel, The American Girl, was published by William Morrow (US) and Harper Collins (UK) and translated into Korean by Tomato Publishing – both books have been optioned for film and television.