Writing Workshops From Nottingham Writers Studio

Nottingham Writers' Days

Nottingham Writers’ Days are a programme of one-day intensive writing workshops, led by award-winning writers from Nottingham Writers’ Studio. Each day will include workshop sessions, writing exercises and peer reviewing, plus individual discussions about your work. The sessions will be held at Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery from 10.30am-5.30pm, followed by a group dinner at 6pm.*

There will be a limit of 12 participants for each workshop.

Cost: £45 NWS Members and Concessions/ £75 Non-members per event. This will include tuition, tea/coffee on arrival at 10.15am (replenished throughout the day), lunch, and dinner.
For more information and to book, please contact: admin@nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk

Summer/Autumn Programme 2010

Saturday 10th July 2010
‘From Idea to Screenplay’ with Michael Eaton
Writers who wish to participate in this workshop must have no inhibitions, for they will be required (in the company of folk they have never met before) to develop an idea of their own through various stages: the pitch, the outline, the treatment and, at last, the screenplay. In the history of cinema the genesis of most films has come from a story which already existed, so the focus will be on ‘Adaptation’. Each participant should bring a five minute statement of an idea they would like to turn into a screenplay (of any length). This founding notion might derive from a newspaper article, from another medium, perhaps even from an incident in their own lives. In the morning we will benignly share these tales and in the afternoon we will critically work together to wonder how the principles of narrative structure might be mobilised to turn base metal into dramatic gold.

Saturday 25th September 2010
‘Planning and Developing Your Novel’ with Nicola Monaghan
This course will focus on the issues faced by a novelist producing an extended piece of work. Looking at plot, narrative structure, character and practical approaches to planning your work, the session will involve writing exercises, discussion and analysis of other writers' work. Ideally participants will have been writing for a while and, to get the most out of the day, will bring ideas about a project to develop during the workshops.

Saturday 23rd October 2010
‘Cross It Out And Start Again: Editing Fiction’ with Jon McGregor
This course will look at the art of editing, where much of the work of writing is really done. We'll study some before-and-after examples from published writers' work, and consider some of the aims and challenges of insightful editing, before moving on to wield the mighty red pen over some of our own work. The workshops will concentrate on editing shorter pieces, but we will also cover ways of approaching the overall structure and shape of a novel. Participants should bring a piece of writing with them: either a short story, or a novel extract with associated synopsis/outline. Mighty red pens will be provided.

Workshop Leaders

Michael Eaton, MBE, is a screenwriter who specialises in docudrama. His work includes Shipman, Shoot To Kill and Who Bombed Lockerbie. His fictional work includes Flowers of the Forest and the TV series Signs and Wonders. He has adapted works by George Eliot and Charles Dickens for BBC Radio 4, and is visiting Professor in the School of Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University. See Michael Eaton's entry on the Internet Movie Database or http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0247861

Nicola Monaghan has worked as a teacher, a financial analyst and a software guru. She gained an MA in Writing from Nottingham Trent University in 2004. Her first novel, The Killing Jar, won a Betty Trask Award, the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Prize and the Waverton Good Read. She has subsequently published a second novel, Starfishing, and a novella, The Okinawa Dragon. http://www.nicolamonaghan.co.uk

Jon McGregor is the author of the critically acclaimed If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things and So Many Ways To Begin. He is the winner of the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has twice been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He was born in Bermuda in 1976. He grew up in Norfolk and now lives in Nottingham. Even the Dogs is his third novel. http://www.jonmcgregor.com

*Please note: Refreshments and a set menu for the evening meal will be included in the price of your ticket. (Drinks and lunch are not included). Please inform us of any special dietary requirements when you book, or if there is anything we should be aware of in order to make your day easier. For information on how to book and a full itinerary for each Writing Day, please contact: admin@nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk or visit our website: www.nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk

Booking forms can be downloaded here.

There will be a limit of 12 participants for each workshop.

BOOKING FORM

Please return this booking slip to: Nottingham Writers’ Studio, 49 Stoney Street, Lace Market, Nottingham NG1 1LX with your BOOKING FEE (£45/£75 per day). Cheques are payable to Nottingham Writers’ Studio. We will confirm your reservation upon receipt of this booking form and fee, and you will be emailed/sent a full itinerary of the day. Places will be offered on a ‘first come’ basis. If the course is full, payment will be returned.

Nottingham Writers’ Days – please indicate which workshop/s you would like to attend:

Saturday 10th July 2010 ‘From Idea to Screenplay’ with Michael Eaton
Saturday 25th September 2010 ‘Planning and Developing Your Novel’ with Nicola Monaghan
Saturday 23rd October 2010 ‘Cross It Out and Start Again: Editing Fiction’ with Jon McGregor

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*All participants must be 18 years or over. You are welcome to book more than one event.

Please tell us about any special requirements you may have (including dietary requirements) here: