Fantastic Fiction: Writing Magical Worlds (November 2023)

Are you a writer that bends the rules of reality? Do you look to folklore, magic and the supernatural for inspiration in your writing? 

Join award-winning author Zoe Gilbert for a very special online course dedicated to writing that comes with a fantastical edge. Designed to focus on how to capture, develop and nurture the fantastical elements of a story, this is a playful course that applies to any genre, suitable for writers of all abilities, and comes packed with discussion, working examples and practical exercises to be taken away and applied to your own work.  

This course includes:

- Five online sessions, 1.5 hours in length, and with a maximum of 20 students

- Practical workshops with takeaway exercises to be applied to your own work

- Writing exercises to put each session’s learning into practice

- Insight into the process of finding an agent and getting published

- Course materials available to view ahead of each session, including stories and excerpts to read, plus catch-up audio recordings

- A private online forum, to share discussion and writing throughout the course

Optional Extra: Bespoke Feedback. All course participants will have the exclusive opportunity to submit 2000 words to Zoe who will send written feedback on the piece back to the writer. This is entirely optional and comes at an additional cost of £50, with deadline details to be circulated ahead of Week 5.  

Week 1: From ideas to stories (Wednesday 1st November 2023)

How do we get from an inspiring idea, or object, to an engaging story? We’ll use simple writing exercises to find the stories behind intriguing or everyday objects, and discuss how other writers have used the traditions of folklore and magic to develop story. We’ll also explore imaginary starting points for stories, and look at how magical creatures and transformations can speak deeply to us of change or individuality in fiction. How can we develop a creature, or a relationship with one, that brings symbolic meaning to a story?

Week 2: Characters and communities (Wednesday 8th November 2023)

In week two we’ll focus on character development. How do we animate a character, and make them distinctive? We’ll explore how to develop characters that drive their own plots, and ways to bring them to life on the page. Then we’ll experiment with placing characters into communities, and see how their friends and foes become part of their story. We’ll also play with the power of names.

Week 3: Settings and magical landscapes (Wednesday 15th November 2023)

In this session we’ll experiment with building rich settings that draw readers in. We’ll think about the kind of worlds your stories take place in, and how to describe these vividly. We’ll also learn about using settings to enhance the reader’s insight into characters, and how they see the world. Using maps, we’ll explore world-building, and guiding your readers through a magical place.

Week 4: Reading Week (Wednesday 22nd November 2023) In week four, there will be no workshop session. Instead, Zoe will set you a writing exercise to complete in your own time, as well as some optional reading to complement the course sessions.

Week 5: Voice, point of view and language (Wednesday 29th November 2023)

In this session, we’ll look at a range of voices and approaches for storytelling. We’ll consider the powers that certain points of view and tenses possess, and how can we use them effectively. Who is speaking and why, where are they speaking from? We’ll also look closely at language in our writing, and the power of careful world choice. We’ll experiment with narrative styles that express our characters and their attitudes, as well the world they live in. 

Week 6: Plot, story and fate (Wednesday 6th December 2023)

Stories need tension, conflict and choices, and characters pushed to extremes. In this session we’ll explore how things can go wrong for a character, and how to create tension when they do. What makes a strong story shape, that satisfies the reader? We’ll try taking inspiration from the skeleton structures of old tales. We’ll also try different methods for creating a story, from using archetypal plot shapes to throwing in unexpected twists and turns.  

"A stimulating and motivating course packed with useful material and ideas. Zoe is an excellent tutor who is approachable, encouraging and supportive. Her materials were expertly selected to illustrate ideas and prompt creativity, and distributed efficiently to give plenty of time to read them in advance as preparation. I found each session interesting and informative, with the added bonus that the Zoom sessions were recorded and shared so that they could be revisited later. Participants were encouraged to join in discussions, but there was no pressure to do so. The option of feedback on a piece of writing at the end of the course from Zoe herself is another plus point. I have found her feedback to be encouraging, clear and above all constructive." Janet O’Donnell

"This course with is without a doubt the best distanced learning course, or actual course, I’ve ever attended. Zoe is knowledgeable, kind, encouraging and intelligent as a tutor [...] Be prepared to go on a magical adventure into some fantasy greats, and some lesser known gems, and explore your own writing life! Truly excellent, basically!" Sian Hughes

"It was brilliant, really inspirational. Zoe Gilbert's enthusiasm for her subject is infectious!'" Lisa

"I've been interested in working on short stories for a while and Zoe has given me the confidence to start. She shared tools to help us find new ideas, and explored our work with us as we experimented to find the best way to tell our stories." Michelle Garrett

"Zoe is an incredibly insightful and imaginative teacher. Her knowledge on the craft is extensive and my own writing was improved by virtue of this class." Kiran

"This was an informative and engaging course, which looked at many different styles of literature and ways in which to approach our own writing of magical realism, science fiction and fantasy. Zoe was a welcoming and skilful facilitator, who delivered each lesson in concise and informative chunks that were easy to absorb. This was my first time attending a virtual writing course and I was very pleased at how well the sessions progressed under Zoe’s expert guidance." Fiona Williams

We will be circulating joining instructions, including a zoom link to join the sessions and details of the Slack channel we will use to communicate throughout the course, via email a week before the course begins. If you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to get in touch!