Your Novel: Structuring, Editing and Preparing for Submission - 2024
It’s time to turn your book idea into a fully-fledged manuscript. Following on from – but independent of – Write Better Fiction: Improve Your Manuscript in Four Weeks, critically acclaimed author William Ryan leads Your Novel: Structuring, Editing and Preparing for Submission, a six-week online course designed to stress-test your work-in-progress. Expect an interrogation of your plot, tough questions asked of your cast of characters, first chapters and setting and an examination of the process of getting an agent and the editorial process preceding publication. As well as presentations on critical aspects of the writing process, workshops and feedback from William on your writing and story, participants also have the opportunity to hear from a commissioning editor and pitch their writing to a leading UK literary agent.
Course benefits
Students on this course should expect:
- 15 hours of practical writing advice and tuition over 6 weeks
- Feedback from William Ryan on over 5,000 words of your own writing, including two versions of your synopsis
- Opportunity to pitch your work to a leading UK literary agent and receive feedback
- Peer-to-peer review; amass a wealth of objective feedback from fellow students
- Deadlines on writing exercises and written work to make the most of what's on offer
- Copies of presentations and audio recordings from all sessions
- Exclusive discounts on W&A titles and other products
Each week sessions will combine tutorials with practical exercises, discussion and feedback
Schedule
William will read and mark up work submitted during the course – highlighting areas which may need work and pointing out areas of strength. In addition you will be expected to read and give constructive feedback on the submitted work of the other students, as will the other students be expected to constructively feedback on your work. The format of each week will be a one hour talk by William, using submitted work as examples, followed by workshops on four of the submitted 1000-word submissions
Week 1
18.00-19.00: Structure
Using his novel The Winter Guest as a basis, William will discuss how to structure a novel and the decisions that turn a promising idea into a novel-length story.
19.05-20.30: Workshop on a submission in which a key moment in your novel takes place, together with a brief description of where this fits into your story.
Week 2
18.00-19.00: Developing Central Characters
William will lead a discussion in which the students will develop a central character, establishing their back story, situation, physical appearance and personality.
19.05-20.30: Workshop on a submission in which you introduce your central character, together with a brief description of where this fits into your story.
Week 3
18.00-19.00: Developing Subsidiary Characters
Using the Central Character from Week 2, William will lead a discussion in which the students will develop two subsidiary characters, establishing their role in the story and how they will interact with the central character.
19.05-20.30: Workshop on a submission which shows the relationship between a subsidiary character and your central character, together with a brief description of where this fits into your story.
Week 4
18.00-19.00: First Chapters, Synopses and Momentum
William will discuss how to open your novel so as to appeal to readers and publishing professionals, how to prepare a synopsis that reflects its structure and the importance of pace and tension in a novel.
19.05-20.30: Workshop on an 800-word submission from your novel as well as a 300-word synopsis
Week 5
18.00-19.00: Editing, Polishing & How Novels are Published
An editor from a publishing house will explain the essential skills necessary to review your writing objectively and improve it. They will also discuss what publishers look for in prospective authors, what authors can expect from them, how the publishing process works and how submitted novels change from first drafts to published books.
19.05-20.30: You will be asked to submit a 800-word submission which you have found problematic and would like feedback on, together with a brief description of where it fits into your story. You will also be asked to submit a revised 500 word synopsis of your novel in order to assist in your preparation for their submission to the guest agent in Week 6. The workshop part f the evening will address the synopses.
Week 6
18.00-19.00: Introducing Your Novel to the World of Publishing
19.05 to 20.30 A leading literary agent will discuss what agents look for in prospective authors and what authors can expect from them, how the publishing process works and how submitted novels change from first drafts to published books. Jordan will then join William to hear your pitches and give feedback on your submitted 500-word synopses and 1000-word extracts.
PREPARATION:
Ahead of the first session, Bill would like you to submit a 1000-submission in which a key moment in your novel takes place, together with a brief description of where this fits into your story. He’ll be in touch via email with details of where to send this to and the Zoom link you’ll need to join the session in the week before your first class.
