The course consists of thirteen sessions, which you work through progressively with a small group of peers, your tutor and a moderator. There’s no need to log on at a certain time each week – as long as you complete the set assignments and peer feedback by the end of each fortnightly session, you can work at any time of the day or night.
You’ll need to commit to at least 5–7 hours’ study each week in order to complete the practical tasks and work on your novel, and to read and give feedback on your peers’ writing.
Session 1 (opens Wednesday 21 April): Introductions
Meet your fellow writers, think about how, where and why you write, and begin the process of reading like a writer. Hear from a published alumna of the course.
Session 2 (opens Wednesday 5 May): Beginnings
Creating ideas and planning; honing your idea and your novel's opening pages. We'll look at how to start with character or plot and the relationship between the two, plus you'll have your first one-to-one tutorial with your tutor.
Session 3 (opens Wednesday 19 May): Character
Getting to know your characters better, the difference between liking and caring about characters, and different ways of introducing them into the story.
This session includes a group webchat with your tutor.
Session 4 (opens Wednesday 2 June): Voice
What is your writing voice and how will you explore it in this novel? You'll hear from another author in one of our video interviews, and will have further one-to-one feedback from your tutor.
Session 5 (opens Wednesday 16 June): Viewpoint
Are you approaching this story from the best point of view? We'll look at who is telling your story and how to navigate more than one viewpoint. Plus a live Q&A with a guest writer in the chatroom.
Session 6 (opens Wednesday 30 June): Structure
The essentials of structure and plotting out your story; using beat sheets and setting up the skeleton of your synopsis. This session includes the second group webchat with your tutor.
Session 7 (opens Wednesday 14 July): Dialogue
Differentiating your characters through speech; non-verbal detail and body language when writing conversation. Plus a Q&A forum with another of our guest tutors.
Session 8 (opens Wednesday 28 July – lasts five weeks to include a summer break): Description
How do you capture a world that draws your reader in? You’ll explore elements of description that bring scenes to life, and ways to speed up and slow down your story. We'll have another of our video interviews with a guest author, and your third group webchat with your tutor.
Session 9 (opens Wednesday 1 September): Research
Using research to add realism and authenticity to your novel; methods of research and the best time to do it; the difference in writing from research and from experience. Plus a Q&A forum with a guest tutor.
Session 10 (opens Wednesday 15 September): Using Scenes
The structure of scenes, getting in and out, and using writing tools and techniques for emphasis and pace. You'll have another Zoom tutorial with your tutor for one-to-one feedback.
Session 11 (opens Wednesday 29 September): Foreshadowing
Setting up later scenes and choosing when to give readers information; increasing the pull of your early chapters. Plus a Q&A forum with a Faber director.
Session 12 (opens Wednesday 13 October): Revising and Editing
Different approaches to editing and how to bring more shape and clarity to the telling of your story; why the process can be just as creative as writing. Includes a live Q&A with a guest Faber editor.
Session 13 (opens Wednesday 27 October): The Publishing Process
Genres and your novel in the marketplace, the agenting process, writing a synopsis and cover letter. Includes a live Q&A with a guest agent.
Session 14 (opens Wednesday 10 November) Next steps
Revising your manuscript and synopsis, rounding up in preparation for submitting your work for tutor review at the end of the course; where to take your work next. This is a four-week session focused on private writing time, at the end of which you'll submit the first 15,000 words of your novel for written feedback from your tutor.
Course ends on Wednesday 8 December 2021.
At the end of the course you will have the option to continue working with your peer group in an alumni classroom, and will be invited to submit an extract of your novel for inclusion in an anthology sent to over a hundred literary agents.