TUTOR: Kerry Hadley-Pryce has had three novels published by Salt Publishing: The Black Country (Michael Schmidt Prize); Gamble (shortlisted for The Encore Award) and God’s Country. Her fourth novel, Lie of the Land, is due for publication by Salt Publishing in 2025. She has a PhD in creative writing from Manchester Metropolitan University, teaches creative writing, and has contributed to Palgrave’s Smell, Memory & Literature in the Black Country anthology. She has had short stories published in Best British Short Stories 2023, Takahe Magazine, Fictive Dream and The Incubator and read by Brum Radio.

Start Date: 8th October, 2024
Duration: 6 Weeks
Fee: $299
1 place remaining

Course Outline

Week 1: Finding Your Inspiration

We will explore ways to stimulate creativity and to encourage that genie out of the lamp by looking at ways to:
– Invigorate your imagination
– Write what you don’t know
– Be brave and explore ideas

Week 2: Travel Writing

We will explore what ‘Travel Writing’ is, or could be, by looking at ways to liberate your thinking about what a ‘journey’ is and consider the four key elements of travel writing:
– Sense of place
– Symbolism of journeys
– Stories/journeys as transformative experiences
– Narrative voice

Week 3: Writing from the Senses

We will explore ways in which we can use all our senses to create writing that engages our reader by looking at ways to:
– Use six different types of sensory imagery
– Use our observations and reactions to the everyday
– Tap into your own sensory experiences and convey them in writing

Week 4: Adding Humour to your Writing

We will explore ways to a sense of humour to your writing by looking at ways to:
– Turn everyday moments into funny stories
– Connect with your audience on a different level
– Design characters/setting/dialogue that amuse and entertain
(PS: You do not have to be a comedian or even consider yourself a ‘funny person’ to attend
and enjoy this Week.)

Week 5: Creative Non-fiction Revisited

We will explore forms of non-fiction and what makes creative non-fiction by looking at ways to:
– Write about something we know in a creative and imaginative way
– Access our creative skills to inform and explain
– Summon ideas from our memory and write them in an original way

Week 6: Honing your Craft

We will explore ways to make ourselves better writers, and ways of selective listening to our inner critic by looking at ways to:
– Experiment with different styles
– Be bold with form
– Get out of our comfort zone