Getting Started: Beginners' Fiction
Learn everything you’ll need to take you from a standing start to creating scintillating stories from scratch. Under the stewardship of an experienced Faber tutor, you’ll gain the tools needed to start writing gripping prose with both substance and style.
Level
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Location
Length
You want to write. Start here.
This engaging course offers some of the practical tools needed to start crafting compelling stories from scratch. Along this explorative journey, which starts with perceptive notetaking and generating creative ideas, we will begin to explore the poetry of prose, decode how to create flawed or fabulous characters, learn how to flesh out the three-dimensionality of setting and much more.
All the essentials will be covered; everything from point of view, to structure, from setting to characterisation, so that by the end of the course, you will be fully equipped with the toolkit needed to start crafting original stories with confidence.
Is this the right course for me?
This course is for writers with a story to tell who are ready to take that first step, facilitated by expert tutors who’ll guide you through the different modules and support you along the route. Study wherever you are in the world, at a time that suits you, with a flexible fortnightly structure
The Faber Academy Scholarship Programme
There are scholarship places available on this course for writers who otherwise could not afford to attend. We particularly welcome applications from writers of colour, disabled writers and LGBTQ+ writers. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is 16 September.
To apply, please submit your covering letter (as a Word doc or PDF), explaining your reasons for applying to a scholarship for this course to academy@faber.co.uk, with the subject line ‘Scholarship Application: Getting Started (Online) – January 2025’. As part of your cover letter, please also include a book recommendation (up to 200 words): which book would you recommend to another writer, and why?
A great first line: simple, punchy and memorable. An opening paragraph bristling with hooks. A first chapter that sets up the inciting incidents to follow so well, it would be impossible not to read on. A compelling character arc. Propulsive, poetic prose at sentence-level that makes a reader’s eyes fizz down the page. There’s a lot to get right, it seems, and this course is for those ready to be bold and take that first step by writing the first line.
This course is formed of six sessions, each open for a fortnight. All sessions will open on a Monday.
Course Programme
Session 1
13 January – 26 January
Becoming a Writer: Finding Your Vo...
Session 2
27 January – 9 February
The Poetry of Prose: The Sound of ...
Session 3
10 February – 23 February
Structure and Pace: Keeping the Re...
Location
Faber Academy's bespoke online classroom has been built from scratch specifically for helping writers develop their craft. Through this platform you will access your weekly sessions, watch video lessons, join any Zoom sessions, download class materials and interact with your fellow writers in dedicated forums at a time that suits you. Our online learning model prioritises interaction, lively discussion and workshopping in small groups to help you get the most out of your learning experience.
Tutor
Kirsty Logan
Kirsty Logan’s latest books are the novel Now She is Witch and The Unfamiliar: A Queer Motherhood Memoir...
More About This TutorBrowse the Reading Room
From author interviews and writing tips to creative writing exercises and reading lists, we've got everything you need to get started – and to keep going.
Recommendations from Faber
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