This is your writing year…
“I have been on a number of creative writing courses and I must say that this is the best. It was amazing to see how people had different styles and how the process worked. I would highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to learn, be more creative or just find their writing style.” – Julie Farmer
If you’re itching to find your creative spark…
If you’re longing to write but can’t find the right idea…
If you’ve got a cracking plot idea but can’t find the characters…
Come to a Freemagination full-day course. A day of discovery, during which you’ll be writing in intense bursts as your remarkable imagination erupts, flinging ideas in every direction. You think your imagination’s not up to scratch? Stop thinking. Believe me: your imagination is limitless.
“Arabella creates an atmosphere of trust and safety so that any sharing of ideas and reading of work is met with encouragement and wise insight. She took us all from a starting point of minimal confidence in our ability as writers to a place where, only a few hours later, we had all created over 15 new characters all of whom having the potential to be woven into new or existing stories. Our confidence and excitement in our work by the end of the day was in complete contrast to how we had been feeling when we walked in.” – Rebecca Abrey
The day involves nothing complicated, nothing difficult, nothing risky, nothing clever. You can only succeed, because there are no wrong answers. All you have to do is relax, stop analysing everything, and trust your own mind: I’ll guide through the simple steps, and there’ll be plenty of time for questions, discussion and feedback. And cake.
Arrive 9am for a 9.30 prompt kick-off (don’t miss the first crucial exercise). It’s an intense day designed to extract maximum value for you and teach you things that mean you can give your fickle Muse a permanent holiday. Bring a laptop or pen and plenty of paper, have a good breakfast and bring a bottle of water to keep your brain lubricated.
There’ll be time for lunch as well as morning and afternoon breaks to refuel and refresh, so you’ll get a chance to catch your breath and chat to new friends and contacts.
By the end of the day you’ll be tired but buzzing with enthusiasm and drive, itching to get home and get started on your ream of ideas.
* Win through to your imaginative, creative self
* Don’t stay stuck any longer, waiting for inspiration to strike.
* Be confident in your fertile imagination and your story-telling voice.
* Bust the blocks so you can write your blockbuster.
- All that know-how and research, but without the ideas you’re going nowhere
Frustration
Have you been on other writing courses? Maybe to learn story structure, pace, dialogue – all the techniques a good writer needs. You may have done courses to learn about marketing yourself as a writer, submitting your book to an agent, e-publishing and selling books through multiple channels. Almost a masters degree in writing and publishing. You’ve been inspired by successful authors and driven to a competitive frenzy by stories of massive international sales for first-time authors. You’ve been to festivals and conferences and met authors and editors and agents and booksellers, and you’ve come away with valuable tips and advice and contacts.
And still you stare at the screen, thinkingthinkingthinking until your brain melts. Where’s the brilliant central idea? Where’s the bestselling hero you’ve almost invented? Where are the intriguing subplots and the compelling twists in the story?
You know what the trouble is? You’re thinking too hard. You have to stop it. The thinking, rational, analytical part of the mind is keeping your imagination locked up… because there are things down there. Irrational, surreal, comical, warped, devious, horrific and original things. The rational, logical brain doesn’t like stuff it can’t control, and an unfettered imagination is scary.
Except it isn’t. It’s colourful and loud and sensitive and fragile and extraordinary and joyous, and all those unknown things can become reality in your readers’ heads.
Don’t be a frustrated author any longer. Break into your imagination and explore – go home with new characters, settings, plots, subplots – even a whole new book or screenplay screaming to be written. How good would that feel? Bloody brilliant.
“Not only did I learn how to actively use a series of practical techniques to build convincing characters, but I found myself committed to write my first novel. That’s testament to the extraordinary transformational energy circulating around the group during the session.” – Julie Whyman
Freemagination 
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