Creative Writing Magic - September 2009 date to be confirmed

This five-day introductory course is for you if:

• You'd love to write but don't know where to start.
• You're already writing but feel stuck and stale.
• You've dabbled in writing and need more focus.
• You're tired of being in a rut and long to explore something new.

The course is designed for you to experience creative writing as a relaxed, joyful activity in a safe and supportive environment to help you:

• Understand the different stages of the creative process
• Tap into and nurture your creativity
• Unlock your storehouse of words
• Learn simple but powerful tools for developing and shaping your writing
• Find your voice and gain confidence
• Create a well-crafted piece of writing

Creative Writing Magic consists of 15 structured hours of class, over five mornings. Each three-hour morning is divided into three sessions with breaks. After 'word wake-up' where we have fun with the versatility of English, we move onto short simple explanations of key writing processes and tools, with plenty of examples from well known and popular fiction and non fiction writers. Then we practice using the tools with enjoyable writing exercises and longer writing periods, followed by reading, feedback and discussion.

Day One
The creative process. Tapping into the creative mind. Fiction and non fiction. Writing about places and things.Becoming observant. Engaging the senses. The outer world and the inner world. How to give good feedback.

Day Two
Becoming even more observant. Be specific - be precise. Writing about people. Point of view. Characterisation. Making people move. Dialogue.

Day Three
More about people and places. Stories and vignettes. What if? Basic plot structure. Goals, obstacles and stakes. Narrative and scene. Flashbacks and foreshadowing. Showing and telling.

Day Four
Shaping stories and articles. Beginnings and endings. Transitions. Hooks and guiding threads. Secrets.

Day Five
Putting it all together. Revising, rewriting and editing. Details. Working with your inner reader. Loose ends. Final sharing of work, feedback and discussion.

At all stages you are encouraged to share your work with the group and give and receive feedback. You will be asked to choose a piece of writing to work on and complete by the end of the course. This may be a piece you start and work on during the morning writing periods or during your stay, or one you bring with you that you would like to work on. It may be a short story, poem, article or episode from a longer work of any genre of fiction or non fiction.

In addition, Valerie will be available at specified times for one-to-one guidance with your work in progress.

Costs and further details

• The course will be held in September 2009, dates to be confirmed
  
  Costs for the 6 night package are:
  

• All tuition and all inclusive accommodation at Le Vieux Relais in a shared room €850
• Single supplement €150
• Partners Package €400 to include B&B and dinner on 6 nights
• Travel to and from Le Vieux Relais is excluded but arrangements can be made for local transport to and from railway stations and airports in the Languedoc - prices are available on request.
  

Valerie Collins
Valerie Collins is a British writer who has lived in Barcelona for many years. She is co-author of the acclaimed In The Garlic: Your Informative, Fun Guide to Spain and author of the prize-winning stories Flight of the Eagle, I Love Lucy and Black Dress.

She has written over 50 SpeakUp movie guides and has contributed to guide books, magazines and online journals, including a guest column about the English language for The Vocabula Review. Currently she blogs for Barcelona Women's Network, runs Alchemy101 creative writing workshops in Barcelona and environs, and is working on a novel set in a fictional Mediterranean city.

Valerie is an inspiring and supportive facilitator known for her combination of humour, playfulness and attention to detail, and for her flair for evoking magical settings and characters who leap off the page.

To read more about one of Valerie's projects, please visit 'In The Garlic'.