Courses /
Writing
Writing
Write the novel you keep putting off
Ten weeks, one chapter a week, and honest notes from a published novelist.
with Amara Okafor
Weeks
10
Lessons
20
Per week
4–6 hrs
Format
Live cohort
Classes
Tue
19:00
Starts
What you’ll make
A finished opening act of 15,000 words
A one-page plan for the rest of the book
A voice and point of view that hold for a whole chapter
Written notes from Amara on every chapter
Week by week
Week 01
Finding the story only you can tell
A one-paragraph pitch for your novel
Week 02
Voice
A page in the narrator’s voice
Week 03
Character: want, need, wound
A character sheet and one scene
Week 04
Scenes that turn
A scene with a clear turn
Week 05
Point of view
One scene told twice
Week 06
Dialogue that does work
A two-person conversation
Week 07
Setting as pressure
A place that changes your character
Week 08
The middle
A plan for the middle third
Week 09
Rewriting
A revised opening chapter
Week 10
Your opening act
The full opening act, sent for notes
Your tutor
Amara Okafor
Novelist, three books and counting
Amara has written three novels and spent ten years running writing groups in libraries and community halls. She teaches the habits that get a draft finished: small daily targets, honest reading and one clear note at a time.
Before you book
Every live class is recorded and posted the same night. Watch it when you can, hand in the brief by Sunday, and you still get written notes from your tutor.
Kit list
A notebook, a pen you like and a laptop or tablet for typing up. Nothing to buy.
that’s all you need
