From Our Students Posts
28 June 2022
Esme King: ‘People watching can be a great source of inspiration when it comes to thinking about your own fictional characters’
Author Interviews, From Our Students, Writing TipsEsme King took our three-month online Writing Your Novel course in 2018. Esme is a former news journalist and award-winning short film director. Her debut novel Reasons to Go Outside was published May 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton. We spoke to Esme about her time on our course, where she finds the inspiration for her […]
21 June 2022
Joanne Clague: ‘Be thorough in your research but wear it lightly; you’re not giving a history lesson’
Author Interviews, From Our Students, Writing TipsJoanne Clague studied with us on a six-month online Writing Your Novel course led by tutor Suzannah Dunn in 2017 – now Joanne is one of five students from her group with a debut out this year! Joanne’s debut historical fiction novel The Ragged Valley was published earlier this month by Canelo. We caught up […]
14 June 2022
Sean Lusk: ‘You really do have to love the act of writing and be willing to continually hone your craft’
Author Interviews, From Our Students, Writing TipsSean Lusk took our London-based Writing Your Novel course in 2015. He has gone on to become an award-winning short story writer, winner of the Manchester Fiction Prize, the Fish Short Story Prize and runner-up in the Bridport and Tom-Gallon Trust prizes. He has lived in Greece, Pakistan and Egypt, working variously as a gardener, […]
17 May 2022
Nicola Masters: ‘Don’t hold things back for the author you plan to be one day. You deserve those things now.’
Author Interviews, From Our Students, Writing TipsNicola Masters studied on our three-month Writing Your Novel course with Laura Barnett. Her debut novel, Happy Happy Happy, will be published by Lake Union Publishing on 19 May. We caught up with Nicola about the inspiration behind her novel and her writing journey so far… You took our three-month Writing Your Novel course in […]
12 May 2022
Kirsty Eyre: ‘Allow the reader to read between the lines and draw their own conclusions about what might be funny’
Author Interviews, From Our Students, Writing TipsKirsty Eyre studied on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2017. Two years later, she won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print award with her debut novel Cow Girl – which she developed on the course. She has gone on to write further romantic comedy novels under a pseudonym, Ginger Jones. Her latest work […]
10 May 2022
Liz Webb: ‘Write precise, visceral prose that pulls your reader into sensation rather than thought’
Author Interviews, From Our StudentsLiz Webb has studied on six of our online writing courses, including the complete How to Write Your Novel series and our Writing a Psychological Thriller course. Her debut thriller The Daughter, will be published by Allison & Busby later this month. We found out what Liz enjoys about our courses and what inspired her […]
05 May 2022
#WriteCBC tip and task from Abbie Greaves
Events, From Our Students, Writing TipsWelcome to our May edition of #WriteCBC. I hope you’re ready to be inspired by our latest writing challenge! If you haven’t taken part in a #WriteCBC competition before, we’re excited to welcome you to our writing community – and you can quickly get up to speed by reading this blog with information about how […]
04 May 2022
Philip Neame: ‘Ideas and solutions will emerge as you write’
Author Interviews, From Our Students, Writing TipsPhilip Neame studied on two memoir courses with us, including our original six-week online Writing a Memoir course. Philip served for six years in the RAF Regiment and twenty years in the Parachute Regiment. Philip’s debut memoir Penal Company on the Falklands (published by Pen & Sword Books) takes place in 1982 when he was […]
21 April 2022
Author Alex Hay & agent Alice Lutyens on The Housekeepers
Author Interviews, From Our Students, From the Agents, Writing TipsAlex Hay (pictured left) was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2015. So far, 2022 has been a brilliant, monumental year for Alex’s writing journey! He was awarded the 2022 Caledonia Novel Award, for his unpublished debut heist novel The Housekeepers. After winning the award he went on to sign with Caledonia judge […]
14 April 2022
10 books to read this Easter
From Our Students, Writing TipsIf you’re looking to sit back and relax with a good book (or two) this Easter, you’ve come to the right place! Grab your gold bunnies and crème eggs and get ready to settle down with a real page-turner. This reading list, featuring novels by some of our talented former students and teaching team, has […]