Write to the End of Your Novel

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Write to the End of Your Novel

New Edition

Bestseller

Length

6 weeks

Location

Online

Writing Goal

Develop your writing

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Write to the End of Your Novel

Need some great advice to help you reach the end of the first draft? Develop the skills, techniques, and staying power that will get you over the finish line.

Tutor

Anna Davis

Length

6 weeks

Location

Online

Writing Goal

Develop your writing

Exclusive video lessons from Curtis Brown Creative’s founder and director.

New Edition

Bestseller

Move forward with your story. Learn how to solve plot problems as you progress and reconnect with your imagination when you’re stuck in the middle of a draft.

Many people start writing novels, but not so many get to the end. It takes creativity, stamina, determination, discipline, focus – and lots and lots of time at the desk. Perhaps you’re writing and writing without a clear sense of where you’re going? Or maybe you’re just not sure how to keep building forward from those early chapters? If you’re feeling lost, we’ll help you find your way. This online course will give you the resilience and strength of purpose you need to get all the way to the end of your novel.

Anna Davis is brilliant. She gives solid, empathetic advice. She got me out of the abyss.

Bonnie Garmus
International bestselling author of Lessons In Chemistry

Across six weeks, we’ll take you on a journey to help you complete your novel. We’ll show you how to use ‘active planning’ to solve your writing problems, and teach invaluable storytelling techniques, such as how to build suspense, how to masterfully unfold your narrative scene by scene and how to come up with a satisfying ending to your story.

Tutor

This course features pre-recorded teaching videos from the tutor, alongside written tasks and resources to support your learning. Please note you will receive feedback on your writing from the course editor rather than your tutor.

Anna Davis

Anna Davis is the founder and Director of the Curtis Brown Creative writing school. She is the author of five acclaimed novels which have been published in twenty languages. She has been a journalist and Guardian columnist, as well as a Curtis Brown literary agent. She taught creative writing at the University of Manchester and in many other settings before founding Curtis Brown Creative in 2011.

Editor

Each week, the course editor will provide brief written feedback on several students’ practical assignments. All students who post in the forum will receive feedback on one writing task during the course. Editors listed may change. All CBC editors are experienced authors and/or publishing professionals.

Laura Marshall

Laura Marshall grew up in Wiltshire and studied English at the University of Sussex. She is The Sunday Times top ten and Kindle number one bestselling author of six psychological thrillers. Her books Friend Request, Three Little Lies, The Anniversary, My Husband’s Killer and A Good Place to Hide a Body have sold over half a million copies in the UK and been translated into twenty-five languages. Her latest novel, Kiss Marry Kill was published with Hodder & Stoughton in November 2025.

WHAT DOES THIS COURSE GIVE YOU?

Video modules: Work through six weekly modules comprising teaching videos and substantial notes by Anna Davis. Topics covered include pacing, building suspense, bringing high-drama scenes to life, how to work with an 'active plan', subplots and flashbacks, and what to do when you get stuck in the middle.
Writing tasks: Weekly writing tasks to help you explore and understand the teaching topics and progress your novel. Weekly posts to the forum from Anna will reinforce these lessons.
Resources & notes: You’ll get access to expansive resources and teaching notes with case study examples from classic and recent fiction, including guides to writing scenes, showing and telling, crafting an inciting incident and much more – plus a list of recommended reading.
Professional feedback: An expert CBC editor will post to the group and give brief written feedback on several of the students' practical assignments every week, with all students receiving feedback on one of their tasks. Students are also given the option to purchase additional end of course feedback from our expert editors.
Student forum: Find your writing community on our private student forums. Upload your completed writing tasks, give and receive peer-to-peer feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and the CBC team.

COURSE SCHEDULE & DELIVERY

Our online courses are designed for flexible learning. Allocate your own study time and take part from wherever you are in the world. Each week, we recommend spending at least four hours on the course. It’s also important to be planning and working on your novel throughout the six weeks.

Week 1
Pace & forward momentum
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Week 2
The scene
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Week 3
Active planning
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Week 4
Building suspense
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Week 5
The saggy middle
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Week 6
Endings
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Additional feedback

All students will be given the option to purchase feedback on their final task from a CBC editor.

CBC report: For an additional fee of £155, you can obtain a detailed 500-word report on your work (of up to 3,000 words) from one of our editors.
CBC report + tutorial: For an additional fee of £260, you can obtain a 500-word report from one of our editors and have a 30-minute video or telephone tutorial with them to discuss your work.

Do you want to know more about the contents of our end-of-course reader reports? Click the button below to download and read an example report.

View Example Report

Our How to Write Your Novel Series

This is the second course in our popular How to Write Your Novel series, designed to take you from first idea to final draft.

It sits in between Starting to Write Your Novel and Edit & Pitch Your Novel. You can take the courses in succession or choose the right course for your current stage in the writing process. All three courses have been updated with brand-new videos, expanded resources and revitalised teaching materials (available from September 2025).

View Courses

GIFT THIS COURSE

Encourage your writerly friend or loved one to get creative! We have £250 digital gift vouchers available, enabling you to buy any six-week online course as a present.

Buy Voucher

Start Date

Package

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Refund guaranteed if requested before course starts

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