Author of sweeping, epic historical thrillers set in brilliantly evocative landscapes, Kate shares her process of invention – from the painstaking research to the flashes of inspiration that arise from it. As a champion of women writers and co-founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, she talks about her driving desire to write the unheard and underheard stories of women throughout history – and urges other writers to find the stories they feel they were born to tell, bringing something fresh to their chosen genres.
Across five weeks, Kate opens up the secrets of how she supercharges the act of writing her first drafts through ‘the fear of failure and the adrenaline of discovery’. You’ll learn to look for inspiration in settings – listening for ‘the whispering in the landscape’; discover how to write exciting action scenes with the right levels of violence, and how to use suspense to keep readers on their toes.
Whether you’re writing a novel or shorter fiction, this course will help you develop a rich world for your narrative, find an untold story that only you can unravel, discover and deploy the ‘head’ and the ‘feet’ of research, and use it to walk in the shoes of your characters.
Kate Mosse is the author of 10 novels and short story collections. Her books have sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and her fiction – which has been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries – includes the No 1 international bestselling Languedoc Trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel), the No 1 bestselling The Joubert Family Chronicles (The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears and The Ghost Ship), and bestselling Gothic fiction including The Taxidermist’s Daughter and The Winter Ghosts. She has also written four works of non-fiction including the critically acclaimed memoir An Extra Pair of Hands, four plays, contributed essays and introductions to classic novels and collections. Her latest feminist history Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World was published last Autumn. A champion of women’s creativity, Kate is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction – founded in 1997 to honour, amplify and celebrate fiction written by women from all over the world – and chairs the Discoveries programme. Kate also sits on the Executive Committee of Women of the World, is the Founder of the global Woman in History campaign and is the Patron of several national and local arts organisations.
Follow the course at your own pace. Our online courses are designed for flexible study – you can take part at times to suit you and from wherever in the world you are. To get the best out of it, we recommend spending four-six hours on the coursework, and to be progressing your own novel or story throughout the five weeks.
All students will be given the option to purchase feedback on their final task from a CBC editor.
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.
Encourage your friend or loved one to get creative! We have £190 digital gift vouchers available, enabling you to buy any five-week online course as a present.