Writing Romantic & Commercial Fiction

Write a heart-warming novel with emotional depth, characters to fall in love with and a plot to make readers desperate to turn the page.

Whether you want to write funny, feel-good fiction like Veronica Henry, powerful dramas like Jodi Picoult, or love stories that are as full of joy as they are heartbreak like Bolu Babalola, this advanced course will give you the tools you need. By getting to grips with what makes your character tick, the relationships that mean the most to them, and the dilemmas they will come up against, your tutor will show you how to deliver a satisfying, unforgettable story that will elate and/or devastate your reader – in the best possible way. You’ll interrogate what labels like ‘women’s fiction’ and ‘commercial fiction’ mean, and discover ways you can experiment with genre conventions to write an irresistible page-turner in your unique voice.

You’ll join a group of 15 budding writers for flexibly timed weekly writing workshops delivered on our bespoke online learning platform, plus live group teaching sessions via Zoom covering important genre topics. Students will attend a special Zoom masterclass session with a top literary agent who works with leading romance and commercial fiction authors. You’ll also get in-depth feedback via a one-to-one tutorial with your tutor, to take place towards the end of the course.

WHAT DOES THIS COURSE GIVE YOU?

• Live teaching sessions on Zoom: On six Wednesday evenings, your tutor will welcome the group for a 90-minute Zoom class, covering topics of significance to romance and commercial fiction writers, such as developing a protagonist readers will root for, building chemistry between characters, and how best to handle internal and external conflict.
• A community of writers: Our selective applications process means that you will be writing your novel in a peer group of 15 students working at a high level. We have developed a bespoke learning platform exclusively for our students. Here you can give and receive feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and tutors. Many of our former students have found their trusted readers with us – and form strong working friendships with classmates which go on long after the course is over.
• Writing workshop: You’ll get a dedicated workshop centring on a 3,000-word extract from your novel-in-progress. Workshops offer in-depth feedback from your fellow students and tutor, and are also designed to help develop your self-editing skills.
• 1-to-1 tutorial: You'll get a 45-minute, one-to-one tutorial with your tutor, based on a 3,000-word extract from your novel-in-progress. Use this tutorial to address your specific concerns about your writing.
• Author & agent masterclass: Join a live Zoom session with a Curtis Brown literary agent and a romance author, and put your questions about writing romantic and commercial fiction to them. The discussion will cover writing, editing and the submissions process.
• End of course submission: All students will be invited to submit the 3,000-word opening from their novel, plus a synopsis, to be shared with the agent teams at Curtis Brown and C&W. This is not a formal submission but a chance to give the agents a taste of your work at this stage. When you are ready to formally submit – no matter how long after your course has finished – the CBC team will give you guidance and support with your submission to the Curtis Brown and C&W agents.
• Alumni services: You’ll be given access to a range of exclusive writing services, available only to the alumni of our selective courses, which you’ll be able to access after your course finishes. These services include individual mentoring, editorial reports on your completed novel and submission reports on your ‘pitch package’. Read more about the opportunities available to our alumni here.

Course Schedule

COURSE FEES

The course fee of £990 (inc VAT) per student is payable, in full, by bank transfer or debit/credit card before the start of the course. (Please note, card payments will incur an additional transaction fee.) However, if you are unable to pay the full fee upfront, let us know and we can arrange an instalment plan.

READY TO APPLY?

Our application form asks some questions about you and your writing – and it also asks you to send us the first 3,000 words of the romantic and/or commercial fiction novel you’re working on and a one-page synopsis.

We will be reading and responding to applicants throughout the application window. We, therefore, advise people who are keen to join this course to apply early.

The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided.

If you encounter any problems during the application process, or have any more questions about the course, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk for assistance.