Buy in batches and spread the cost

Buy per module as you’re ready

Each module £46

Extras sent with 12^th module purchase

Module 1
Where Are We Going? – Starting the Journey

“When you’re starting out, try not to be hidebound by categories or labels. Experimenting with the possibilities of the genre is part of its appeal.”

Module 2
Where Do You Find Your Ideas? – Finding Inspiration

“If events you’ve read about in the news awaken your deepest fears, why not turn them into thrilling fiction, and exercise control over what happens next? Writing crime fiction can be therapeutic and empowering.”

Module 3
Who Are You? – Crafting Characters

“Encourage readers to believe that your people live and breathe outside the confines of the story. Memorable characters don’t exist solely in a particular scene. They were alive before the story began and they will live (at least in some cases!) after it ends.”

Module 4
Where Are You Taking Us? – Place and Period

“When making your choices about where and when to locate your book, it’s better not to think of setting as an optional extra, mere interesting ‘background’, but rather as integral to your story.”

Module 5
What’s Going On? – Plot

“Writers may feel nervous or inhibited about plotting because it’s perceived as difficult to do well. Plotting is a literary skill like any other, and you can learn and develop it.”

Module 6
What Happens Next? – Page-turning Stories

“Creating suspense is important. So how do you do it? One key way is to trade in uncertainty.”

Module 7
Who’s Talking? – Viewpoint and Voice

“Using multiple narrators allows for pleasing contrast, if you achieve compelling variations in tone of voice, while differing interpretations of events will help to increase the sense of mystery and develop the plot.”

Module 8
How Do You Make It Work? – Structure

“How a story is built up is crucial to its overall effect. What is more, creating a well-structured novel should be as pleasing an experience for the crime writer as reading the book is for the crime fan.”

Module 9
Are We Nearly There Yet? – Enriching the Novel

“Foreshadowing is an important component of most well-crafted novels. It’s a means of building a sense of anticipation and dramatic tension, hinting at what is yet to come…”

Module 10
Is This Your Life? – Writing for a Living

“This course aims to encourage you to cultivate a professional attitude and approach to your writing, even if you haven’t yet been paid for a single piece of your prose.”

Module 11
Do You Think You’ve Finished? – Now the Work Starts

“One of the most common issues I find when editing novels is that writers haven’t worked out when to dramatise and when to report.”

Module 12
Do You Write Under Your Own Name? – The Author’s World

“A key theme of this course is how important it is to keep writing. The more you write, the more quickly your skills will develop.”

These modules are payable in one go or by instalment. See details here.

You are eligible for your free critique worth £165 within a year of the date you pay for the entire course, whether it’s by one payment or with the final payment of either instalment scheme. Simply email us when you’re ready – we look forward to receiving your work.