5 Ways A Creative Course Helps You Find Your Inner Novelist

In this post, we talk about how a creative course helps you find your inner novelist.

This week we’re starting another Writers Write Creative Course.

Before a new group of writers come in, I always spend a few minutes looking around the table at the untouched course packs and neat place settings. Who will we meet? What kind of stories will be shared? What friendships will develop over the next four weeks?

While each group produces its own personalities and stories, there are a few things that stay with me—how the writers are surprised by what they find they can do. Here are just five of them.

5 Ways A Creative Course Helps You Find Your Inner Novelist

1. Finding the courage to be creative again. One of the fun exercises we do is to dismiss the Internal Critic. This can be anyone from an imaginary demon or a nasty high school teacher.
2. Finding out just how much you can write in 10 minutes. We believe writers write. They don’t daydream about it, or talk about it. They write about it. When we give an exercise that has a time lock, delegates are amazed at how much they can produce in a short period.
3. Finding and sharing a love of reading. Some writers are drawn to classic tales, others are inspired by life-changing memoirs and many share their current reading list. Many go on to contribute to our Writers Write Reviews as they learn to study fiction more deeply.
4. Finding the seed of a story to grow. We explore the idea of the Inciting Moment in a novel, which starts the plot engine and engages the characters in their journey.
5. Finding the five senses can instantly lift your writing. Whether you are exploring memory or lifting a scene so that it comes alive in the imagination, the five senses are the lifeblood of strong writing.

Curiosity comes alive

The best part of Writers Write is watching writers—whether they are just starting out, or reconnecting with the craft—discover their creativity. Creativity is about exploring your curiosity, seeing the world with new eyes and finding possibilities all around you. And then, most importantly, writing it down.

We can’t wait to get started and find that inner novelist.

Source for Comic: Speedbump

If you want to learn how to write a book, join our Writers Write course in Johannesburg or sign up for our online course.

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy:

1. The Cure for Predictable Plots and Other Clichés
2. Two Simple Ways to Connect with your Characters