About the course

Creative non-fiction takes our real-life stories and looks at exciting ways of expressing them through writing. It’s a challenging, experimental, boundary-pushing genre that can enhance your stories and help you to rediscover meaning in the events of your life. This four-week course has been developed for people looking to try writing creative non-fiction for the first time and those looking to develop key elements of their craft. In a relaxed, creative environment we’ll be reviewing the puzzle pieces that make up creative non-fiction: how to find a story, writing with honesty – and that all important experimentation too. There will be opportunities to explore writers who are exceptional at their craft and plenty of generative exercises.

• Session 1 – Finding your story: We’ll focus on finding your story. Through a series of generative exercises focusing on memory, we’ll look at recalling points in your life that really shout as a story to be told. We’ll think about the importance of accessing memory and the emotional impact it can have on us as writers – and look at other writers who’ve done an exceptional job of telling a specific story themselves.
• Session 2 – Writing with honesty: A writer’s voice is particularly important in creative non-fiction, as you want to ensure the reader believes in your story and roots for you. We’ll look at ways you can break the barrier of withholding information from the reader, making your writing feel more genuine, and have a go at developing work from a place of honesty. We’ll also discuss the difficulty of telling personal stories with honesty and some techniques that can help us to express ourselves more accurately.  
• Session 3 – Experimenting: One of the true joys of CNF is the opportunity to experiment, breaking boundaries in form and language. We’ll look at some of the writers who have done an incredible job of experimenting with form to enhance their narrative before generating some CNF flash fiction of our own and exploring play in our writing.
• Session 4 – Bringing it all together: This week we’ll be bringing together everything we’ve learnt: finding our stories, writing with honesty and experimentation in a generative workshop with several prompts to let you apply your learning to writing. We’ll end with a chance to reflect on and share final thoughts.  

Who is it for?

All underrepresented writers—those who face barriers to opportunities due to mental health issues, physical health/disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities, neurodivergence, substance misuse, survivors, working class backgrounds, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, traveller, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.

About the tutor

Megan Holland is a freelance writer and brand strategist. With a decade’s experience in advertising, she’s led projects for organisations including Heritage Great Britain, Bruntwood and Allied London. Recently, she’s been researching and writing a book about LGBTQ+ grief, funded by Arts Council England, facilitating workshops for young people as part of socially engaged collective Making of Us and creating a mindfulness walk for Lancashire Wildlife Trust. Megan has run workshops with the Northern Writers’ Studio, Islington Mill and The Turnpike. Her writing came second in the Hinterland Prize for Creative Non Fiction and her fiction has won a Creative Future Writers’ Award. Megan has been commissioned and published by Dahlia Books as part of A Brief Pause. Her writing has been shortlisted by the Streetcake Experimental Fiction Prize, Leicester Writers Short Story Prize and longlisted by the Quietman Dave Prize, Outstage Us LGBTQ+ New Writing and Women on Writing. 

Dates and Time:

Tuesdays, 17 & 24 September, 1 & 8 October

6-7 pm

This course takes place online via Zoom. Links will be sent seven days prior to the first session, and again the day of the first session. 

Access 

You can see our full access commitments here. Please add any additional requirements when booking. 

Cost:

£20 / £10 concessions.

In order to make our resources stretch further, we have to subsidise some workshops with nominal fees well below most online courses. The more who book at full price, the more we’ll be able to offer. 

Concessionary places are available for those on benefits, pensioners, unemployed/underemployed or on low wages. We do not ask for proof that you qualify.  

If concessionary spaces aren’t displayed below, they are fully booked. We can add you to the waiting list if you e-mail [email protected]. 

Other workshops from Creative Future:

Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date on our other workshops.