Writers Toolkit

A Complete One-Year Novel Writing Apprenticeship.

Honest, professional guidance an affordable price

Writers Toolkit is designed to cover all the essentials of fiction. It is based on our groundbreaking Apprenticeships scheme. Over the course of a year (or so), writers will work towards knocking their manuscript into shape under the guidance of an experienced professional mentor. An agreed framework document sets out aims & objectives.

Writers Toolkit takes an holistic step by step approach to the writing process. It allows you to go at your own pace and is designed to be supportive and encouraging at every stage. Individual attention and on- the-page examples ensure accelerated learning. Building confidence and learning to trust your own intuition is key. 

At regular intervals, writers will receive feedback on their work in progress, in the form of detailed written appraisals, notations on the manuscript, exercises, worksheets and one-to-one interaction. Areas covered include character, setting and plot, as well as prose style and presentation, identifying genre, writing a synopsis, structure, point of view, narrative development and planning.    

Writers Toolkit. Covering every aspect of the writing process.

Programme Outline

The programme is flexible to suit individual requirements. It consists of four or five sessions over a year to eighteen months. They can be used to improve writing in general, to work towards a final draft, or to redraft an existing manuscript. There are two options offered within an agreed timetable.

            1. The Step-by-Step Approach.

Five agreed deadlines at regular intervals, with the aim of taking you from first pages to completion. (Five partial & progressive readings of thirty pages: 10,000 words. Five assessment reports.) 

            2. The Complete-Your-Novel-in-a-Year Approach.

Four agreed deadlines with check-ins with the primary aim of a complete first draft. (Two preliminary partial readings & assessment reports, one full manuscript appraisal & a final partial assessment of the revised first thirty pages.)

 The programme includes a checklist and concludes with a summary assessment.

Is this the right novel-writing course for you?

The programme is open to all writers writing in English, across genre. Whether you are starting out or have completed a full draft, the programme is adapted to suit you. The sole criteria for application is a desire to develop your writing and a project to work on. (Thirty pages or 10,000 words and a synopsis if you have one.)

This is a virtual programme working with clients worldwide. (International writers: do bear in mind that our input is based on UK and related markets. Local market requirements may differ.)

The Fees

£1,500.00 (payable in two instalments)

Stage 1. £250.00

Stage 2. £1,250.00

(Stage 1 is an initial introduction to the full package.)

Course Leader

The course leader is Marion Urch, the director of Adventures in Fiction. She has been working with writers across genre since 2003 and has helped many on the path to success. 

Our guarantee: By completion, you will have a thorough understanding of every aspect of the fiction writing process and a clear sense of your own stage of development.

 If you respond well to deadlines, this is the programme for you.

Writers Toolkit

Think this may be the right novel writing course for you? Do email us with any initial enquiries. We will be happy to answer them.

To enrol:

Email us with ‘Writers Toolkit’ in the email heading.  Include details about yourself, your current stage and what you are hoping to achieve along with a first page and a synopsis if you have one. (If you don’t have one, try to summarize your essential starting points, whatever these might be. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just include enough details to give the reader a sense of what you are aiming for.)

We will contact you to confirm this is the right package for you.

Like a Chat?

Writers Surgery is an excellent introduction to working with us. (We offer £100.00 discount on Writers Toolkit booked within three months of your Writers Surgery appointment.) Find out more.

For a more informal chat (Zoom or phone) email us with a short note about you and your work, what you would like to achieve and some indication of your availability and we will contact you with a time slot. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Signing Up:

Stage 1

Once you have paid the initial fee of £250.00 and sent us your first thirty pages, we are ready to go! (We will send bank details and confirm receipt.) We will then get back to you within 3-4 weeks with our initial assessment.

Stage 2

Upon payment of the second instalment of £1,250.00, we will discuss the best option with you, set out a framework and agree on a timetable. You can then send us your pages.

Terms & Conditions

The usual terms & conditions apply. Do read them for your own peace of mind.

We expect writers who have signed up to make a commitment to complete the programme, though we understand that this may not always be possible.

We will take exceptional circumstances into account and agree a refund of any unallocated part of the fee, minus a cancellation fee of £350.00, which covers administration costs.