Getting Started - Harry Bingham

Workshops - Getting Started

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." - Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

Starting a novel is one of the most exciting things you'll do in your life, and one of the most daunting.

A huge part of the challenge is that there are so many things to think about all at the same time. You've got to get your plot moving ... but you mustn't forget to breathe some life into your characters ... and getting those settings right matters a lot ... and you can't forget about your writing style either ...
And some day you've got to find a way to sell this darn book. How the blooming heck are you going to go about that?

Our course can't teach you everything you need to know in a single session, but we can give you as much detailed input as we possibly can. That means that when you do finish the first draft of your MS, you should be much closer to target than you would have been otherwise.

Course leader - Harry Bingham

Harry is the author of five novels, all of them major titles published by HarperCollins. He's been longlisted for the Impac Dublin Literary Award (the world's richest literary prize) and shortlisted for the (ahem) almost equally prestigious WH Smith Thumping Good Read Prize. He's currently writing non-fiction for 4th Estate, a HarperCollins imprint.

As editorial director of the Writers' Workshop, it's Harry's job to make the final decision on which WW manuscripts are ready to be sent to agents and is in charge of pitching them when they are. Consequently, he has an unrivalled understanding of what it takes to secure representation by major London agents.

Although Harry has written commercial fiction himself, he is an eclectic reader, with a taste for demanding literary fiction - so please don't think that this course is more suitable to genre fiction writers. It's aimed at anyone at all who has completed a full length novel and is serious about securing an agent and a book deal.

Course Outline (Provisional Syllabus)

9.30 am: Assemble, Coffee & Introductions

10.00 - 12.00: Character

• Getting to know your characters. The essential first step in writing anything worth reading. How to learn who your characters are. How to get them interacting with others. Character writing exercises.

12.00 - 12.30: The Business of Books

• When you've written your book, what next? The mysterious world of agents & publishers. Craig will talk about her own experience as well as taking questions

12.30 - 1.00: Lunch

• Lunch & more conversation

1.00 - 2.45: Plot

• Whether they're looking at literary or commercial fiction, agents these days will place more emphasis on plot than on any other single aspect of your MS. You MUST get this right if you want to sell the book. Plotting exercise.

2.45 - 3.00: Tea / Coffee

3.00 - 4.30: Writing Style

• When you send your work to agents, your work will have about 1 minute to convince them that it deserves closer attention. The quality of your writing must convince them to invest that extra time. This portion of the workshop will be based on a detailed scrutiny of the participants' own work - please see 'Homework' section below

4.30 - 5.00: Round-up, Questions, Good-byes

Location & Transport

The course is held at the Oxford Union in central Oxford. There are excellent bus, coach & rail connections to Oxford. If you want to come by car, then the Westgate car park has plenty of spaces and is close by - but it's relatively expensive. Alternatively, the city's Park & Ride scheme is cheaper, but needs you to allow a little more time for the bus ride in. More info from the every-helpful City Council here.

Cancellations

We can take cancellations for a full refund up to 22 days before the event. Thereafter, no refunds - sorry. If we do need to cancel a course (which happens very seldom), then we will give at least 21 days notice.