PITCH & PRESENTATION (MI01)
JULIA BRYANT & JAN HENLEY
You have written a novel - but how best to pitch it to grab the attention of an agent? Does your synopsis sparkle? Will your first page hook your reader? Have you a UNIQUE SELLING POINT and a KILLER FIRST SENTENCE. Bring your synopsis and first chapter to this workshop to practise the art of pitch and presentation through tutorial advice and a group workshop. Julia Bryant and Jan Henley look forward to putting you through your paces.

SELLING YOUR WORK WORLDWIDE BUT KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS (MI02)
JOHN JENKINS
Freelance journalism in the UK is not lucrative work but marketing your work worldwide certainly is. A dollar a word is not uncommon from the USA. Do you know how much the Christian Science Monitor pays for an op ed?
One clever lady sold the same article to 16 different outlets. Another enterprising freelancer made more than £10,000 from a magazine feature and pictures which went to more than 20 markets. But you have to know your rights. Who would have thought Les Miserables would have become a smash-hit musical? How did Lionel Bart and Neil Simon come to rue the day they sold all rights to superb pieces of work. John Jenkins, who has sold more than 300 articles and stories world-wide, will give you the tools to be a master marketeer of your work.

BREATHING LIFE INTO A CHILDREN'S STORY: AWAKENING THESE VOICES (MI03)
BEVERLEY BIRCH
Join this course on narrative voice, involving practical exploration of alternative angles of narration and bringing a character to life. Bring an idea you are working on and be prepared for new writing during the workshop, serious self-analysis and evaluation and a shaking-up of your ideas and assumptions.

BLINDFOLD INTO THE MAZE: PLOTTING YOUR NOVEL (MI04)
LORNA FERGUSSON
Margaret Atwood says that writing a novel is like going blindfold into a maze: for beginners and more advanced writers alike, plot-construction can be daunting. During this stimulating day course, we'll use practical exercises, examples and discussion to explore and tackle story structure, examining the overall design of a novel and how to place scenes and scene-sequences so that your reader's interest, once hooked, never flags. If you have a novel underway, bring a BRIEF synopsis of it with you. If not, just bring your ideas and watch them grow.

FINDING YOUR STYLE - YOUR WRITING VOICE (MI05)
ADRIENNE DINES
This is a workshop for people who have a story to tell but haven't been able to find
a way to tell it. Maybe that wonderful tale in your head just isn't finding its way onto that page. Maybe you have started and found that somewhere after the first few pages/chapters the story drifted off and you can't seem to harness it again. It's not so much writers' block as a lack of conviction. This workshop will look at where the problems might lie: structure, point of view, characterisation, and narration. We'll start with you and how you relate to characters/ situations and see how that affects the way you approach your story. This interactive workshop is designed to renew your enthusiasm and give you confidence. If you have a work in progress or ideas for a story, please submit a short synopsis and any questions that you'd like to tackle, by 6th +June

WRITING A NOVEL: ADVANCED TECHNIQUES (MI06)
PAUL BAVISTER
Writing a novel can sometimes feel like you are juggling more concerns than is humanly possible. This workshop will help you play to your strengths by analyzing your novel's structure, looking primarily at enhancing all levels of readability and suspense. It will also introduce new approaches to description, dialogue and characterization to break habits which might be slowing the completion of your work. Please bring along a brief synopsis of your novel (even if it is at the planning stage).

HOW TO WRITE MARKETABLE COMEDY FOR RADIO, TELEVISION & MAGAZINES (MI07)
BRAD ASHTON
Because everyone loves to laugh, television, radio, newspapers and magazines need well written comedy. This course will show you how to create, write and sell comedy to the various mediums. It will also cover how to surmount the language barrier when writing for foreign markets. A list of possible markets will be included. For this session, delegates are invited to delve into their past and describe two or three incidents that have caused them embarrassment. It could be due to a misunderstanding, a flippant remark that was taken too seriously, or perhaps a seemingly harmless little white lie that grew out of proportion because it had to be backed by further more serious lies. The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate how these recollections can trigger the basic plotline for a situation comedy episode or a humorous magazine article.

ROMANTIC COMEDIES: HOW TO BALANCE THE ROM WITH THE COM (MI08)
DEBBY HOLT
To be successful, romantic comedies have to traverse a tight-rope: If there's too much comedy, it's difficult to care about the romance at the core of the novel. If there's too little, the book resembles an overcooked sponge. This course aims to help you become the Delia Smith of the rom-com! You are welcome to bring first two pages of your novel.

WHAT IS A SHORT STORY (MI09)
JUNE HAMPSON
The workshop will take the delegates from the idea of a short story through the craft to the submission of the completed manuscript. Written exercises will include characterisation, plotting, theme, dialogue, viewpoint, setting out and marketing. At the end of the day the delegate, via the use of the handouts, Q&A, critiques of delegates' work, discussions, group and one-to-one work, will comprehend the craft of the short story. Pens, pad and a sense of humour essential.

THE A-Z OF SUCCESSFUL CRIME & THRILLER WRITING (MI10)
PETER GUTTRIDGE
The Observer's Crime Fiction Reviewer, Peter Guttridge will lead you through the nuts and bolts of crime and thriller writing. Exercises will include creating realistic characters, plotting and plotting backwards and narrative structure. You will also have the opportunity to solve a real crime.