Cesca Major is a novelist and screenwriter. She has written fourteen novels under different names and her books have been published in more than 12 countries. She has been nominated for the RNA's Romantic Comedy Award, HWA Gold Crown and the CWA Gold Dagger Award. She currently has TV and films in development with companies including Hello Sunshine, Apple, Monumental Television, 42, Roughcut, Sky Studios and the BBC. Cesca has presented shows for ITV West and Sky Channels in the past. She enjoys hosting or speaking on panels and films vlogs about the writing process. She runs writing retreats, mentors for the Black Girl Writers and has taught creative writing for Jericho Writers & the Henley School of Art. Cesca lives in Berkshire with her husband, son and twin girls.
Writing a Novel: From draft to publication (digital course)
Are you looking to commit time to your fiction writing this autumn but can’t commit to a residential course? Are you in need of a boost of inspiration and practical advice? Whether you already have a first draft of a novel and need support with edits, are starting out and are unsure how to plot your next steps, need guidance on how to bring your characters to life, or need tips on hooking an agent, this 5-week online course is designed to help you take your writing to the next level.
During this five-week course, you’ll benefit from the teaching you’d receive during our usual residential courses but from the comfort of your own home. Led by award-winning and experienced tutors, Cesca Major and Ayisha Malik you’ll cover all aspects of novel writing and the publication process and will start to build a supportive community of fellow novel writers. Through lively group workshops and one-to-one tutorials offered at the end of the course, learn how to write characters with depth, complexity and contradiction, plot and pace your novel, and self-edit your work. The tutors will also be sharing their top tips on navigating the publishing industry and submitting to agents. Ahead of your one-to-one tutorial, you’ll be invited to submit a sample of you writing to be read by one of your tutors.
You’ll leave this course with a clear idea of your next steps, with an unlocked sense of creativity and purpose and the know-how of writing a novel which stays with your readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
Please Note: All times are GMT
Structure:
Are you looking to commit time to your fiction writing this autumn but can’t commit to a residential course? Are you in need of a boost of inspiration and practical advice? Whether you already have a first draft of a novel and need support with edits, are starting out and are unsure how to plot your next steps, need guidance on how to bring your characters to life, or need tips on hooking an agent, this 5-week online course is designed to help you take your writing to the next level.
During this five-week course, you’ll benefit from the teaching you’d receive during our usual residential courses but from the comfort of your own home. Led by award-winning and experienced tutors, Cesca Major and Ayisha Malik you’ll cover all aspects of novel writing and the publication process and will start to build a supportive community of fellow novel writers. Through lively group workshops and one-to-one tutorials offered at the end of the course, learn how to write characters with depth, complexity and contradiction, plot and pace your novel, and self-edit your work. The tutors will also be sharing their top tips on navigating the publishing industry and submitting to agents. Ahead of your one-to-one tutorial, you’ll be invited to submit a sample of you writing to be read by one of your tutors.
You’ll leave this course with a clear idea of your next steps, with an unlocked sense of creativity and purpose and the know-how of writing a novel which stays with your readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
Please Note: All times are GMT
Structure:
Week 1, Wednesday 6 November
18.45 – 19.00: Everyone gathers online in the course Zoom room. A member of the Tŷ Newydd team will welcome you and the tutors. You’ll get to introduce yourself, meet everyone, and settle in.
19.00 – 20.00: First workshop
20.00 – 20.15 : Comfort break
20.15 – 21.15 : Second workshop
21.15 – 21.30: Closing remarks, and exercise set for next week’s session
Week 2, Wednesday 13 November
18.45 – 19.00 : The Zoom room is opened ahead of the first session to give you time to settle in, ask questions and chat to your fellow participants.
19.00 – 20.00: Tutors first session
20.00 – 20.15 : Comfort break
20.15 – 21.15: Tutors second session
21.15 – 21.30: Closing remarks, and exercise set for next week’s session
Week 3, Wednesday 20 November
18.45-19.00: The Zoom room is opened ahead of the first session to give you time to settle in, ask questions and chat to your fellow participants.
19.00-20.00: Third workshop
20.00-20.15: Comfort break
20.15-21.15: Fourth workshop
21.15-21.30: Closing remarks, and exercise set for next week’s session
Week 4, Wednesday 27 November
18.45-19.00: The Zoom room is opened ahead of the first session to give you time to settle in, ask questions and chat to your fellow participants.
19.00-20.00: Fifth workshop
20.00-20.15: Comfort break
20.15-21.15: Sixth workshop
21.15-21.30: Closing remarks and celebration of each other’s work. Invitation from tutors to submit a sample of writing ahead of your one-to-one tutorial in two weeks’ time. Timetable of tutorials shared with writers by Tŷ Newydd staff member.
Week 5, Friday 6 December
10.00 – 3.00 You attend a 30-minute one-to-one tutorial with one of your tutors during which you’ll receive bespoke feedback on your writing which will help you to keep on taking your writing forward and build a sustainable writing practice.
Tutors
Cesca Major
Ayisha Malik
Ayisha Malik is author of critically acclaimed novels Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, The Other Half of Happiness, This Green and Pleasant Land and The Movement. She was a WHSmith Fresh Talent Pick and Sofia Khan was a London CityReads choice. Her contributions have included, A Change is Gonna Come and the Sunday Times bestselling Conversations in Love. She has written a re-telling of Jane Austen's Mansfield Part and the children’s book Seven Sisters. Malik is winner of The Diversity Book Awards and has been shortlisted for the Asian Women of Achievement Award, Marie Claire's Future Shapers Awards, h100's Awards for Publishing and Writing, and is recipient of the Society of Authors’ Travelling Scholarship. Sofia Khan is not Obliged and The Movement are optioned for television. Malik is part of the Professional Writing Academy team and teaches fiction courses for Faber Academy and Curtis Brown Creative.