Five one-day creative writing workshops for adults in Oxford on Saturdays in August

Your Summer of Writing

Create yourself a Summer of Writing: book a selection of workshops to inspire and develop your writing – whether you've never written before or have heaps of experience.

These one-day writing workshops are filled with creative, practical exercises. Each workshop can stand alone and they’re all multi-level (suitable for both beginners and experienced writers). For most workshops, you can choose to create new ideas or to develop a work in progress.

To book, use the booking form below the workshop descriptions. You can also read what the workshops are like, my Tips for a Summer of Writing, and suggestions for visiting Oxford.

‘What a buzz! So much creative energy!’ – Sam. ‘I left feeling utterly refreshed, inspired and full of new ideas.’ – Anna. ‘Impeccably planned with excellent content.’ – Mary. ‘Extremely helpful, very friendly.’ – Gemma. ‘Best value for money of them all.’ – Robin.

The Workshops

Saturday 1 August: Funny Fiction

Finished

Explore the varieties of comedy in fiction and a raft of techniques to be funny on the page, for full comedy or touches of humour.

Saturday 8 August: Writing Dialogue

Finished

Bring your storytelling and characters to life with vivid, distinctive dialogue.

Saturday 15 August: Past Writer's Block

Places available: Book by the end of Thurs 13 Aug

Identify the obstacles that keep you from the joy of writing and find ways to move past them.

Writer’s block can turn what was a joy into frustration, shame, and avoidance. And if we’re passionate about writing, that can strike at the heart of our identity. It’s extremely common – but it’s not an inevitable part of the creative process.

In this workshop, you’ll identify the obstacles, both internal and external, that keep you from the joy of writing. Drawing on a substantial base of research, you’ll explore ways to unpick unhelpful thinking, discover practical evidence-based strategies to circumvent moments of block, and build a wider, more secure sense of your writing self. All in a supportive, accepting atmosphere, through uplifting activities, and with actual writing woven in.

You’ll leave with a new understanding of what writing blocks actually are, durable strategies for how to handle them, and fresh pieces of writing.

Saturday 22 August: Publishing

Places available: Book by the end of Thurs 20 Aug

Getting published starts with sending your writing out: find out where to send it, sort your layout, write synopses and cover letters, and get published.

If you want to get published, don’t let your writing live in your hard drive gathering virtual dust – send it out. The first short story I had published was one I’d written 10 years before. So why didn’t I send it out? First, I didn’t know if it was good enough – but that’s the editor’s call, not mine. Second, I didn’t know I was “allowed” – well, I’m here to tell you that you are allowed. And third, I didn’t know how. So that’s what we’ll cover.

Getting your writing ready and submitting it for publication can feel scary, but it’s really just a question of admin. Once your writing is polished, you need to give yourself the best chance and make the editor’s or agent’s life easy. We’ll look at getting feedback from beta-readers, professional layout for fiction, how to find places to send your writing (markets for short stories and poems; finding agents and indie publishers for novels), how to follow submission guidelines, and how to write a catchy synopsis and a great cover letter.

Saturday 29 August: Hone Your Style

Fully booked: Join the waiting list

Find the freedom to write more like yourself and sharpen your style.

Quality prose comes in dozens of different flavours, but shares a surprising number of strengths. Whether you prefer baroque, minimalist, playful or transparent prose, explore ways to develop your style and polish your prose so it sparkles.

In this workshop, you’ll explore your own personal tastes, what changes your style, and when you might want a different style. You’ll also discover how to use more original imagery, select telling details, improve your word choice, spot clichés, and prune unnecessary words.

You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how to refine and enrich your own style, 7+ pieces of new writing, and a bagful of techniques for polishing your work.

’You will not find any other workshops that come close - Megan crafts them with her legendary skill and imagination, each learning point woven into a different activity so you learn by discussing, doing, and having a lot of fun. You walk out of the door at the end of the day with new skills, insights, enthusiasm and a nice little booklet summarising everything you've learned. No matter whether you're a beginner writer or a seasoned author, it won't be long before you'll be brightening up your stories with a whole range of useful ideas.‘ – Judy

Book your workshops now

or read on for practical info and pricing.

Practical info

When and where: All the workshops run from 10am–4pm, on Saturdays from Sat 1 August to Sat 29 August, in person in Oxford, UK. Dates for individual workshops are listed next to the workshop.
Places left & Waiting lists: Workshops are maximum 12 people. Once a workshop has 4 or fewer places left, I'll update that under the workshop title. If a workshop you're keen on is waiting-list-only, do still book it and I'll add you to the waiting list. Spaces can come available and only get re-advertised on the site once the waiting list has been cleared. Last updated:
Workshop fees: From £90 per workshop. The more you book, the less you pay per workshop.

Workshop Calculator:

Workshops	Total
1 workshop	£100
2 workshops	£190 (£95 each)
3 workshops	£270 (£90 each)
4 workshops	£360 (£90 each)
5 workshops	£450 (£90 each)

‘Megan’s expertise combined with her jaunty, original approaches to teaching key elements of writing craft made the session worth the drive (from London) and worth every penny. Props galore and plenty of breaks balanced the pace in this well thought-out session.’ – Emma