I absolutely love tutoring and mentoring and find it the greatest honour to work with other people and help them wrestle their stories on to the page.
I especially love residential courses where there is plenty of time to get into everything in depth and for much growth to happen in a supportive and nurturing atmosphere.
Obviously, Corona has put a bit of a kibosh on things but here’s what I still have coming up:
Residential/Online Courses
Arvon at Home: Craft of Writing Series
Very chuffed that Arvon have asked me to curate a series of three Craft of Writing sessions and I have chosen to interrogate these three highly inspirational women…
Kit De Waal: arvon.org/writing-course Expect lots of practical suggestions and to be enthused and invigorated by Kit’s rigour and application.
Julia Samuel: arvon.org/writing-course I will be asking Julia about whether writing about difficult experiences can be re-traumatising and asking her to share advice on how to stay mentally and physically healthy while mining the depths of the self.My brilliant editor
Join our fun one-day online workshop and leave feeling enthusiastic, confident and energised with a greater understanding of how to talk to people about your work.
Do you have an idea for a book? Do you struggle to know exactly what the focus is, what to include, how to describe it to other people, and are you in need of help when it comes to knowing what you would need to do to get an agent?
Whether you are at the idea stage or have written a full first draft or at any point in between, this workshop will help you get to grips with the story you want to tell and make progress with how to communicate your vision to others.
We will do a series of exercises to guide you towards creating the first draft of a pitch and proposal document that you can use at all stages of your writing process. It will help you shape your thoughts, you can refine it as you go and, ultimately, you can use it to approach agents to get a book deal.
YOUR TUTORS:
Cathy Rentzenbrink is the author of The Last Act of Love, A Manual for Heartache and Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books. Her first novel is called Everyone is Still Alive and will be out in July 2021. Cathy regularly chairs literary events, interviews authors, reviews books, and speaks and writes on life, death, love, and literature. She works as a teacher and mentor and her absolute favourite thing about her rich and varied writing life is encouraging others to tell their own stories.
Janine Giovanni has 30 years publishing experience at Penguin Random House working on campaigns for a huge variety of authors from household names to debut writers. Janine is also an experienced executive life coach and works with many people at the beginning of their writing journey. Janine’s favourite thing in all aspects of her work is partnering with people to help them reach their full potential.
We love working together and were hosting in-person residential courses before Covid. This is our first online offering together and we’re really excited to meet you all!
WORKSHOP DETAILS:
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Sunday 24th January 2021
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10am-4pm
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We’ll have comfort breaks through the day and Cathy and Janine will answer general questions during lunch at 1pm.
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£125 per person
FAQs:
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Does it matter if I am writing for children? Or if I am writing non-fiction or a novel?
No. Any subject and any audience is fine.
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I haven’t written anything yet. Is that ok?
Yes, you can do this process at any point in your project
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Will I have to read out my work?
No, it is not an interactive workshop, though there will be a Q and A session with Cathy and Janine over lunch and at the end.
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Is there an opportunity to get feedback on my document?
Not in this session. We could run a follow-up if there is an appetite for it.
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I’m not sure I want to be published. Can I still attend?
That’s fine. This is a process that helps you wrestle your ideas into shape. You don’t have to communicate them to other people until you want to.
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What do I need to bring on the day?
Just a pen and paper and an open mind!
For bookings, or any other questions, please email Janine at inkworkscoaching@gmail.com
Curtis Brown Creative online memoir writing course. This is a six-week online course that runs two or three times a year. Please contact CBC for information. They also have a scholarship programme ‘The Breakthrough Writers Programme‘ which is a new outreach initiative offering fully funded courses to under-represented writers.
Arvon creative writing course at Lumb Bank in February 2021.
I will do a residential course and a retreat at Kestle Barton in Cornwall as soon as we are allowed to move around again.
I can do bespoke workshops for corporate groups or friends. I have a small amount of capacity for one on one clients. Do get in touch via the contact button with any queries.
