Writing courses in Greece

Our centre nestles on the hillside at the edge of the island village. Built high up long ago to evade the clutches of the Mediterranean pirates, the village is accessible only by foot through narrow, cobblestoned streets. The beach is a pleasant ten minute walk away. The centre's courtyard, shaded by fig and pomegranate trees, has a panoramic view of the valley and the Aegean. It's white walls are covered by bouganvilleas and grapevines.
 
This writing programme in Greece offers writers, thinkers and dabblers the opportunity to learn from distinguished writers, share the joys and struggles of the creative process, discover their strengths and polish their skills. In an idyllic environment, far away from the demands and routines dictated by a busy life, course participants can navigate beyond old boundaries and emerge with pieces of writing to be proud of. Indeed, participants have gone on to publish books or to stage plays started, developed or completed with us.

Courses are open to novices with a secret passion for writing as much as to writers who have a book under their belt. The tutors enjoy helping people at any stage of development – so do come with work in progress or just an empty page.

Our writing programme has built up an excellent reputation over the years. Steven Berkoff, Rachel Billington, Margaret Drabble, Hanif Kureishi, Alison Lurie, Hilary Mantel, D M Thomas, Sue Townsend, Marina Warner, Hugo Williams and many others have graced the place over the years and given hundreds of people the benefit of their passion and experience.

Courses convene for up to three hours every morning. They may include group and individual exercises, feedback sessions, varying scenic locations and always camaraderie and fun. Their pace and content are determined by the participants themselves. 
In addition to the programme listed below, all sessions include morning yoga plus ‘A Taste of Greece’ activities (e.g. Greek wine-tasting, cooking, dancing and much more) and a selection of other one-off events from our holistic programme.

1 – 8 April 2010 (1 week) Kitchen Table Writer with Alice Jolly £695
Alice Jolly believes that writing is like cooking. ‘Anyone, anywhere, can’, she says. Alice Jolly has published two novels - What the Eye Doesn't See (2003, Simon and Schuster) and If Only You Knew (2006, Simon and Schuster). Her prize-winning short stories and poems have been published in a wide range of anthologies and magazines. She has broadcast for Radio 4 and has written a prize-winning play. Her articles have appeared in The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, The Bulletin and The New Writer. Alice teaches creative writing at Oxford University, leads writing workshops in schools and is currently working on a new novel.

15 – 28 May 2010 (2 weeks) Aspects of Novel Writing and Keep on Keeping On with Jennie Rooney £895
Wk 1: Have you ever dreamt of writing a novel but not known where to begin? Each day will focus on a different aspect of novel-writing, from getting started to developing characters and plot so that, by the end of the week, you will have all you need to get on with writing that novel. This course is aimed at beginners and those with some writing experience.

Wk 2: A course aimed at developing a piece of work by the end of the week, offering a zoom-in on style, structure, character and plot along the way. There will be practical writing exercises and experimentation in a relaxed and supportive workshop environment, alongside feedback on individual projects. This course would complement the previous week's course or could be taken on its own, and is aimed at beginners and more experienced writers. Jennie Rooney's first novel was published in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, as well as being featured on Richard and Judy's New Writers Book Club. She lives in London, where she also works for First Story (a school-based writing project) and runs creative writing courses. Her second novel is to be published in June 2010

29 May – 5 June 2010 (1 week) Fantasy Writing with Kate Forsyth £695
Fantasy is one of the most popular genres in the world, appealing to readers of all ages and backgrounds. The phenomenal success of fantasy writers such as J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, Christopher Paolini and Robert Jordan in recent years means that publishers all around the world are searching for writers of fantastic fiction (pun intended!) If you like to make up stories about witches, elves, dragons, magical spells and high adventure, then this is the course for you! This course will follow the art of writing fantastic fiction from the first flash of inspiration to finding a publisher for your work. Kate Forsyth is the internationally bestselling author of more than twenty books for children and adults, including The Puzzle Ring, The Gypsy Crown, The Starthorn Tree, and the bestselling fantasy series ‘The Witches of Eileanan’ and ‘Rhiannon’s Ride’. Offering an escape into worlds filled with adventure, wonder and magic, her books have sold nearly 1 million copies across twelve different countries. She has a BA in Literature, majoring in Children’s Literature, from Macquarie University, and a MA in Writing from UWS.

5 – 18 June 2010 (2 weeks) Your Writers Voice and Good Practice with Crysse Morrison £895
Wk 1: This course is for anyone, beginner or more experienced, who wants to explore creativity and develop a personal voice. We'll look at all aspects of style and narrative, including using memories, imagining characters, describing settings and using dialogue. The emphasis is on enjoyment and fun, and ideas are adaptable to any genre from poetry to novels. Crysse will also offer one-to-one sessions to discuss and advise on personal work.

Wk 2: Writing is a skill that improves with practice, like every other creative craft. We will explore various stimulus and techniques to develop a habit of writing practice that will transfer to your working life despite constraints of time or self-criticism. An ideal follow-on from the previous week, this course is also suitable for interested beginners. Crysse was inspired by a writers' Lab session to make a career change, and is now a full-time free-lance writer. Hodder & Stoughton published her two novels; she also writes short fiction and poetry and has a regular style column in Writing Magazine. She is an experienced creative writing tutor and has led courses throughout the world.

20 June – 3 July 2010 (2 weeks) Writing From Life and Memoir Writing with Helena Drysdale £995
One of the best routes into writing – both fiction and non-fiction – is through our personal experiences and memories, and some of our most interesting material lies right under our noses, in other words in our own lives. Week 1 will concentrate on memoir and biography, while week 2 will move into travel writing. Using games and exercises, we will look at openings, finding a voice, moving between summary and scene, description, and polishing up our prose. Trips around Skyros Village will provide further inspiration. Both courses will explore techniques of using our material to tell our stories as well as we can. The course will appeal both to beginners and to more experienced writers. Helena has published many novels including Looking for George and written for a range of newspapers. She is currently a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Exeter University.

4 – 17 July 2010 (2 weeks) How to Write Short Stories and How to Write Your First Novel with Sophie King £1095
Wk 1: How to write short stories for magazines and get published This course will provide tips and tricks of the trade to help you get a short story published. It will include how to get good ideas; how to create convincing characters; how to plot; how to dissect dialogue; how to de-mystify viewpoint and more.

Wk 2: How to write your first novel. This course is also suitable to writers who have already written one novel but not got published. It will cover how to find the right idea for a page-turning novel; how to draw characters that will drive the plot; how to structure a novel; how to create dialogue; how to show the novel through one or more character's eyes and so on. Sophie King, a teacher of Creative Writing at Oxford University (CE), is the author of the best selling novels The School Run and Mums at Home. As a journalist she has written for many publications.

18 – 31 July 2010 (2 weeks) Travel Writing and See the World, Sell the Story with Sarah Woods £1145
Travel writing takes many shapes and forms, from conveying the wonder, frustration, humour and stories of your travels to heralding new, emerging destinations and headline-grabbing travel sector developments. This workshop is designed as an introduction to travel writing in all it’s many and varied forms. So, whether you are keen to secure a commission in a top national newspaper or monthly magazine, compile a travel guidebook or pen a narrative about a deeply personal journey, the Travel Writing Workshop will help you get started. Sarah will pass on tips to help turn memories, observations, highlights, experiences and encounters into well-structured writing – she will also share her advice to help writers maximise their potential and gain confidence in their ability, style and purpose. Sarah Woods is a triple -award-winning travel writing, author and broadcast consultant who has clocked up over 1-million kilometres while writing evocatively about her journeying. She has written 9 travel books, over 1,000 travel articles for magazines and newspapers across the world and has worked on many travel shows, documentaries and films. Her latest book 'How to Make Money from Travel Writing', provides would-be travel writers with a host of practical tips and advice on seeing the world and selling the story. In 2005 Sarah won Travel Guide Writer of the Year Award. In 2007 & 2008, she was awarded the Kenneth Westcott Jones Prize - the first UK travel writer to do so. In 2009, she received a PATA Gold Award nomination.

1 – 14 August 2010 (2 weeks) Writing For Your Life and Short Cuts with Amanda Smyth £1245
Wk 1: Our lives are full of stories; sometimes it takes a little digging inside ourselves to find them. Develop useful tools to help unlock your creative writing life, while learning to mine your own experiences to produce meaningful work.

Wk 2: VS Pritchett defined the short story as seizing a fragment of life, something ‘glimpsed from the corner of the eye in passing.’ Through deconstructing some of the best short stories by writers like Raymond Carver, Richard Ford and Flannery O’Connor, we will unwrap helpful techniques and offer tools and guidance on writing your own best short story. Amanda Smyth is Irish-Trinidadian and was educated in England. She completed an MA in Creative Writing at UEA in 2000. Her short stories and poetry have been published in New Writing, London Magazine, the TLS and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of a series called Love and Loss. Amanda was awarded an Arts Council grant for her first novel, Black Rock, published by Serpent’s Tail.

15 – 28 August 2010 (2 weeks) Craft of Fiction and Life Writing with Monique Roffey £1245
Wk 1: This is a crash course in the craft of fiction: we will cover some basic ideas around showing and telling on the page, character and characterisation, place, dialogue and plot. For those who want to have a good look at what underpins the writing of a novel or short fiction, this is the course for you.

Wk 2: We will look at what it means to write from your own life or the lives of those close to you. We will discover how to play with the truth, if need be, or write about yourself from another persons point of view. We will write from childhood, and about specific locations, and we will discuss what it means to write about living people. Please bring a photograph of your younger self to this session. Monique Roffey's latest novel is The White Woman on the Green Bicycle. She is an ex Arvon Centre Director and Royal Literary Fund Fellow. She teaches Creative Writing for English PEN, Arvon and is a guest tutor on the Goldsmiths MA in Creative Writing.

29 August – 11 September 2010 (2 weeks) Writing Poetry and Life Fiction with Kevan Manwaring £1145
Wk 1: Poetry is the foundation of all good writing – at its best it is the most efficient and effecting form of written communication. Whether you are an aspiring poet, novelist or non-fiction writer, your writing will benefit from learning the discipline, precision and power of poetry. Writing from the heart, via accessible and engaging activities, you’ll bypass any technical anxieties to create poetry with passion. Over the week we’ll work with personal ‘grits in the oyster’ – personal experiences, insights, snapshots of time – to create ‘pearls’ to be proud of. Stunning setting and sensual experiences will provide inspiration – with senses fully alive, you’ll fill your well of poetry to the brim and share its contents in supportive and constructive workshop sessions.

Wk 2: Upgrade your fiction in this week exploring the possibilities of autobiographical material in short story and novel-writing. Whatever genre you are working in, this approach will give your writing greater authenticity and emotional depth. How far you fictionalise is up to you – but by drawing on life experience, you are giving yourself a head start. With life as research, nothing is wasted. Even the most painful of experiences can be redeemed by writing – and others can benefit from hard-won lessons. How much you wish to disclose is up to you – all will be transformed through the lens of fiction, affording the personal and the private a degree of protection. Looking at character, setting, dialogue, plot, point of view, themes and tone in the light of our own ‘personal research database’ will enrich them all – transforming your writing into something resonant and distinctive. Kevan Manwaring is a writer of fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction who lives in Bath, Somerset. Holder of an MA in the Teaching and Practice in Creative Writing from Cardiff University, he teaches creative writing for the Open University. He also runs freelance courses in storytelling and various aspects of the writing process to a wide variety of students. As a professional storyteller he has appeared in numerous shows in Britain and abroad (USA, Italy and Malta). He is the author of The Bardic Handbook, Lost Islands, The Way of Awen and the ongoing Windsmith novels. His poems and articles have appeared in several magazines and anthologies. In 1998 he won the Bardic Chair in his adopted city. He co-runs the Bath Writers Workshop and is the founder of Awen Publications.

12 – 25 September 2010 Your Life Story and Character and Plot with Allegra Taylor £1095
Wk 1: Everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say. Come and discover your voice. Come and be surprised! Everyone can do this. Writing is a transformative art, a healing art. As we re-member and allow our stories to flow down our arms and out through our pens, so we transform ourselves. We come to know ourselves more deeply; to make the unconscious conscious; to gather the fragments of our unique experiences, insights, dreams, thoughts, observations and begin to weave a tapestry. We also leave a legacy of our history for our children and grandchildren. This is a journey to the self and into the sea of images, cultural memories, ancestral voices that is our birthright - a celebration of our uniqueness. In this workshop we will experiment with a fund of ways to uncover and express the stories that live in us. We work as a group, using reminiscences, sense memories, poetry and visualization, encouraging and supporting one another.

Wk 2: “How do you get your ideas?” A question every writer is asked. In this fun and friendly week we will explore loads of ‘ways-in’ to stories - building on simple ideas, personal experience of life and journeys into the territory of the imagination. Some of our course time will be spent going in to Skyros village, sitting in cafes, sharpening our powers of observation and absorbing the atmosphere. We will come together each day to share our material and to support and encourage one another. Allegra is the author of several books and has been teaching creative writing for 20 years.

25 September to 2 October 2010 Creating Comedy with Arthur Smith £695
There are three rules of comedy. Unfortunately no one can remember what they are. In these sessions we shall do our best to recover them and to bring out the funny in every student. Whether you wish to write gags, sitcoms or plays you will find something here to stimulate you. At the end of the course we will present a comedy night to the other students. ‘Laughter is the one true metaphysical consolation’ (little Jimmy Osmond). Arthur Smith is a comedian, writer and broadcaster; He has performed comedy all over the world and has written every form of comedy from stand up to one-liners to full-length plays and screenplays. His play An Evening with Gary Linekar ran for several years in the West End. He appears regularly on Radio 4 but finds that he is best known for BBC’s Grumpy Old Men, his acclaimed autobiography My Name is Daphne Fairfax was published last summer.