Learn to Write with Jessica Hart 

25 September – 2 October 2010 

Are you interested in writing romance?  Would you like to learn in a beautiful place?  Now’s your chance! 

Come and join me in Italy!

Anyone who’s ever tried to write knows that it can be a tough and at times lonely business … but not at the Watermill in Posara, in the heart of Lunigiana in the north-west of Tuscany.  Spend a week learning about the key elements of romance writing under a vine-laden pergola, and I promise you it won’t seem nearly as difficult!  There’s something about being with a group of like-minded people, who all love reading and writing romance, with no deadlines except when the next wonderful meal is going to appear, and no distractions but the sound of the river and the clang of the church bell in the village … 

Stories come alive when you’re able to spark ideas off each other, so we’ll do a mixture of discussion, group work and working on your own (see below for a more detailed description of the course).  It doesn’t matter if you’re still wondering how to go about writing a story, are halfway through a manuscript or ready to submit it … or, like me, have written over 50 books, there’s still something to learn – but the atmosphere at the Watermill is so relaxed that somehow it doesn’t feel like working at all. 

To find out more, and for details of prices and accommodation, please see the Watermill’s website.

 

Course Description

The sessions will focus on how to invest a story with the emotional tension that is so key to the success of any romance, and there’ll be a mixture of discussion, group work and individual exercises, as well as opportunities for one-to-one feedback. 
 
No matter how beautifully you write, if you can’t give your story the emotional punch it needs, it won’t grab an editor’s attention.  But how do you invest a romance with the emotional tension that is so key to its success?

I’ll show you how by focusing on a practical approach to key elements in the structure of any romance. Yes, that structure is formulaic, but it’s a structure that works, and the good news is that it’s one whose techniques you can learn like anything else.  In particular, we’ll be looking at how tension is created by weaving together character, conflict and plot.

We’ll spend the mornings discussing a particular aspect of writing romance, and because I’ve always found that the only way to understand anything is to do it, we’ll then break into groups to put what we’ve learnt into practice. Together, we’ll work out an outline structure for a story, elaborating every day with the technique that’s just been discussed.

In the afternoons, if you wish, you’ll complete a similar exercise, this time applying the technique of the day to your own work.  You might be writing something from scratch, or considering a manuscript you’re working on from a new angle.  We’ll meet again later in the afternoon, which will give everybody an opportunity to share what they’ve written if they’d like to.  But there’s no obligation to work if you’d rather not.  If you’d rather spend the afternoon reading in the shade or sleeping in the sun, that’s entirely up to you! 

If you have a work in progress, and would like some feedback on it during the course, you can send me a chapter and/or a synopsis in advance, and there will also be an opportunity to discuss your work on a one-to-one basis during the week.

 

 

 

Saturday
Arrive and settle in at the Watermill.

Sunday
Structuring a romance: the importance of emotional tension

Hooks, setting and situation: all you need to write a synopsis 

Monday
Character: conflict and change

Tuesday
Plot: internal vs. external conflict

Wednesday
Excursion day to Lucca (pictured)
(transport there is included in the price of your course) 

Thursday
Dialogue

Friday
Sexual tension