Novel Writing Masterclass: 14th April 2026, Winchester

January 30, 2026January 28, 2026 / Claire Fuller / Leave a comment

with Lucy Atkins and Claire Fuller

Tuesday 14th April 2026 in Winchester, Hampshire

Have you started writing a novel but now you’re confused? Unsure? Bogged down? Or just want to finish?

Join two bestselling authors for an expert-led one-day Novel Writing Masterclass in Winchester, Hampshire.

Following their successful, sold-out masterclass in 2025, Oxford University Creative Writing tutor and author, Lucy Atkins, and Costa Prize Winning author and creative writing teacher, Claire Fuller are once again teaching one-day novel writing masterclass.

What makes this Novel Writing Masterclass so unique?

Creative writing courses can be, at best, underwhelming – at worst, downright misleading. This one-day masterclass is different. Lucy and Claire not only have extensive experience teaching Creative Writing at the very highest level, they have a proven track record as published authors of bestselling, critically-acclaimed, award-winning novels.

In short, they know what makes a good book – and they know how to teach you!

With ten published novels between them, they also understand how complex and difficult writing can be. This masterclass, which takes place in central Winchester, Hampshire, offers a unique opportunity to learn from and ask questions of two experienced writers and Creative Writing tutors. For this reason, places are strictly limited to 14.

Who is this Masterclass for?

This day is aimed specifically at writers who have started writing a novel but not yet finished.

You will learn to:

Understand how a plot that builds can move your writing forward
Create compelling characters
Analyse your first 30 pages and see what is and isn’t working
Master the all-important skill of self-editing
Prepare your novel so that is is ready to send out to literary agents

You’ll leave inspired and energised with a toolbox of practical tips, strategies and ideas that you can apply to your own work. And perhaps most importantly, you’ll gain renewed enthusiasm, energy and a sense of creative direction.

Buy Tickets

About Lucy
Lucy teaches on the Creative Writing Masters degree at the University of Oxford. She is the author of five novels, including the bestselling Magpie Lane, and most recently Windmill Hill, a summer book pick for both the Guardian and the Observer. Find Lucy’s ‘Talking About Writing’ sessions with Claire and other well-known authors on Instagram @lucyatkinswriter.

About Claire
Claire is the author of five novels including the Costa Novel Prize-winning and Women’s Prize-shortlisted novel, Unsettled Ground. Her sixth novel, Hunger and Thirst, will be published in May 2026. She has taught creative writing for many years for various organisations including The Women’s Prize, Arvon, literary festivals and creative writing academies. Her teaching is said to be fun but also very practical, so that students leave with concrete methods for improving their own writing. Follow Claire on Instagram.

What previous Novel Writing Masterclass students said about the day

“I was particularly interested in the Plotting and Character modules and seeing these elements really being broken down. It was great to see the plot/shape of a novel being explained visually on the flipchart. It made me aware of how I should be approaching these areas in my own writing.“

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for yesterday’s brilliant and inspiring workshop. You both put so much thought and energy and generosity (sharing your knowledge) into it.“

“Such a privilege to be able to learn so much from two authors I admire immensely, especially as I’m just setting out on this journey. You should both be very proud of how the day went and I really appreciate all the thought and work you put into creating the content. I thought you both worked really well together and split up the modules well so we weren’t listening to one voice for too long at a time.“

“A big thank you to you both for your time and the inspiration from the course.“

Further information

This intensive day is structured around mini workshops taught by both Claire and Lucy, each including writing exercises and time for discussion. There will be opportunities to put your questions to both tutors, and meet your fellow writers.

The price includes sustaining snacks, delicious cakes, hot drinks and a tasty lunch.

The Arc is located in central Winchester only 10 minutes walk from the nearest large carpark (Tower Street), and also only 10 minutes walk from Winchester station.

We look forward to welcoming you to our Masterclass!

Buy Tickets

Join Our Oxford Novel Writing Retreat—Limited Places!

August 12, 2025August 11, 2025 / Claire Fuller / Leave a comment

I’m very excited to let you know that fellow author and Oxford University creative writing tutor, Lucy Atkins and I are running a one-day novel writing retreat in Oxford on 13th November 2025. We’ll be teaching character, setting, inspiration, plot and lots more. It’s going to be intense, informative and fun. Places are very limited, so book yours quickly. Click here to find out more.

NaNoWriMo and saggy middles

November 10, 2016 / Claire Fuller / 13 Comments

This picture of my cat, Alan, has no relevance to this post, but if you’re feeling a bit down, it might cheer you up.

Last November I was an official NaNoWriMo coach – answering questions on Twitter and generally encouraging participants along. (For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is an event where participants undertake to write a 50,000 word novel in November.) As part of my duties I also wrote a blog post for the NaNoWriMo website. We’re now nearly approaching the middle of November, so for those participating this year, I thought some advice on saggy middles might be appropriate. And if you’re not doing NaNoWriMo, but taking your time about writing a novel hopefully these suggestions could be helpful to you too.

For many writers the middle of your novel is often where your story starts to sag. You might have an idea of the ending, or even have it all planned out, but how you’re going to get there is unclear. Here, then, are six ideas to work those saggy middles to keep them strong, toned and looking good:

Make things even more difficult for your main characters.

Continue reading →

Flash fiction: Sleeping

August 26, 2015August 26, 2015 / Claire Fuller / 80 Comments

She lies on the sofa dreaming of librarians and love, naked Swimming Lessons and Ottolenghi. Envelopes fall through the letterbox and the telephone rings, the dinner needs cooking and the cat is hungry, still she sleeps on. Behind her closed lids a garden grows beside the sea.

‘What did you do with your life?’ A higher-being asks, turning the wheels and handles of its population-sized filing cabinet. The machine clunks and sticks on F.

‘I was working on my novel,’ she says.

‘Pah!’ Higher-being replies. ‘You were sleeping.’

She wakes, sits up and begins to write.

***

This week Rochelle Wisoff-Fields and our Friday Fictioneers host has selected one of my pictures for people to write to. And for those who don’t know, the picture is of the stacks in the university library where my husband works. The stacks is a system in the basement for storing books and documents. Click here to join in or here to read other people’s stories. My story this week is true.

If you’re so inclined it would be lovely if you would vote for my novel, Our Endless Numbered Days in the Edinburgh First novel award, and you’ll have a chance of winning a copy of all 56 novels nominated. (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

Top 10 Tips for Writing a Crappy First Draft

July 28, 2015October 14, 2015 / Claire Fuller / 46 Comments

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All writers have little tricks for how to get the first draft of their novel down on paper. I don’t plan at all, but I do allow myself to go back each time I sit down to write and do a little bit of editing; perhaps just 20% of the writing time I have available. I tell myself it’s to get ‘in the zone,’ but really it’s because I worry that I might be run over by a bus and someone would see my crappy first draft. Another way I mitigate this possibility is by writing [THIS IS SHITE] (square brackets included) every so often. This technique (which I wouldn’t really recommend) also silences my inner critic for a little while which means I can carry on churning out words.

But what other tips and tricks do writers use? I asked a few author friends and below I have compiled the top ten ways of pushing your word count forward.

Make notes as you go along. Kerry Drewery: I work with a notebook by my side and never ever look back until I get to the end. But if I decide something needs changing as I’m going along, for example, if character’s age or details need changing, I make a note of it. Then when I’ve finished the first draft I work through it with the notebook. Jo Bloom: I do the same thing using Scrivener.
Allow yourself to write badly. Sarah Jasmon: Give yourself permission to sometimes write badly and not worry. It was such a relief when I realised I didn’t have to get it right all the time. Shelley Harris: I write a ‘Fuck-it’ draft – a dirty first draft where I push on and don’t look back.
Give yourself a word count. Fionnuala Kearney: I bash out that first draft and I mean bash it out! I avoid too much editing as I go along by giving myself a daily word count target. Me: I keep a daily diary of what I’ve been writing and what my word count is – it’s very motivating to see it going up.
Write something you’re interested in. Jon Teckman: Sometimes I stick in a scene about something I’m really interested in, just to keep writing. For example, if I get really stuck, I make up an excellent Chinese restaurant and take myself off for an imaginary pig-out! Me: Sometimes I skip to a scene further along in the novel that is more exciting to write.
Read a few pages of someone else’s book. Me: If I know that I’m struggling to write new words because I can’t get the style correct, I’ll sometimes stop and re-read a few pages of a book that I really admire to get into the zone again. At the moment Richard Ford’s Wildlife seems to work quite well.
Write a mini-first draft. Fleur Smithwick: I compromise on planning by bashing out a mini-first draft of about 20,000 words. It’s like a condensed book, split into around 70-80 scenes with a bit of dialogue. This way when I’m writing the full novel it flows, it’s fun to do and I don’t lose the momentum.
Do a bit of editing and then move forward. Vanessa Lafaye: I can get caught in the trap of endlessly polishing and not moving on, so I try to limit myself to reading only the previous scene. I do some tinkering, but it doesn’t slow me down that much, and does put me in the ‘zone’ again.
Write a chapter plan. Terry Stiastny: Sometimes bashing ahead with no plan can leave you with lots of words but no book. My approach is a compromise – a chapter-by-chapter outline, so I have an idea of what needs to happen next. Vanessa Lafaye: My chapter plan is literally one line with the main events. It shows me the shape of the book and whether it’s logical, and where the gaps are. And sometimes it reads, ‘Something happens here’ when I don’t know. Jo Bloom: I’ve realised that I’m a compromiser. I need to have one hand on a plan – and know the shape and skeleton of the story – but I leave a lot of room for the story to shape on the page. Kerry Drewery: I have a start, probable finish and key points along the way, but I need to give it room to develop a little and can’t plan much more than that. Sarah Vaughan: I do a chapter by chapter plan that changes between drafts.
Don’t worry about what you might cut later. Sarah Vaughan: Whenever I get despondent about having to cut thousands of words, I remind myself that nothing is wasted. All writing is good practice.
And the bottom line? Jo Bloom: SHUT THE VOICES UP and just keep writing.

Do you have any other tips on how to write a first draft? Please share them in the comments.

Once you’ve got your first draft down, read the second in this series of blog posts on revising.