Start the year by making space for your creativity.

TICKETS HERE

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This gentle, guided six-week creative writing course from Plot and Purpose (Jess Austin) will help you reconnect with your voice, build confidence and shape your experiences into meaningful stories.

After three sold-out creative writing courses in Leeds, Plot and Purpose has welcomed writers of all experience levels, including those completely new to creative writing or returning to it after time away.

Blending mindful reflection with practical writing techniques, the course will help you explore your creativity at your own pace, develop a sustainable writing practice and work towards a short story you feel proud of.

Previous participants said:

“Lots of practical and usable advice; each session I felt like I was making genuine improvements.”

“Jess was very warm and welcoming. It was very non-threatening... very glad there was no pressure to share work.”

“I would recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine beginner's intro to creative writing, SO much better than most of the things offered as such.”

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Whether you’re completely new to writing or returning after time away, Jess offers a supportive space to explore your creativity at your own pace.

Blending mindful reflection with practical writing techniques, this six-week course will help you develop a sustainable writing practice while working towards a short story you feel proud of.

What you’ll gain

By the end of the course, you will:

• Have written and refined a complete short story
• Feel more confident expressing yourself through writing
• Develop tools and techniques to support your creativity
• Build a writing practice you can continue beyond the course
• Be part of a warm, supportive creative community

How the sessions work

Each session follows a gentle Reflect – Craft – Create structure:

• Reflect: We begin with a short grounding exercise to help you arrive, settle your mind, and focus your attention
• Craft: You’ll learn a key element of writing technique each week (such as character, voice, or structure)
• Create: You’ll have time to write, explore ideas, and begin shaping your own story

Sessions include guided exercises, discussion, and optional sharing. There is no pressure to share your work. Everything is invitational and supportive, with feedback focused on curiosity rather than critique.

You’ll also receive light between-session prompts to help you keep writing in your own time.

Weekly overview - ALL SESSION WILL RUN 2PM-4PM

Over the six weeks, we’ll explore:

• Monday 11th Jan, Week 1, Noticing and sensory detail
  Learn how to draw on your own experiences and observations to bring your writing to life through vivid, sensory detail.
• Monday 18th Jan, Week 2: Memory and emotional truth
  Explore how to write with emotional depth by showing how a character feels, rather than simply telling the reader.
• Monday 25th Jan, Week 3: Developing story ideas and characters
  Discover the core idea behind your story and begin shaping characters with clear motivations and stakes.
• Monday 1st Feb, Week 4: Voice, perspective and dialogue
  Experiment with different narrative perspectives and develop a sense of voice, including how to write natural, believable dialogue.
• Monday 8th Feb, Week 5: Structure, beginnings and endings
  Learn how to shape your story, craft engaging openings, and create satisfying endings that stay with the reader.
• Monday 15th Feb, Week 6: Editing, completion and next steps
  Refine your work through a simple editing process and build confidence in finishing and sharing your writing.

Who is this for?

This course is for you if you:

• Feel drawn to writing but don’t know where to start
• Want to reconnect with creativity in a low-pressure way
• Are interested in writing as a reflective or wellbeing practice
• Have started writing before but struggle to keep going
• Would like structure, guidance, and a sense of community

No prior writing experience is needed, only curiosity and a willingness to explore.

*Tickets are non-refundable*

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