Post-its and Publication by Johanna Grassick

I attend writing courses for two reasons: because they’re an opportunity to get feedback on my work, and because they always give my writing a boost, generating ideas and inspiration. In those respects, this year’s Advanced Romance Writing course with Kate Walker was no exception, but what was different this time was that almost all the group had attended last year. This meant we knew each other (always good in the bar!) and Kate knew us, so she was able to tailor the course specifically to our needs.

Post-it plotting!

This year in Fishguard we did a lot of work on character and how these can really drive the story. We examined the core emotions in our stories and used coloured post-its to make it visual (there was much excitement over the post-its, which Kate generously provided!)

We also discussed our opening chapters, both in one-to-one sessions with Kate and in a group discussion (fuelled by wine – well it was Saturday night!). I found this feedback invaluable, especially as the chapter I brought is a new genre for me: I’ve moved from writing category romance to a relationship novel, and with new territory comes uncertainty.

And there were special celebrations this year because one of the group, Rachael Thomas, has sold her first book to Harlequin Mills & Boon. Kate Walker has seen many of her pupils ‘graduate’ to be published authors, so she knows what she’s talking about when she advises to; “Write the story you really want to tell. Don’t imitate, don’t be afraid – write from the heart.”

So that’s what I’ll be doing – perhaps with the aid of a post-it or two!

Johanna Grassick

Kate is running several more courses this year. Details are on her website:

http://www.kate-walker.com/index.html

Writers Holidays run the weekend in Fishguard as well as other courses: http://writersholiday.net/