Write Way Writing Workshops
Fast Track Your Writing
A Little About Me…
My earliest memory is sitting on Dad’s knee, listening to him read me bedtime stories. When his uncle, a National School teacher, retired, ‘the Master,’ as he was known locally, visited our house every day. By the time I was seven or eight, he’d introduced me to the classics.
Dad also loved playing cards. Sunday night’s during the winter months, our house became a hub for half-a-dozen players. So, between bedtime stories, ‘The Master’ starting me off on a diet of diverse reading material, and listening to old men regale each other around a card table, it was inevitable one day I’d write something.
My national teacher played a crucial role in developing and nurturing my reading and writing skills. His personal library opened my eyes to Irish mythology, and he also implanted a love of poetry.The images these works evoked, coupled with my home experiences, started a lifelong passion of reading and writing.
At college, I studied Computer Programming, spent most of my working career in Sales Management & Marketing with a number of companies, but my passion for reading and writing remains. In 2012, after completing two full length “trial” novels, I began writing in earnest.
My works got shortlisted for the 2018 Bridport Short Story Prize, Listowel’s 2019 Bryan McMahon Short Story Award Competition, and inclusion in a 2020 anthology.
My third novel was a contender in literary agent David Headley’s opening chapter “Pitch Competition,” and during March 2019, it won Litopia’s prestigious “Pop-Up Submission.”
I’m a graduate of Maynooth University’s Creative Writing Curriculum and Curtis Brown’s “Edit & Pitch Your Novel” Course. After seven years of writing, editing, re-drafting, submissions, rejections, attending and learning from a plethora of writing courses and literary festivals, receiving feedback from beta readers, followed by other rounds of editing, I self-published the first in a crime fiction trilogy in January 2020.
Achieve Your Writing Goals in Less Time
After eight years writing, ‘learning the trade’ and publishing my first books, I know I’ve the skill-set to guide you in how to complete and traditionally / self-publish your story. The knowledge I’ve gained will save you a lot of time and help avoid the pitfalls and expensive mistakes I made.
My decades in sales management taught me to Enable, Engage, Educate and Encourage, so I’ve built an exclusive procedure that dovetails those ingredients with all the nuggets needed to take your project from concept to completion.
How to get that crucial opening chapter right.
Character development.
Making your submission stand out in a sea of manuscripts.
How to self-edit.
How to write engaging cover letters and synopses.
Marketing / social media tools and how to use them.
How to write catchy taglines and blurbs.
Dialogue, plot and pace.
Traditional or self-publish pros and cons (plus other alternatives).
Preparation for novel competitions and pitching.
Formatting, cover design and e-book publishing.
Audio book options.
Writing Workshops
Mainly conducted through Zoom (cuts down on carbon footprints), this twenty-four week workshop is packed solid with tips and practical, crystal-clear advice, that will explain how to write that novel, memoir, self-help or how-to book you’ve always wanted to complete, in a communal atmosphere of mutual respect, support, collaboration and enjoyment.
All writing courses reveal insights into some aspect of the process. Our Write Way workshops delivers the total package. When you’re ready to unleash your novel potential the Write Way – either as part of a group or one-to-one – come, join the family. We’re unique, and you are too.
The Road Map
Enable- This is a 6 week course run every Monday from 6.30pm to 8pm starting November 23rd, 2020.
- SOLD OUT
- How to gather ideas
- The elements / components of your novel
- Your unique writing voice
- Your characters, plots and sub-plots
- Choose your topic and audience
- Outlines and writing rules
- Opening lines and your first paragraph
- First chapter
- Your daily word counts
- Tips and tools
- Beginning your marketing process
- Feedback on your work in progress
The Journey
Engage & Educate- This is an 8 week course run every Thursday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm starting January 7th, 2021.
- Social media
- Thinking about taglines
- Your short synopses
- Work in progress: Helping each other
- Competitions / pitching your novel
- Connecting with influencers
- Your long synopses
- Your book blurb
- Deciding on your final plot twists / story lines
- How to delete what isn’t working
- Tips and tricks that will shorten your journey
- One-to-one feedback on your work in progress
The Destination
Encourage- This is a 10 week workshop run every Tuesday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm starting March 2nd, 2021.
- Cover letters
- Editing
- Proofreading
- Your social media marketing
- Book cover design
- A final polish
- Formatting
- Traditional Publish: Preparing your submission + Your agent query letters
- Self-Publish: Preparing your novel for KDP + Your audio options
- Other publishing alternatives