Manchester Writing School

The biggest thing for me was working with lecturer Joe Stretch. His ability to interpret vague statements about writing — preferences, frustrations — and construct them into rules, helped me to build a philosophy, where previously I’d relied on intuition.

It helped me find my strengths with my writing. I thought the what I was writing was the key, but through this programme I found out, the why was much more important. And when you get that right, the rest is just easy.

Do everything you can, because you can do almost everything. There are readings, award ceremonies, plays, performances, seminars, and that’s leaving out the theatres and libraries just a short walk away. Letting your interests guide you through the wealth of opportunities is a sure way to develop your work

The tutors all have first-hand experience of writing and publishing, so they have great insights that not only help you to improve your writing and hone your craft, but to also start thinking about getting your work ready for publication.