Writing Fiction: Transforming Your Research or Personal Experiences into Fiction
By Patricia Leavy
A 4-wk course in March (4,11,18,25)
Do you want to write fiction? A novel? A short story? Have you thought about transforming your research or teaching experiences into a work of fiction? Do you want to transform your personal experience into a literary work? This course is for you and anyone else interested in writing fiction, whether you’re experienced or a novice. All are welcome.
This 4-session course will follow a workshop format and will include a mix of lectures, guided writing time, and discussion. You will learn about the history of writing as inquiry and a process of discovery and strengths of fiction for portraying human experience and our deepest emotions, hopes, and fears. There will also be lots of practical instruction for developing a writing discipline, learning to create prompts to stimulate creativity, developing multi-dimensional characters and rich settings, developing compelling plots and storylines, and the different types of narrative structures and how to build them. By the time you have completed this course, you will have written all the foundational pieces you need to carry on and complete an entire literary work, such as a novel. At the end of the course, you will be given additional tips and tools to keep going. This course is literally for anyone interested in writing fiction, taught by someone who passionately loves writing.
Week 1: Writing as a Way of Knowing
Week 2: Characters and Setting
Week 3: Plot, Narrative Structure, and Storyline
Week 4: Literary Tools and Writing a Scene
*By purchasing a ticket for this or any of the London Arts-Based Research Centre events, you acknowledge and agree to the Terms and conditions
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a world-renowned researcher and bestselling author. In 2010 she coined the term “social fiction” and has championed the practice of fiction as research around the world. She has published over forty books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her books have been translated into many languages. Her books have garnered more than 40 awards including USA Best Book Awards, Independent Press Awards, International Impact Book Awards, National Indie Excellence Awards, Firebird Book Awards, International Book Awards, New York City Big Book Awards, and American Fiction Awards. Recently, her novel Hollyland was Featured on She Reads “The Most Anticipated Romances of Spring 2023” and received numerous honors including the 2023 American Fiction Award in Mystery/Suspense: Romantic Suspense, 2023 American Fiction Award Finalist in Best New Fiction, Romance: General, and Women’s Fiction, 2023 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards Honorable Mention in Women’s Fiction, 2023 Firebird Book Awards 1st Place Winner in Pop Culture Fiction and Summer/Beach Read, 2023 Firebird Book Awards 3rd Place Winner in Romantic Suspense, and a 2022 Literary Titan Silver Book Award. She is currently contracted for 10 novels in addition to the more than dozen she has already published. She has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. Patricia is also the series creator and editor for 10 book series, including the ground-breaking Social Fiction series, which exclusively published full-length literary works. During her decade as editor, she vetted thousands of proposals and writing samples and published 45 titles, many of which won awards or became bestsellers.