A lively eight-week evening course to create stories that readers can sink into.

Bookings for the Immersive Fiction course have now closed. If you missed out on it, join the newsletter to find out what else is happening and get first chance to book for courses.

Whether you’re starting writing for the first time or working on an existing story, through hands-on activities and lively workshop-style classes, you'll discover how to:

• Create characters who live and breathe through the story, in all their complex fullness.
• Bring the story alive as something vivid and happening.
• Make the story memorable and atmospheric, as a place the reader can step into.
• Keep the reader absorbed with gripping storytelling, so every page is riveting.

Note: This is a new course, so all reviews are from previous courses.

Join the Immersive Fiction course

• One evening a week, 7pm–9:30pm UK time. (Jump to What time is that for me?)
• Join in person in Oxford OR online from anywhere in the world. (The online course is live classes on Zoom. Read more about online classes here.)
• Wednesdays, in-person in Oxford (Upper Wolvercote): 13 May – 1 July 2026. 3 places left. Bookings close end of Monday 11 May.
• Thursdays, online: 14 May – 2 July 2026. (Bookings closed.)
• Max 12 places on each course.
• £395, payable in instalments: a deposit of £95 plus two instalments of £150.

Available places were last updated . After May–July 2026, this course will next run in mid-2028.

Will this work for me and have I done it?

Do I need a story I’m working on?

• If you’re new to writing or don’t have a current story, you’ll create up to three new stories in the course.
• If you have a story, you’ll be able to work on that in the course: writing time with added guidance. Your story can be at any stage from nascent idea to a complete draft you want to rework.

Have I done this before?

• This is a new evening course, based on four previous Summer of Writing workshops: Page Turners, Writing in Scenes, A Sense of Place, and Living Characters. Two short exercises from the Page Turners workshop have also been extended into Let’s Do It mini-workshops: Narrative Drive and Plot Tension Map.
• The course uses the same materials, rearranged for consistent story development.
• If you’ve done those workshops and would like to do the course, you’re most welcome to. They use the core techniques I most often recommend, and return to regularly myself, so I think they bear repeating. That said, if you’ve done them, you’ll also have your workshop booklets, so you could revisit those as self-study. Up to you!

What’s the difference between this course and the Story Elements course?

Both are general fiction courses suitable for any level, from newbies to experienced / published writers. Both include plenty of group activities and discussion. They cover different aspects and use different materials. You can do either one first. They key differences are:

Will the practicalities work for me?

• Is there any homework? No. Each week I give you an optional writing suggestion and writerly activity, and I always recommend writing alongside a course if possible, but there’s no set homework.
• What if I miss a class? You get a weekly booklet summarising everything we've covered, so you don't miss out on the info. I also send you optional DIY instructions so you can do the activities in your own time if you want to.
• I’m not in the UK: can I join? Yes: the online course is open to bookings from anywhere in the world. You can read more about the online classes here.
• I’m dyslexic: can I do the course? Yes, and lots of writers are. The handouts are dyslexia-friendly and I can send you each week’s reading in advance.
• I have a chronic illness / disability: I'm very happy to make arrangements to make the classes accessible / easier for you. You can read more about accessibility and accommodations here.
• Where is the in-person course? Upper Wolvercote, Oxford, UK. There's free street parking, a good bus route that stops 5 mins away (#6) and a beautiful, well-maintained canal path from town for walking or cycling. (You can pop your bike in the back garden.)

Anything else you want to know?

Email me: I'll be happy to chat it through with you.

What time does the course start for me?

Each course lesson is 2.5 hours long, with a break in the middle. Check for your time zone in the table below, for the start time.