Let Shanklin inspire you
A
re you the next Raymond Carver ready to boil down the minutiae of every day life into the shortest of stories? Or are you on the verge of delivering the kind of page-turning thriller that would give Dan Brown a run for his money?
Well, now’s your chance to be inspired and fulfil your literary promise with a weekend writing course at The Grange in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.
Throughout the year, professional novelists will take time out from writing to bring out your inner-writer with various exercises. You’ll learn how to master dialogue, scene-setting, plot construction, characterisation and draw on your own experiences to construct exhilarating prose.
Stripped of the classic excuses – no time, wrong environment, lack of encouragement, criticism without the constructive element – you’ll have no choice other than to create your masterpiece.
And what better place to unleash your imagination than on the Isle of Wight; the island that inspired great wordsmiths like Alfred Lord Tennyson and Charles Dickens. Even your accommodation is inspirational: the Grange is a dramatic 19th-century country house backing onto acres of woodland, complete with sea views, walls adorned with contemporary art and an open fire.
If that doesn’t get the creative juices flowing then you can always take a walk along the stunning coast, explore the charming thatched cottages and local characters in the village of Shanklin or stroll to Shanklin Chine where you’ll find waterfalls guaranteed to get those metaphors and similes flowing.