The Breached Wall

Publisher: Orion Publishing

Anita Burgh's course at the watermill is:

"Novel writing - release your potential"

Saturday 26 September - Saturday 3 October 2009

Best selling author, Anita Burgh came late to writing, starting at the age of 46 and being first published at 50. Having been a student nurse, worked in cancer research, the pop industry, run a hotel, and lived in France and Greece, she has a wide experience on which to draw for her novels - and has done so!

She has written some 20 novels - modern, historical and comic - and has just embarked on another trilogy. She has written numerous short stories and articles for tabloid as well as broadsheet newspapers.

While Anita loves to write, she also enjoys motivating others to do the same. For five years, for example, she ran week-long courses in the South-west of France, on how to write for middle-market fiction, and she has also run various courses in the UK. You can find out more about Anita at www.anitaburgh.com.

Anita rejects the idea that there are rules to writing, a "how to." She feels that people should be liberated to write and not restricted by others´ ideas since that leads to a fear of setting their talent free.

The timings below are approximate and we may alter the sequence of events to suit the group best. We like our itineraries to be frameworks, not straightjackets!

There will usually be a morning session, with a talk lasting about an hour, followed by discussion and questions, normally taking another two hours.

In the afternoons, students will work on exercises and have one-to-one surgeries, to discuss any work problems and assess work presented prior to the course.

The early evening session usually has a talk of about half-an-hour, with more discussions about students´ work.

Throughout this week Anita will show you how she approaches and deals with all the aspects of writing a novel. Each will be studied in depth and you can take from it what is helpful and relevant to you. By the end of the course you will have the bones of a new novel to work at and develop at your leisure.

Saturday

1100-1400 - Pick-up at Pisa airport. Settling in, walk in grounds etc.
1600 - Tea and biscuits
1845 - Pre-dinner drinks. Short introduction by Anita Burgh, who will discuss the week's creative writing programme
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks
1930 - Transport leaves the mill for dinner at a local restaurant

Sunday

0900 - Contintental breakfast at the mill
1000 - Discussion of your aspirations and motivations - which will help Anita to help you.
In depth look at PLOTS & PLOTTING, THEMES AND HOW TO DEVELOP THEM. Relevant exercises set.
1300 - Light lunch
1400 - Work on exercises. Anita´s surgery – one-on-one discussion of any problems in your work; assessment of work presented prior to the course.
1600 - Tea and biscuits
1730 - Report and discussion on exercises. Talk: HOW I GOT STARTED
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks
1930 - Transport leaves the mill for dinner at a local restaurant

Monday

0900 - Contintental breakfast at the mill
1000 - Talk and discussions on BEGINNINGS, MIDDLES & ENDS. Relevant exercises set.
1300 - Light lunch
1400 - Work on exercises. Anita´s surgery – one-on-one discussion of any problems in your work; assessment of work presented prior to the course.
1600 - Tea and biscuits.
1730 - Report and discussion on exercises. Talk: THE GENRES - WHAT ARE THEY?
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks
1930 - Transport leaves the mill for dinner at a local restaurant

Tuesday

0900 - Contintental breakfast at the mill
1000 - Talk and discussions on CHARACTERISATION. Relevant exercises set.
1300 - Light lunch
1400 - Work on exercises. Anita´s surgery – one-on-one discussion of any problems in your work; assessment of work presented prior to the course.
1600 - Tea and biscuits
1700 - Report and discussion on exercises. Talk: PUBLISHING TODAY & WHAT EDITORS WANT.
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks
1930 - Transport leaves the mill for dinner at a local restaurant

Wednesday

Excursion to Lucca: all your transport is included in the price of your holiday - but, once in Lucca, you can follow your own sightseeing itinerary (being as busy or lazy as you want) and shop or eat wherever you wish.
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks at the mill
1930 - Pizzas at the mill

Thursday

0900 - Contintental breakfast at the mill
1000 - Talk and discussions on DIALOGUE. Relevant exercises set.
1300 - Light lunch
1400 - Work on exercises. Anita´s surgery – one-on-one discussion of any problems in your work.
1600 - Tea and biscuits
1730 - Report and discussion on exercises. Talk: PERILS OF WRITING & AGENTS.
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks
1930 - Transport leaves the mill for dinner at a local restaurant

Friday

0900 - Contintental breakfast at the mill
1000 - Talk and discussions on PACE and how to maintain it. Relevant exercises set.
1300 - Light lunch
1400 - Work on exercises. Discussion on VIEWPOINT and RESEARCH
1600 - Tea and biscuits
1700 - Report and discussion on exercises. Talk: WHAT HAVE I LEARNT?
1900 - Pre-dinner drinks
1930 - Transport leaves the mill for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant

Saturday

0800 (precise timing to suit departures) - Contintental breakfast at the mill
Morning transport to Pisa airport.

"Anita Burgh is an inspirational speaker who enthuses her listeners with the desire to write, regardless of their age or sex. Her ability to make would-be authors believe that, they too, might achieve similar success to hers should be an object lesson to other, creative writing instructors."

"The week I spent on Anita Burgh's course completely transformed my approach to writing fiction and gave me a huge injection of confidence about the possibility of writing something publishable. Anita took us through the fundamentals of fiction writing; her seminars were well-structured, clear, concise and detailed."

"In assessing our work in class, Anita always found a constructive and positive way to comment on work. But she was tough when needed and wasn't afraid to administer sharp kicks to lead-swinging posteriors. Most importantly, Anita was great company ? funny, generous and without a hint of ego. I have great memories of that week's holiday and see it as a turning point in my writing career."

"I have since written four non-fiction books and my first book of children's fiction has been published. Whether I would have had the confidence to leap from journalism to books without Anita's encouragement I seriously doubt."

"Anita is excellent at taking you through all the stages of writing and marketing your novel but best of all she gives you confidence. She shows you your strengths as a writer and she helps you with your weaknesses, brilliant for beginners and for more experienced writers alike. And she's great fun!"

"Anita is a methodical and enthusiastic presenter of her ideas and generously shared her experiences of both the creative and commercial aspects of the literary world. She was a kind but constructive critic of the work we had been allowed to forward in advance and I have found her suggestions to be invaluable. She encouraged me greatly and helped me to believe in myself as a writer. Her company was delightful and the course days were full of fun as well as study."