Advanced Fiction

Advanced Fiction:
How to Write a Novel

An Immersive Weekend Course

With Michelle D’costa

Do your stories stay as ‘drafts’ in your email or in word documents that you haven’t opened in a long time? Are you hoping to polish these drafts and send them out to magazines someday? Do you have ideas for stories but you struggle to maintain the flow after a few sentences? Are you looking for constructive feedback on your stories? Want it to be workshopped in groups of talented writers and readers?

Join us for an interactive ‘Advanced Fiction: How To Write A Novel’ workshop where writer Michelle D’costa will help you take your fiction to the next level. You will learn the concepts of plot, character, dialogue and setting. We will be discussing how to use different narrative styles to tell your story. We will be analyzing different points of view, scenes, character sketches, dialogues, narrative arcs, and more in detail.

You will also learn how to workshop your stories with groups of enthusiastic and passionate writers. We will be reading and closely analyzing classics and contemporary works of fiction like The Days Of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. The works of Indian writers will be highlighted to help you understand how to find your voice.

DURATION : 4 hours

DATES : 27th and 28th May, 2023

AGE LIMIT : 16+

CLASS SIZE: 20 Seats

TAKEAWAYS

Learn what it takes to write a novel- the 8 Ps of fiction Premise, Plot, POV & Perspective, Person, Pace, Place, Proofreading, Political Correctness
Plan and plot your novel from scratch
Read and analyse classic and contemporary novels
Polish excerpts from your novel to submit to magazines

Highlights

Overcome writer’s block

Write more and have fun through engaging writing prompts
Discuss and evaluate your ideas with your classmates
Write without judgment

Finish your novel

Brainstorm and find an idea to work on
Finish planning and plotting the story
Write crucial scenes from the story

Submit your excerpt to magazines!

Polish your novel’s chapter
Write a cover letter
Send it!

Interested in this class? We will keep you in the loop when this class happens next.

Drop a query and we will get in touch to answer all your questions.

One Course, three outcomes

Take your fiction to the next level

Learn how to edit your own work or supplement your income by becoming a freelance editor. In addition to editing skills and techniques, you can learn how to build an editing portfolio and how to establish relationships with writers and publishers.

Become a novelist

Do you want to build a career around books? Learn about publishing houses and literary agents and the role they play in the creation of books. This could be the first step in your literary career!

Get published!

Are you a writer trying to get your book published? Polish your book with our editing techniques and get insider knowledge of the publishing industry. Perfect your book proposal and learn the tricks and tips to getting published!

Schedule

27th May, 2023
Saturday

11 am - 1 pm :Explore the 8 Ps of fiction

Reading and writing exercises on- Premise, Plot, POV & Perspective, Person, Pace, Place, Proofreading, Political Correctness

28th May, 2023
Sunday

11 am - 1 pm :
Polish your novel’s excerpt and submit to magazines!

More than just a course

Limited seats available!

About the instructors

Michelle D’Costa

Head – Learning and Communities

Michelle has over ten years of experience in the literary industry. She is an accomplished freelance writer, who has been published in over 70 publications including Litro, The Madras Courier, Economic & Political Weekly among others. Her critically acclaimed chapbook, Gulf, was published in 2021. She is Bound’s most sought-after mentor and instructor, having successfully curated, conducted, and facilitated classes for brands and writers based on her previous experience in HR. She is an alumna of the Seagull School of Publishing, Kolkata.

Their Work at Bound

Bound provides a variety of services that help writers develop their skills and get their work ready for publishing. Tara Khandelwal and Aishwarya Javalgekar offer manuscript and proposal edits and guide writers in developing their stories. Tara has edited many acclaimed books, including Three Impossible Wishes by Anmol Malik and Essential Items by Udayan Mukherjee.

What our clients have to say

As someone who has studied creative writing at the MA level, I can confidently say that this is one of the most effective workshops I have come across with ways to really work on the craft. Michelle is also steeped in bookish knowledge and that's exactly the kind of instructor you want for this purpose. She also pushes you out of your comfort zone and with her in-class writing prompts and having you critically analyse short stories. A must-do for all wannabe writers!

— Neharika Gupta,Author, Adulting

What I loved about Bound's fiction course - Michelle is friendly, kind and extremely encouraging. She created a safe space where writers could read out their work and get useful feedback on their pieces. It was nice getting lost in the world of writing, reading with other like-minded people. I hope to do more classes and better my work and I am glad I found such a wonderful community in Bound.

— Sakshi Samtani,Writer & Book Reviewer

I thank Michelle for a wonderful experience with her Advanced Fiction Writing class. Her insights helped me develop writing rituals to write better. The tools and techniques she shared have helped me immensely. The class was really nicely structured with discussions and exercises, that not only helped me recognize how to get over the problems I was facing but also encouraged me to learn from others.

— Sahiti Penna,Senior Software Engineer, Bose

As the Aladdin song goes, Bound's fiction classes opened a whole new world for me. An extremely well-planned and executed workshop. I attended both the Basic and Advanced levels. The insights, tips, readings, and activities were all very enriching. Thank you Michelle for guiding us so well. I would have never imagined that I would sit and dissect a science fiction story someday or write a letter as an unreliable narrator. But I did and thoroughly enjoyed the process!

— Mohua Chatterjee,Communication Consultant, & Personality Development Coach

One of my cherished takeaways from Michelle's class is this amazing community of avid readers and extremely talented writers that I get to be a part of. I went in not knowing what to expect, but by the end of the class, I had learnt a vast amount of much-needed knowhow to write a good story and the technicalities of the craft. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop, it transported me back to the dreamy english classes from my school days!

— Amrutha Ramachandran,Software Developer, AppViewX Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What’s the usual age group of students in classes? Do you conduct classes for children?

We have an age limit of 16 and above for most classes. But we also conduct a variety of children’s classes over the years. If we don’t have an upcoming class, we can provide a one-on-one mentorship. Read more here.

2. What happens if I can’t attend the class after paying?

Unfortunately, we don’t offer refunds. But we can offer you a seat in another class for the same price or upgrade you to one of our mentorship programs with additional payment

3. Are the classes recorded or are they live? Do you share recordings or other materials discussed in class?

If you have an interesting class designed that would add value to Bound’s classes and creative communities, share your ideas and your profile with us at [email protected]. We are always interested in collaborating with new instructors.

4. What if I want to apply as an instructor?

5. Will I get a certificate at the end of the class?

Only our professional classes are certified. We specify which ones are certified in the list of classes above