Select a date and time to book
Select Date
Select Time
Riverside Studios is delighted to present its creative course, a regular drop-in creative group suitable for anyone over the age of 18. Whether you’re working on a book and want some creative inspiration, you're intrigued by the idea of writing a short story, or you simply want a creative outlet, these monthly meetups are informal, fun and open to everyone.
This term
Whether you come for one session or every session, you’re guaranteed to build your knowledge, deepen your confidence and increase your enjoyment in your creative writing.
Over four weeks, Dr Rachel Knightley will draw on her experience of writing and of supporting writers to:
Week 1: 17 September | What is Short Fiction?
Get to know your micro-fiction from your flash fiction, your story collections from your story cycles. Create plots, concepts and characters for individual stories and full collections.
Week 2: 1 October | Secrets of Short Storytelling
Master the key tools and explore the use of imagery to grow your stories. Consider what to say, and build confidence to trust your reader with what doesn’t need to be said.
Week 3: 15 October | Whose Story is This? Character in Short Stories
Explore your characters through the events of your story. Who are they at the beginning? Who are they at the end? What is the transformation your reader experiences?
Week 4: 29 October | Conflict and Causation: How to Plot a Story
Understand the basic plots and how they can be written in infinitely diverse ways. Find the events and underlying questions that fascinate you and how to explore them through narrative action.
Dive In members will enjoy free tickets to Riverscribes courses, but availability is limited to 20% of the course capacity. Click here to find out if you are eligible for our free Dive In Membership here.
About Rachel Knightley
Dr Rachel Knightley is the author of two short story collections, Beyond Glass (2020) and Twisted Branches (2022). Her short stories have won Writers’ Forum’s First Prize for Fiction (Wolf in the Mirror), the London Writers ‘Promis’ Prize (The Existence of Tim) and been shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award for best anthology (Dreamland, edited by Sophie Essex). She coaches writers and speakers in southwest London, central London and online and is a visiting lecturer in Creative Writing. Rachel is the founder and creative director of The Writers’ Gym, a creative writing and creative confidence building platform for writers of all genres and all levels of experience. She is also founder and co-presenter of The Writers’ Gym podcast.