The 14-Day
Story-Building Intensive
Write a short story like a pro -
in just two weeks!
Gain the skills, the method, and the confidence
to write short stories with ease.
If you struggle to write a good story, we take you on a step-by-step guided journey – from idea to completed, polished short story!
Our Story-building Intensive starts on Monday 4 April, after which you’ll write 14 sections of a short story in 14 days!
You’ll have an award-winning writer giving you daily tips and tools as you progress, AND you will receive a professional 3-page report on your story once the challenge is complete.
STARTING MONDAY
4 April 2022
– PLACES LIMITED –
The Story-Building Intensive Gives You...
14 Exciting Daily Writing Challenges
We provide thought-provoking challenges that will push you to develop your craft and explore your style of writing.
Access to a Supportive Facebook group
Join other writers from around the world in a small, supportive, group, moderated by a professional writer. Part of the fun is reading the writing of other participants.
A Professional Writing Critique
Award-winning author and writing tutor, Alex Smith, will assess your short story, provide feedback, and steps to improve your work.
A Flexible Schedule
Write wherever and whenever you want. You can easily fit the Creative Writing Challenge around work and other commitments.
50 Pages of Potent, Expert Content
Easy-to-digest course notes that capture a lifetime of writing experience, ready for you to apply to your own writing. The course presents topics covering creative writing basics.
Access to Short Stories Written by the Masters
Learn from the master storytellers. We encourage you to read up to 14 short stories during the challenge.
Master the Steps of Storytelling and Create a Complete Short Story
Take your short story writing to the next level
Our 14-Day Story-building Intensive will demystify the story-writing process, giving you tools and tricks that you can use for all stories that you write.
Keep up your daily writing habit with a new writing challenge that arrives in your Inbox every day for 14 days. Each challenge comes with a new tool or step that you need to master to progress in your story.
Complete the tasks in private, or, if you enjoy the social interaction with other writers, post your writing in the small Private Facebook Group set up especially for you.
This course is for beginner to intermediate writers.
Reviews from Past Students
‘Excellent course. It was a valuable learning experience and left me wanting to do more and write more.’ – Mark Chivers
‘Enthralling. "200-300 words every day" sounds doable, and it is. But the choosing and placing of those words into an order never seen before: that's the beauty and agony of telling a story for the first time.’ – Clive Ritchie
‘I would describe myself as a writing toddler and The Writers College as a sensitive and insightful nanny who made me discover that I can climb stairs - the experience was exhilarating.’ – Claudia Bolz
‘The course exceeded my expectations and provided the structure and motivation to keep writing. Fun, challenging, full of energy. Thank you for the journey.’ – Judy Port
‘I feel like my Muse had a makeover: fresh, happier and definitely wiser.’ – Princy Kiran
Tutors for this Challenge
Alex Smith
Alex Smith is the award-winning author of five novels.
Algeria’s Way, Drinking from the Dragon’s Well, Four Drunk Beauties and Devilskein & Dearlove were published by Random House (Umuzi), and Agency Blue was published by Tafelberg.
Her work has received widespread acclaim. Drinking from the Dragon’s Well was longlisted for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award and Devilskein & Dearlove was nominated for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal in the UK. Agency Blue won a Sanlam Youth Literature Award, while Four Drunk Beauties won the Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award.
Alex will be answering your questions in a Zoom Q & A session.
Tania Hutley
For many years, Tania Hutley worked as a Technical Writer in the software industry, but she always dreamed of writing creatively. She began by writing literary short stories and has been a runner up in New Zealand’s two most prestigious short story competitions, the Katherine Mansfield Awards and the Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition. In 2010 she won the Page and Blackmore National Short Story Award.
After branching out into novel writing, she published two middle-grade chapter books for children. Then she wrote the Skin Hunter science fiction trilogy, and co-wrote The Trouble With Witches urban fantasy series. Under the pen name Talia Hunter, she has also published eleven contemporary romance and romantic comedy novels and even made the USA Today Bestsellers List.
Though Tania started off with traditional publishers, she’s now enthusiastic about self-publishing and the control it gives to authors.
She was born in New Zealand, but recently moved to Australia where she’s constantly amazed and not at all freaked out by the weird and wonderful critters. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her with a glass of wine, a good book, and a jumbo-sized can of bug spray.
The Curriculum
Topic 1
3 Secrets to Creating Believable Characters
- Consider 3 decisions you need to make for each character
- Complete 5 tasks
Topic 2
Creating a Setting
- Learn about 4 important aspects of setting
- Complete 3 tasks
Topic 3
Inventing Plot
- Discover the 4 elements of plot
- Complete 4 tasks
Topic 4
7 Steps to Building a Story
- Explore the 7 steps to building a story
- Complete 4 tasks
Sign up for the
14-Day Story-building Challenge
for a discounted rate.
NZ $247, ZAR 2470, £124
This course is for you, if you want to...
- cement in a daily writing practice
- learn to write a gripping short story
- receive a professional critique of your writing
- be part of a supportive online writing group
- receive writing feedback from an award-winning writer
- improve your creative writing and get better reviews from your readers/competition judges/literary editors
- explore your writing voice through fun but challenging writing tasks
- acquire new skills and creative writing knowledge
Complete the application form to enrol.
Once you've submitted the form, you will be taken to our secure payment gateway via Paypal. Writers in South Africa will receive our SA banking details.
14-Day Story-building Challenge: NZ $247, ZAR 2470, £ 124
Feedback from Past Students
‘It motivated me to write every day which I don’t do on my own. I enjoyed reading other peoples’ contributions. The short story material was excellent. Overall a great experience and I am sad that it is over.’ - Alice Shaw
‘It was very helpful and inspiring. So much information to read that I will now go back into and digest.’ - Vanessa Narbey
‘A combination of punctual and precise guidance by professional tutors together with the warm daily support of group members at your same level.’ – Ravi Gehani
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the short daily writing tasks. It was stimulating and got my creative juices flowing. It was exciting to wake up every morning to an email with the day’s challenge and thought the notes were excellent and enhanced the way I now write.’
– Catherine Jarvis
Get These Additional Benefits
Lifetime Course Access
Benefit from free lifetime access to future course updates and access to our writing resources.
Join a Community of Writers
You will have access to our friendly Facebook community, as well as daily writing tips and inspiration.
500+ Bonus Articles on Our Blog
A superb, constantly updated resource with articles on writing and interviews with writers.
Work at Your Own Pace
Our courses work around you. You can pace your course around your busy life.
Work Opportunities
Top students on our certified courses* are invited to join our writers for hire service. *Our certified courses are tutored one-to-one. Students must produce 10 000 + words.
Be the First to Know About Writing Competitions
We'll help you keep up to date with the latest competition announcements in our bi-monthly newsletters.