Date/Time
Date(s) - Wed 8th Jan - Wed 26th Mar, 2025
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Companions in the Wild
Following the success of Elizabeth’s Reeder’s A Year of Writing in 2022-23, we are happy to be able to offer this course again in 2024-25. This is a four-season writing course, now on Season 2, open to writers of fiction and non-fiction with a work in progress. It is led by Elizabeth Reeder, author of An Archive of Happiness (Penned in the Margins) and microbursts (Prototype), and will run fortnightly on Wednesday evenings.
This course has a limited number of places for writers to join us. You are welcome to join on a season by season basis or book the whole year. If you choose season by season we’ll do our best to give you first choice to allow you to participate in the next season.
Course outline
Elizabeth’s year-long course, run season by season, is intended to support you and your writing process as you undertake a long-form fiction or creative non-fiction project. The premise is that by writing in the company of others, figuring out what sort of habits, goal setting and flexibility work for you, discussing elements of craft and process and what will bring the most joy as you write, even if it’s bloody tough at times – you will have more resources to complete a longer project.
In each season we will meet fortnightly with a mixture of Craft and Process Workshops and Writing Space sessions. We will also have one or two sessions in which we talk about and share our work.
The process of writing a longer manuscript (fiction, non-fiction, hybrid) is a wild and bold commitment for us to undertake. There is so much we can know and dedicate ourselves to – setting aside time and focus to the process and the work; finding trusted readers and writers to share our work and our process with; writing in the company of other writers; learning craft through reading, writing and discussion; and building a humour and pleasure are all parts of the creative process.
Throughout the year we’ll have ongoing discussions on specific elements of craft (character, point of view, setting the scene, language) as well as embracing creative failure, creative processes and editing.
This course offers an open, supportive, dedicated space for you to write a work-in-progress in the company of other writers, and with Elizabeth building and holding a kind and supportive frame within which we can do our best work.
Each writer will also receive a one-to-one 40-minute tutorial with Elizabeth each season and can choose to submit up to 3,000 words of writing to be discussed during the tutorial.
Seasonal themes:
Autumn 2024 Living Colours: planning, playing and pacing
Winter 2025 Overwintering: being steady, celebrating
Spring 2025 Bog Cotton: when being in process is as beautiful as being in bloom
Summer 2025 Long Days: a short season of long days
Season 2 Winter 2025
Overwintering: Being Steady, Celebrating
As long nights slowly transform into spring, we take things as the season demands – we show up, we keep warm and we keep moving. We celebrate where we are, the small, brilliant things that we make and understand, and we clear the ground, compost it, for what will follow.
The Winter 2025 season’s craft sessions include a mixture of discussion, close-reading and writing exercise-based elements. We’ll focus on how to approach research for your book (and how to handle the material amassed!) and one more session TBC, based on the expressed needs of the writers on the course.
The quieter Writing Spaces are where we get together on Zoom and write. That’s it. We write in the company of each other and have a bit of chat before and after. Elizabeth will also set optional writing exercises/subjects for those who want a bit of an outwardly-set focus.
At the end of each term, we’ll share our work with each other in an online ceilidh.
Companions in the Wild: Season 2 includes:
- a 2-hour introductory session, also including a writing space
- two 2-hour craft and process sessions
- one 2-hour writing space
- one 2-hour peer-to-peer group workshopping session
- one 40-minute one-to-one tutorial and feedback on up to 3,000 words
- a closing sharing space / online ceilidh to share your work with your group
- Contact and support from your community of writers via Google Classroom and Padlet (both optional)
Timetable
Wednesday 8 Jan 18:00–20:00 (re)-Introduction(s) / Writing space
We’ll introduce ourselves, discuss this season, and settle into writing space / exercises
Wednesday 29 Jan 18:00–20:00 Craft session
Practice, Research and the brilliance of mess and order
Wednesday 12 Feb 18:00–20:00 Writing space
Chat, write, chat!
Wednesday 26 Feb 18:00–20:00 Craft session
Subject to be agreed by group at start of course
Wednesday 12 March 18:00–20:00 Group workshopping / Writing space
Work in small groups to feedback on each other’s writing
Wednesday 26 March 18:00–20:00 Ceilidh
A closing celebration, giving an opportunity to share a short reading of your work with your group
Tutorials
Your one-to-one tutorial with Elizabeth will be scheduled when the course starts and will take place in February and March. The following dates will likely be offered – 5th Feb, 13th Feb, 5th Mar, 19th Mar, 26th Mar, usually in the late afternoon or early evenings. The slots will be published on Padlet (a shared online platform) in Janauary 2025 for you to choose the most suitable date and time.
Tutor
Elizabeth Reeder writes fiction, experimental essays, poetry and hybrid work. She has two recent books: a novel, An Archive of Happiness (Penned in the Margins), which was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize, and a collection of hybrid lyric essays, microbursts, which is an artistic collaboration with Amanda Thomson (Prototype Publishing). From 2021-2024, Elizabeth is one of three Endangered Landscape artists in residence with Cairngorms Connect, and she co-runs DeathWrites, a Royal Society of Edinburgh-funded network of Scottish writers exploring illness, dying, death and grief. She is a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow.
Signing up
This course will run with 12 participants each season. You can join on a season by season basis or let us know if you’d like to book the whole year. Writers who take part in all four seasons will be offered a £40 discount of their Season 4 fee.
We will try to offer priority booking to continuing participants in seasons three and four. New participants will also be welcome each season if spaces are available.
Fees
The full fee for Season 2 is £340. A deposit of £100 is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The balance payment of £240 is due six weeks before the course begins.
Bursaries are available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments, please email online@moniackmhor.org.uk to enquire.
All activity takes place on Zoom, and workshops include a short break. Moniack Mhor staff will be on hand to support you during your course.
For more information please email online@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements when working online so we can do our best to support you. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.
Bookings
This event is fully booked. Please email info@moniackmhor.org.uk to be added to the waiting list.