Date/Time
Date(s) - Tue 29th Jul - Thu 21st Aug, 2025
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Open the door to imaginary worlds
Join award-winning novelist Liz Hyder online for a month to explore the joyful art of harnessing your imagination to build fictional worlds.
Find out how to unlock your wild imagination and use it for your storytelling in this fun and engaging course led by writer Liz Hyder. Over four intensive workshops, we’ll explore concepts and practicalities for your world-building, how character shapes our view of fictional worlds, what to leave in – and out! – of your stories, and how immersive language can bring your worlds to life.
Suitable for both beginners and those with some experience who want to push their work to the next level, this will be an interactive course bursting with practical tips, exercises and more to inspire and encourage you. Whether you’re an out-and-out fantasy writer, looking to create a dystopian tale, or simply wanting to dip your toe into world-building, this course is for you!
Moniack in a Month: Building Fictional World includes:
- a short introductory welcome session
- four stimulating online workshops, preceded by optional drop-in social time
- one 30-minute tutorial
- a final ceilidh session – sharing of work
- Contact and support from your community of writers via Google Classroom (optional)
- Drop-ins before each workshop to help you get to know your group (optional)
- Support from your Moniack Mhor host
Liz’s workshops will focus on the following themes:
Workshop 1 – Concept and World-Building
How to quickly and easily create a fictional world from scratch, exploring practicalities, challenges, power balance and other conventions.
Workshop 2 – Plot and Structure
Looking at different ways of telling a story, how to find the way that works for you, and how your structure can inform your world-building.
Workshop 3 – Character and Language
Using character to bring your world to life – and vice versa! – and how immersive language helps root the reader in your story.
Workshop 4 – Research and Editing
How best to research elements of fictional worlds and how to decide what to leave in – and out – of your story.
Timetable
Week 1 Tuesday 29 July 18:30–21:00 Welcome Session and Workshop 1
Week 2 Tuesday 5 Aug 19:00–21:00 Workshop 2
Week 3 Tuesday 12 Aug 19:00–21:00 Workshop 3
Week 4 Tuesday 19 Aug 19:00–21:00 Workshop 4
Week 4 Thursday 21 Aug 19:00–21:00 Ceilidh
Tutorials
Your one-to-one tutorial with Liz will be scheduled when the course starts and will most likely take place in weeks 2 or 3.
Tutor
Liz Hyder is the award-winning author of four novels, two for young adults (YA) and two for grown-ups. In 2018, she won the Bridge Award/Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Award. Her debut YA novel Bearmouth won the Waterstones Children’s Book Award for Older Readers, the Branford Boase Award and was The Times Children’s Book of the Year. The Gifts, an acclaimed historical fiction with a dash of fantasy, was runner-up for the McKitterick Prize, and was followed by The Illusions. Her latest YA book, The Twelve, won the Nero Book Award for Children’s Fiction and was a book of the year in The Guardian and the FT. She has been running creative writing workshops for over 15 years.
Fees
The full fee for this online course is £360. 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 £260 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.