Writing Historical Fiction

Start Date

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Writing Historical Fiction

Genre focus

Length

6 weeks

Location

Online

Writing Goal

Start writing

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Writing Historical Fiction

Travel to the past and explore what makes a compelling historical novel.

Tutor

S J Parris

Length

6 weeks

Location

Online

Writing Goal

Start writing

Exclusive video lessons from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

Genre focus

From historical and mythological retellings like Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell Trilogy and the novels of Madeline Miller to genre-blended stories such as Julia Quinn’s Regency romances, Diana Gabaldon’s time-travelling Outlander series and Ken Follet’s historical thrillers, historical fiction continually captivates us – offering an escape into the past while also shedding light on the present.

Enrolling with CBC was a vital step in gaining the confidence I needed to write historical fiction.

Jessica Bull
Author of Miss Austen Investigates

Across six weeks, Stephanie Merritt (S J Parris) will travel with you into the past drawing on her own experience in writing her bestselling series about the 16th Century heretic philosopher and spy Giordano Bruno.

Whether you’re fascinated by the Tudors, intoxicated by the Roaring Twenties or immersed in Victorian London, Stephanie will equip you with the tools to help you research your story, construct your plot, and bring your chosen historical moment vividly to life in novel form.

Tutor

This course features pre-recorded teaching videos from the tutor, alongside written tasks and resources to support your learning. Please note you will receive feedback on your writing from the course editor rather than your tutor.

S J Parris

Stephanie Merritt is an author and journalist. Writing as S J Parris, she is the bestselling author of the Giordano Bruno series, which follows the renegade monk, philosopher and heretic Giordano Bruno in Elizabethan England. The sixth novel in the series Execution was published by HarperCollins in 2020. Stephanie regularly writes for the Observer and the Guardian.

Editor

Each week, the course editor will provide brief written feedback on several students’ practical assignments. All students who post in the forum will receive feedback on one writing task during the course. Editors listed may change. All CBC editors are experienced authors and/or publishing professionals.

Jane Borodale

Jane Borodale is a fiction writer. Her first novel The Book of Fires, about 18th-century illegitimacy and the development of colour in early fireworks, was shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers. Her second novel The Knot draws on the life of a forgotten 16th-century botanist. She was Leverhulme Writer in Residence at the Weald and Downland Museum in Sussex, and has written narrative installations for the Dartington Hall Trust, the Foundling Museum and the Wordsworth Trust. She has an MA in Site-Specific Sculpture from Wimbledon School of Art, and is a doctoral candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London.

WHAT DOES THIS COURSE GIVE YOU?

Video modules: Work through six modules comprising teaching videos from Stephanie, offering a practical and inspiring approach to help you understand the key elements of historical fiction as you craft your own narrative.
Writing tasks: Weekly writing tasks to help you explore and understand the teaching topics and progress your novel.
Resources & notes: You’ll get access to comprehensive teaching notes and reference materials, including extracts and a plot breakdown from Stephanie's S J Parris novels to illustrate how she puts her advice to work.
Professional feedback: An expert CBC editor will give brief written feedback on several of the students' practical assignments every week, with all students receiving feedback on one of their writing tasks. Students are also given the option to purchase additional end-of-course feedback from our expert editors.
Student forum: Find your writing community on our private student forums. Upload your completed writing tasks, give and receive peer-to-peer feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and the CBC team.

COURSE SCHEDULE & DELIVERY

Our online courses are designed for flexible learning. Allocate your own study time and take part from wherever you are in the world. Each week, we recommend spending at least four hours on the course. It’s also important to be planning and working on your novel throughout the six weeks.

WEEK 1
Introduction & choosing your period
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WEEK 2
Researching & worldbuilding
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WEEK 3
Character & narrative perspective
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WEEK 4
Character & voice
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WEEK 5
Structure & plotting
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WEEK 6
Moving forward
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ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK

All students will be given the option to purchase feedback on their final task from a CBC editor.

CBC report: For an additional fee of £145, you can obtain a detailed 500-word report on your work (of up to 3,000 words) from one of our CBC editors.
CBC report + tutorial: For an additional fee of £240, you can obtain a 500-word report from one of our CBC editors and have a 30-minute video or telephone tutorial with them to discuss your work.

Do you want to know more about the contents of our end-of-course reader reports? Click the button below to download and read an example report.

View Example Report

GIFT THIS COURSE

Encourage your writerly friend or loved one to get creative! We have £230 digital gift vouchers available, enabling you to buy any six-week online course as a present.

Buy Voucher

Start Date

Package

Learn more about reports, tutorials and editorial services

Refund guaranteed if requested before course starts

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