Online sci-fi writing course launched

Listen up sci-fi writers! A new six-week online Writing Science Fiction course has been launched, which will be led by award-winning science fiction author Adam Roberts (pictured above).

During the course, students will learn how to develop their novum (‘new thing’), build a compelling world, people it with extraordinary characters, and write a story that transports readers. Adam Roberts’ teaching material is distilled from his life-long love of science fiction – and his experience as the author of over 23 SF books including Purgatory Mount, which was shortlisted for the Prometheus Award and the 2021 BSFA Best Novel Award.

Students will also benefit from his keen understanding of its inner workings, his deep knowledge of how the genre developed and his infectious enthusiasm for today’s SF and its power to excite the imagination.

The course, run by Curtis Brown Creative, is comprised of specially filmed teaching videos, detailed notes, and resources from Adam. Adam will also set weekly writing tasks to help students practise the skills they’re learning as they develop a SF novel. These range from fleshing out a new world and portraying futuristic concepts with style to narrative structure and learning how to make a story engaging to readers.

Students will be encouraged to share their writing in a private forum to get feedback from peers and an expert editor (a published author with relevant SF teaching and/or editorial experience). All students will receive a short piece of written feedback on one writing task from an expert during the course.

By the end of the course, students will have written at least a 3,000-word opening and have a good idea of where their story is heading. This course will be equally helpful to novice writers and to those with lots of experience who want to delve into the realm of SF writing.

The first Writing Science Fiction course runs from 27 April to 6 June, the deadline to enrol is 25 April. The course fee is £210. This course will also run again at several points across 2022 and beyond. Find out more here.