Voice is the element which all agents and editors say they are looking for in a manuscript – but that’s by no means the only reason to work hard on the word-by-word text and textures of your novel: in the end, the power of your story comes from the words you have put on the page.

Everyone says that character is the foundation of storytelling, but what does that mean? Join Emma at Blue Pencil to find out how to develop convincing, lifelike characters while still using them to power your plot?

As part of the History Quill Writers’ Convention 2025, this keynote presentation and Q&A will show you how to craft truly engaging historical fiction.

Worrying about plot, structure and storytelling isn’t only for writers who’ve been told they have a saggy middle. To keep your reader reading, you need to keep them wanting to know what happens next right to the end. Join Emma Darwin at Blue Pencil to find out more.

All writers know that the most important stage of writing is actually the re-write. Most know that it’s about a whole lot more than tidying up the sentences – but what does that actually mean? What should you be looking for and what do you do about it? Join Emma on Zoom to dig into this crucial stage of writing your novel or creative non-fiction

Whether the story you want to write is set in the present, the past or the future, you’ll need to find things out: material facts, dates and times, ideas, manners, details and people.But the very real-ness of what you research or remember can also cause problems in anything from wooden dialogue and the dreaded info-dump, to complete creative paralysis.

So how do you make sure that your research serves your storytelling, not the other way round? How do you create a world out of materials you’ve only just unearthed? And what happens when the the facts contradict what you wanted to write?

Join Emma, writing coach/editors Jacqui Lofthouse and Laura Wilkinson, and agents Laura Williams and James Lockhart, for the Writing Coach’s Getting Published day in the gorgeous Asia House in central London. Inspiration, encouragement, realism and networking galore!

Voice is the element which all agents and editors say they are looking for in a manuscript – but that’s by no means the only reason to work hard on the word-by-word text and textures of your novel. Join Emma online to explore the tools you need to raise your writing to the next level.

So you have a story in mind, but how do you create characters that readers will want to follow to the end? In this practical tutorial we will explore what makes a character compelling, how to move on from lists and stereotypes, and how to make developing your characters a dynamic, organic part of your writing process.

If story is king then narrative drive is story’s engine. But how do you come up with a story that has enough drive, while staying true to your need to tell stories that matter to you? If the heart of your story is emotional and psychological, how do you make it compelling while keeping the reader turning the pages? Join us to unpack how story-structure keeps the reader reading, and learn to use that knowledge to shape or reshape your novel.

Writing about real lives and experiences – your own, or someone else’s – is rewarding but also daunting. Whether you’re writing your memoir, shaping live-writing round someone in your family or the past, writing about travel or other experiences, or want to build a narrative round a specific passion, perhaps for an art or a sport, join us for this practical Zoom workshop to explore the exciting possibilites, and sharpen your skills.

Most writers know that editing your work is about a whole lot more than tidying up the sentences – and that the most important stage of writing fiction is actually re-writing. But what does that actually mean? How do you discover what isn’t working, and what do you do about it? Join our workshop to find out.

You know the submission package representing your novel or memoir is your biggest and best chance to hook an agent and hopefully a publishing deal – but how do you make the most of that chance? Blue Pencil’s Emma Haynes will be joining us for this practical, all-day workshop. Discussion and exercises will draw on participants’ own letters, synopses and opening pages, submitted in advance.

Story and plot are often talked of in the same breath, but understanding the difference is key to making both work for you. In this practical, all-day workshop we’ll unpack what this means for each writer, with exercises will be based on your own work. Over afternoon tea, Marina de Pass from The Soho Agency, The Bookseller’s Rising Star of 2023, will give you the inside track on the submission process.

Psychic Distance is the fiction writer’s secret sauce, and learning to work with it is a game-changer. It's often called narrative, or emotional distance, and we’ll start by exploring how psychic distance works, try our hands with the new tool, and expand our sense of possibilities with real-life examples.

Scrivener software is the writing program most used by professional writers of all kinds to help them structure and plan – or erase – their drafts, then revise, edit polish and even format and publish book-length projects and scripts. Emma is a working writer who has used Scrivener for Windows for many years; she will help you understand the core principles of how Scrivener works, and support you as you get a feel for how to make it work for your own, individual writing process.

How do you root your fiction in history without getting stuck in the mud? How do you set your imagination flying when you have to look everything up? Join novelist Emma Darwin, author of Get Started in Writing Historical Fiction, at the I Am Writing Festival, for a masterclass in writing historical fiction.

Do you get the first draft of a novel or creative non-fiction down fairly easy, but find it hard to move on to the next stage? Does your motivation sag – or does your plot – when you start revising? In this fully catered Away Day, we will explore what a writer needs to do to move on from that first-draft stage without losing touch with the passion that makes you want to write this story.

It’s not only agents and editors who judge a book by the first page: readers do too. In an industry driven by pitches, hooks, blurbs and the first paragraph of Look Inside the Book, writers need to get to grips with how a potential reader would first encounter their novel. Join Emma for this interactive online tutorial.