General information

Do you have a story to tell? A memoir you want to write? Biography? Travel? Autofiction? Try your hand as a creative non-fiction writer with a summer course that aims to give you the best possible introduction to an exciting, fast-developing literary field. Throughout his five-day course in the art of non-fiction, Ian Thomson looks at “creative” non-fiction in the broadest sense. We consider memoir, literary reportage, travelogue, the personal essay, as well as hybrid forms that might incorporate all four categories. Participants will engage with all elements of writing non-fiction, from the earliest stages of the composition process, focussing on voice (literary style), dialogue, scene-setting and narrative pacing. There will be time for independent writing of your own in response to practical writing exercises set by the teacher, as well as a chance to discuss such thorny subjects as the ethics of blending “truth” with “untruth” in non-fictions.

Each day in the seminar room, you’ll look at a work of non-fiction by an established author, to see how it’s done. You’ll experiment with your own writing and develop your skills through reading your peers’ non-fiction in workshop groups, and have the opportunity to develop and improve your work through re-drafting in response to group discussion. You’ll receive feedback on your work from your teacher, and build up a body of work – maybe your work will contain the seed of a future book.

******

Creative non-fiction can accommodate any number of genres and sub-genres (including wiki page entries, aphorisms and film scripts), but it has to show literary potential. Otherwise it would be non-creative non-fiction. You’ll think from day one about what makes a piece on non-fiction succeed as literature, be encouraged to explore new ways of storytelling, and experiment with different subjects and voices.

By examining “good” craft practice, observed through the set non-fiction pieces, we’ll think about such questions as: When is a life worth telling? How to tell it well? And when is it permissible to blend fiction with non-fiction?

We’ll consider how acclaimed and diverse works of non-fiction draw the reader in. Any piece of writing is necessarily a fashioning and shaping of events (the etymology of fiction is from the Latin fingere, to “mould”, “shape” or “contrive”), but we do not expect non-fiction to distort in the same way. The truth is, it does distort. We look at how your own non-fiction can be reshaped and re-drafted to reflect your voice and preoccupations, and how it might achieve literary distinction. On the final day, there will be an opportunity for students to present their work.

Accommodation

Tallinn Summer School arranges accommodation for foreign participants at student dormitory (5-minutes walk from the university, double and triple rooms)

Registration

Online registration form on the website

ECTS accreditation

The course gives 2.5 ECTS

Contact information

tss@tlu.ee