💻 WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: Nailing Beginnings and Endings
with an early bird discount for you so that September is the month you jumpstart your writing
On Sunday 29th September from 19:00 to 21:00 BST, I’ll be holding a creative writing workshop and I’d love for you to join me.
The topic and the timing was chosen by newsletter subscribers, so I’m hoping that it will tickle your respective pickle.
It will take place online.
It’s two hours long, with 1.5 hours of workshop before an ‘Office Hours’ style Q&A at the end.
Tickets cost £30 and I’ve currently got a £5 early bird discount running which will expire in seven days, so if you’re keen to come, you’ve got a lil’ heads up to save some money. CODE: EARLYBIRD
The focus of the session is all about Beginnings and Endings. It’s a brand new workshop and is serendipitously timed as I’m currently editing the beginning of one book whilst planning the beginning and ending of something completely fresh and different.
Since 2020, I have hosted over 100 writers in workshops and I’ve included some of their testimonials below. Have a read of what they say and it’ll help make your mind up if you’re not sure what to expect.
Every year, September feels like a reset. With a reignited desire to bring my book to life, I want to knuckle down and do something—anything—that will set me up for an autumn of working on my words.
Join me at this workshop for an interactive discussion on how to craft captivating openings and satisfying conclusions for your stories.
Beginnings and endings are the bookends of a story that determine so much of its success. Ensuring that they work together to form a compelling and satisfying arc requires focus and a critical eye, but that doesn't mean that you can't have fun doing it! In this workshop, we'll approach the subject with warmth, humour, and down-to-earth, practical advice that you can action right away.
Through the use of examples from much-loved literature and a number of interactive, practical prompts, you'll gain an understanding of how to craft your ideal openings and endings, whilst putting down some foundations to build on after the workshop.
This workshop is perfect for:
Fiction writers who want to be inspired and supported whilst plotting the key milestones of a new book
Those starting out on a new story who want an energetic start to the process
Writers who are revisiting a story with the intention of critiquing and revising it
Writers who want to closely analyse beginnings and endings in order to better understanding the mechanics and magic of how they work
Writers who attend my workshops come from many different stages of their projects and I'll always be sure to cater to that in order to make this experience the most useful. If you want to read some testimonials, scroll down.
✨ What will we be covering? ✨
First and last lines
How to use tone and setting to set up reader expectations
The entrance and exit of a protagonist
Establishing and resolving conflict
Reading and critiquing beginnings and endings from literature
A 30 minute 'office hours' style Q&A
I'm passionate about making the writing world as accessible as possible. If you aren't sure about a term used, or want me to expand on anything, I will. The Q&A section of the workshop is to give space to your thoughts and questions. I am always generous with advice and anything that we don't manage to cover I'll be sure to relay back to you via email or after I've reached out to my writing community to find an answer that I may not have.
The session will be held on Zoom and will be recorded, with the playback viewable for 90 days after the session takes place. Slides from the session will also be shared shortly afterwards.
Testimonials
"Fantastic, professional workshop delivered with light hearted, warm tone. Great tips and practical tools you can see will actually work. Can’t wait for the next one!"
"This is the second of Abi’s workshops that I’ve attended and every time I’ve come out of the session feeing motivated and more prepared than ever to face the Everest that is novel writing! She’s calm, joyful and explains what is normally considered a very elitist concept of novel writing, in such an accessible way. Love it. I’ll attend every workshop she does!"
"A really funny, engaging and enjoyable workshop with a lot of very helpful exercises and tips for editing. It made the whole process seem less daunting and made me aware of steps in the process that I hadn't previously considered."
"This workshop was fab! Abigail is extremely generous and this workshop exceeded all of my expectations."
"I had such a great time whilst also feeling informed and like I was learning - very tricky to balance the two! Would highly recommend to anyone needing the motivation to keep going."
"Abi is a wonderful teacher, I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t attended a writing class in 16 years but I didn’t need to worry. I feel a lot more confident now than ever before."
"Abigail is a wonderful workshop host - you can tell she has teaching experience - and the content of her workshop was accessible and fun to work through. A mix of resources, prompts & skill-sharing helped make comedy writing accessible for people at every stage of their writing journey."
"I liked actually having to try the techniques, instead of just reading about them and nodding sagely."
"The session is so positive and encouraging that I left brimming with ideas without feeling daunted. There is a good mix of overview and detail, general pointers and targeted exercises for your own concept. Abigail is also very patient about being peppered with questions at the end and there were some really interesting discussions and tips shared (which is quite a feat with a large group in the age of zoom)."
"Honestly, your workshop is the best writing course I've been on - I've been to so many writing courses where the instructors just make wishy washy statements or treat the whole thing as an ego exercise. Yours is the first one that gave practical, helpful advice."
"This was my second Abigail Mann Workshop and I enjoyed it just as much as the first! Once again it was interesting and fun, providing lots of useful information and ideas without feeling too congested or jargon heavy."
"This was just exactly what I needed to get my novel into shape! Saved me reading a dozen books on the subject too. Thank you Abi!"
"Abi is friendly, funny and engaging. I came away full of ideas without feeling like I was bombarded with information!"
"I really enjoyed working with Abigail. She was friendly and supportive and took the time to understand my story and the motivations of each character. Abigail’s feedback was always spot-on, constructive and professional. She gave me the confidence to keep going and helped me to believe in my own writing abilities."
About the author:
Abigail is a novelist, workshop facilitator, and writing coach living in London, but born and brought up in Norfolk. Abigail was the runner up in 2019's Comedy Women in Print award for THE LONELY FAJITA: her debut novel, with THE SISTER SURPRISE following in Spring '21 and THE WEDDING CRASHER published in Spring '22 by One More Chapter / HarperCollins. She is a Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund and writing coach for the London Writer's Salon. She currently editing her fourth novel.
She has written and worked for Jericho Writers, Faber Academy, The Simple Things, Marie Claire, S Magazine, Creative Countryside, Thryve, My Weekly, Waitrose magazine, The Guardian, and others.