Unveiled: The First Unthank School Anthology

Before I stepped down from my role as Head of Online Courses at The Unthank School of Writing to focus on my own writing, my final project was a very pleasant one indeed. With my old friend and colleague Ashley Stokes, Head of School, I jointly edited Unveiled: The First Unthank School Anthology. Having canvassed…

Letting Go and Moving On – A Review of My Year

Given the clattering clown car of idiocy and doom that was 2018 (and, indeed, 2017 and 2016), I’m almost ashamed to admit that I’ve had a really good year. It didn’t start out so well either. After slogging through about four years of severe and uninterrupted depression since the last nervous breakdown, I cracked up…

Has My Idea Been Done Before?

When Professor Chaos first hit South Park, he was hampered in his evil schemes by the realisation, at every turn, that ‘The Simpsons already did it.’ And as any writer or criminal genius will tell you, the quest for originality routinely brings you to your knees. How many promising projects have you abandoned because the…

My Favourite Reads of 2017

This is a New Year tradition at the Unthank School of Writing... Slightly later than usual, I return to the school tradition of tutors listing five of their favourite reads of the previous year. This is not, you’ll recall, your standard list of the ‘best books’ of 2017, but rather simply what we’ve been reading…

Student Experiences: Priceless Advice

From the Unthank School of Writing blog, Eilidh Horder of Riverstudios talks about the Online Fiction Workshop with Stephen Carver... For anyone considering the Unthank School Online Fiction Workshop, I unreservedly encourage you to do so. I originally signed up for the How to Write a Novel course, as I, well, wanted to learn how to…

Student Experiences: Turning an Idea into Reality

From the Unthank School of Writing blog, Zoe Bell talks about how our Online Fiction Workshop has helped her grow and shape her novel... Before I attended the Unthank Online Fiction Workshop I thought I could do it on my own: a biology degree and a career at a multinational corporation were adequate preparation for writing historical…