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All Stories are Love Stories: In person creative reading and writing course in the Peak District
Tue 8 Sep 2026 to Tue 15 Dec 2026
You will meet readers and writers who share a passion for literature and use your imagination, intellect and creativity. The course aims to develop your craft writing and reading skills through structured exercises. The chosen texts explore the literature of love: obsessive, forbidden, lost, unrequited and how love can be directed at people, food, places, power, money and escape. Tutor Dr Sandra Courtman.
All Stories are Love Stories Creative Reading and Writing Course in the High Peak
The theme of the course is inspired by Robert Mcliam Wilson’s opening line for his novel Eureka Street (Vintage:1998) which begins ‘All stories are love stories.’ We will read work which goes beyond the obvious romances to explore different literary expressions of love which may include: love of self, money, status and escape. We will explore narratives about love in its different forms: these may include obsessive, lost, unrequited, forbidden, happy, tragic, and the inability to love.
We meet fortnightly to share a passion for books with other readers and writers; to stimulate the use of your imagination, intellect and creativity; to read like a writer to understand what makes a story effective; to develop your skills through structured and challenging reading and writing exercises.
There will be a high level of participation based on a structured writing task linked specifically to the reading. You will come prepared having read the set text for the next session (and this will be around 100 pages of a novel or one or two short stories) and made notes on a few questions for discussion. Both reading and the short writing exercises will explore different facets of writing - such as how to develop good characters, types of structure, the value of plotting, advantages of different types of narration and point of view, atmospheric settings, engaging dialogue. Set readings each week will be novels or short fiction.
Why do it this way? A good creative writer is always a creative reader and one who is able to be critical of other authors and of their own work. Through an appreciation of literary texts, we will discover how they are made, and what we might learn to develop our own creative practice. The course functions as a practical introduction to literature for both the creative writer and literature enthusiast. It is designed to appeal equally to both readers and writers and their various levels of experience and interests.
Over 18.
Dates: Tuesday 8th September, 6.30pm-8.30pm, meeting fortnightly until Tuesday 15th December 2026 (8 sessions in total)
Location: Scrivener's Books, first floor meeting space, 42 High Street, Buxton, SK17 6HB
Cost: £80 (whole course)
Further information and to book here
Queries? Contact Dr Sandra Courtman sandracourtman@googlemail.com
Additional Information:
Location:
Buxton, Peak District
Region(s):
East Midlands
Price:
£80
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