The Writers’ HQ Write A Short Story Festival

Friday 1 March – Friday 5 April 2024

Let’s all write a short story!

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Who wants to write a short story? Let’s do it all together!

Join Sarah, Team WHQ and a specially curated gang of super awesome, award-winning short story writers for a month of short story workshops, masterclasses and write-a-longs designed to get you writing or to elevate your craft from good to great.

Throughout March, the Writers’ HQ Write A Short Story Festival will give you the opportunity to explore everything you need to know about the short form, from starting, middling and ending. We’ll go deep into the craft of short story writing and finish the month by finding out how to submit your work to lit mags and publishers.

You can start at the beginning and write a story alongside other festival writers, or you can drop in and out depending on where you are with your writing.

Plus, through regular write-a-longs we’ll help you stay on track and build a writing practice that fits into your life and goals.

Also! The best writing community this side of the internet. Aww yeah! It’s gonna be a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

Explain it to me like I have no concentration span

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Online masterclasses, workshops and write-alongs

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Self-led, asynchronous online short story courses

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Loving your stories and finding your writing community

What courses can I access?

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Writing Short Fiction

The WHQ flagship short story course – an absolute beast of information, helping you see the bigger picture of your writing and compress it into short stories with real punch.

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Short Fiction Mini Masterclass

This whistlestop tour of short fiction will give you a solid foundation for your story writing. Learn the difference a variety of short forms, discover techniques for harnessing story ideas, and explore new ways of turning those ideas into something tangible.

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The Writers’ HQ Guide To Flash Fiction

A holy hand grenade of tips, tricks and techniques on crafting your own glorious little story nuggets, breaking all the rules (jk there aren’t any), editing your work, and even getting your writing published.

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Create A Short Story Collection

Learn how to curate, collate and create a short story collection with award-winning author Kirsty Logan

Here’s how it works

The Writers’ HQ Write A Short Story Festival is FREE for Writers’ HQ members!

1

Get yourself a Writers’ HQ Gold Star Membership (if you don’t already have one)

2

Sign up to any of the events you want to attend. Then throughout March we’ll email you pep and vim to keep you going, including the links you need to access all the events.

3

You write all the cool stuff you’ve been wanting to write for ages

What does Writers’ HQ bring to the party?

  • Experience!
    Over a decade of experience supporting writers through their challenges, getting them moving and getting them to love their writing
  • Magic!
    Home to the most special, most magical, most kickass and supportive community of writers this side of the internet
  • Guidance!
    Years of know-how in guiding writers through their arghs and blarghs and blocks, and getting them to sit down and write
  • Guidance!
    Years of know-how in guiding writers through their arghs and blarghs and blocks, and getting them to sit down and write
  • Track record!
    A proven track record of guiding writers through their novels to create something wonderful
  • Joy!
    We focus on the joy. Writing shouldn’t be a chore. We bring the fun, and the rest follows easily (ish)

Testimonicals!

For me, Writers’ HQ is the difference between wanting to write and doing it. The courses, community spirit, and support are invaluable. The people I have met and the things I’ve learned have changed my life. Have a nosey. I did and it was like finding home.

 

Heather Haig

Such a great community for writers with fun events, awesome resources and regular prompts to get writing and stop making excuses!

 

Sharon Clark

If you write, if you want to write, if you’d love to but believe you could never… this is the place for you. SO many really useful resources written for real people who live in the world and struggle to balance life and writing and keep their confidence up and just keep on going. Really clever, practical, encouraging tips, advice and inspiration.

 

Linda Rogers

Access everything with a Gold Star Writers’ HQ membership…

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  • Access every event in the Write A Short Story Festival
  • Access to every WHQ online short story course
  • The Writers’ HQ community forum
  • All of the many other member benefits