Activities at The Skyros Centre, Greece
Writing That Grips: From First Page to Final Twist with Claire McGowan
Sat 21 - Sat 28 Jun 2025
Claire is especially passionate about helping people unlock their creativity, and overcome any blocks or barriers that may have stopped you from creating in the past, so the course will also look at ways to motivate and inspire yourself to start, keep going, and even finish a piece of work.
This course would suit anyone who wants to try their hand at fiction, get inspired to be more creative, or who has already done some writing and wants to make their work more gripping and suspenseful. As well as technique we will look at methods to spark creativity, write more, and harness and refine your ideas.
You will learn how to construct a gripping novel, including finding a strong premise, building suspense and pace, and working with viewpoint and characters. As well as technique we will look at the current market for fiction, and address the blocks and barriers that may have stopped us writing or finishing a book in the past. You will come away with all the tools needed to start or finish writing your work.
In each session we will do some timed writing and other exercises to shake loose your creativity. We will also look at topics and techniques such as:
Day 1
Story – how to choose and refine the right idea for your book.
Day 2
Suspense – how to make sure your work is gripping, pacey, and a real page-turner.
Day 3
Whose story is it? Working with character and viewpoint.
Day 4
Finding your voice – honing your own individual style and voice, discovering what you want to say, and using style to create a gripping and polished book.
Day 5
How to keep going – ways to continue your work past this course, overcome any blocks and barriers, and find time for writing in your daily life.
About Claire McGowan
Claire McGowan is the author of twenty-five books, mostly in the crime genre, where she has sold over a million copies of her work. She ran the UK's first crime writing MA and also ran the Crime Writers' Association for several years. She regularly teaches writing for many institutions and is a sought-after speaker and tutor. She grew up in Northern Ireland and now lives in London.
[Photo: Philippa Gedge]
What people say about Claire and her courses:
Excellent. Really invested huge energy and enthusiasm and skill into teaching us.
Novel writing was especially great.
Claire very good. Approachable, friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
I loved writing with Claire – so much to take home. Really generous with her time. Brilliant!
Wonderful and inspiring.
