Matt Kendrick
Writer | Editor | Teacher
Glorious Words
How do we choose the right words to sharpen up our prose? How do we make our writing unique without it becoming obscure? Is the road to hell really paved with adverbs? This flash fiction course explores language in all its guts and glory, focussing on unique images, concision versus specificity and how to create original tone.
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Upcoming Course Dates
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TBC
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To be added to my priority list for future course dates, please send me an email at matt@mattkendrick.co.uk
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Previous Course Dates
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15th - 28th November 2021 (SOLD OUT); 7th - 20th February 2022 (SOLD OUT); 28th February - 13th March 2022 (SOLD OUT); 9th - 22nd May 2022 (SOLD OUT); 8th - 21st August 2022 (SOLD OUT); 14th - 27th November 2022 (SOLD OUT); 13th - 26th February 2023 (SOLD OUT); 5th - 18th February 2024 (SOLD OUT); 7th - 20th October 2024
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Price
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This is a pay-what-you-can workshop. The recommended price is £95*. Where this is prohibitive, please pay what you feel you can afford**. As a workshop facilitator, I am committed to opening up writing opportunities to people from all backgrounds based on ability to write rather than ability to pay.
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*For the sake of transparency, this recommended price is calculated to cover (a) 3.5 hours of course tutor input (per participant) in terms of feedback, discussion and admin; (b) the research / writing time of the course tutor in putting together the course notes (approximately 15,000 words, available to download following the course); and (c) miscellaneous fees (transaction charges, website charges etc.)
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**Available price options: (A) £95, (B) £85, (C) £75, (D) £60, (E) £50. If you are a low-income writer and would be interested in hearing about free places, please enter your details here.
Testimonials
"For me, creative writing is like a relationship. All exciting and sparky at the start but so easy to fall into a rut. We were on the verge of divorce and then along came Matt's latest workshop, which has revitalised everything. #WriteBeyondTheLightbulb: date night for your words!"​
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Michelle Christophorou, Author of "Kipris"
“Matt knows his stuff and he knows how to teach. His materials are extensive and thought-provoking and interwoven with insights from his background in music and linguistics. Like the best teachers, his feedback gets you asking the right questions about your work to make it the best it could possibly be.”
Kathryn Aldridge-Morris
"This course is fabulous. I've had a fab two weeks reading the most incredible pieces and crafting new baby flashes from Matt's brilliant prompts and exercises. Feedback is superb. I thoroughly recommend it!."​
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Abi Hennig
Topics
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1: Specificity (precise, incisive word choice)
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Foreground and background details.
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Adjective-noun pairings.
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Inventive verb choices.
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2: Imagery (similes and metaphors)
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Uniqueness vs clarity.
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Similes that reflect character and perspective.
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Similes vs metaphors.
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Extended metaphors.
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3: Tone (register and voice)
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A brief history of the English language.
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Word choices that evoke character, time and place.
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Avoiding stereotypes and caricature.
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4: Miscellany (weasels and highlights)
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Weasel words.
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Collective nouns.
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Using playful language to create highights.
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The course is presented through a mixture of reading and visual material with preparatory exercises leading towards a final flash fiction challenge for each topic. We'll delve into some fantastic examples of flash at a word / sentence level and we'll also take some brief detours away from the literary world to see what we can learn from art, photography and the history of language.
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The reading list for this course includes pieces by Rich Youmans, Jo Gatford, Star Su, Tania Hershman, K.B. Carle, Catherine Deery, Jennifer Wortman, Ros Collins, and Alex Reece Abbott.
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Each topic is designed to be worked through in roughly three hours. The course is fully asynchronous (work-at-your-own-pace) and fully online to allow course participants to fit it in around their other commitments.
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Course Structure
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Week 0
Participants are given access to the course website seven days prior to the start date. This is to allow writers to make a headstart on reading and preparative exercises. If you would like access to the materials further in advance, this can normally be accommodated.
Week 1
Participants are encouraged to work through the reading materials and preparative exercises. The course forum is open for discussion of stories and craft techniques as well as for sharing micros created from the preparative exercises.
Week 2
Participants can continue working through the course materials at their own pace. The main workshop is open for sharing final challenge pieces and providing feedback on those created by other course participants.
After the course
Participants are sent full course notes in PDF format.
Learning Mode
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Online (website and Google Classroom).
Asynchronous (work at your own pace / no set times / no Zoom elements).
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Forum (opportunitiy to interact with course tutor and other course participants).
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Workshop (opportunity to share work and swap feedback with other course participants).
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Feedback from course tutor on four prepartory micros and detailed feedback (300-400 word structural summary plus in-line comments) on one "final challenge" piece.
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Course Tutor
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Matt Kendrick is a writer, editor and teacher based in the East Midlands, UK. His short fiction has appeared in various journals, and has been included on the Biffy 50 list for 2019-20, in Best Microfiction 2021, Best Small Fictions 2022 and the Wigleaf Top 50 2022.
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He works as a freelance editor and creative writing tutor, drawing on his knowledge of languages and other art forms to inform his workshops on lyrical writing, glorious words, colourful characters and writing flow.
Other Information / Sign Up
The course is designed for writers of all levels but, to get the most out of the materials, it is suggested that you should have some prior familiarity with reading and writing flash fiction. While the course is geared towards the study and generation of flash, the techniques and skills acquired should also be useful for writing longer form and non-fiction pieces.
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The course is hosted on a Google website using Google Classroom and Google drive to enable the forum and workshop elements. To access materials, participants will need to have a Google account. If you don't already have one, you will be sent information on how you can set one up following sign up for the course.
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The terms and conditions for the course can be found here.
Stories written on the Write Beyond The Lightbulb courses
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The prompts on the Write Beyond the Lightbulb courses aim to get participants practising technique and experimenting with new ideas rather than writing perfect stories, but even so many wonderful pieces have been crafted by course participants and subsequently made their way out into the world.
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The stories have been placed in major writing competitions including Reflex Fiction and Bath Flash Fiction, and have also been published in a wide variety of literary journals. A selection of these stories can be read at the link below: