Identify and Achieve Your Writing Goals with Rebecca Ivory

Course Summary

This accessible course is aimed at early-stage writers who desire practical and creative support in identifying and achieving their writing goals. The aim of this course is to help early-stage writers build confidence, explore their identity as a writer and find joy and purpose in their craft.

Participants will be expected to submit a piece of their choosing, maximum 4,000 words. Ideally, during the course, they would also be prepared to read each other’s work as there will be discussion of the drafts in the third, fourth and fifth sessions.

Participants will be asked to submit their work the week before the course begins, so that everyone has enough time to read the first two pieces scheduled for discussion during week three. There will be workshopping and Rebecca will provide written feedback.

Course Outline

What will be covered?

• Participants’ barriers to writing and potential solutions and resources.
• Building confidence in writing practice and developing identity and sense of ownership over their writing.
• Identifying achievable goals and outlining a plan to accomplish them.
• How to accept and apply feedback.
• Workshopping a draft and elevating the quality with effective editing.
• Practical advice on submitting to literary journals and bursary applications for early-stage writers.

In the first two sessions, we will discuss participants’ individual barriers when it comes to their writing. These often include a lack of time, confidence, or community support.

We will also explore the importance of identity in writing, as well as how to effectively provide and apply feedback. The aim is to foster an inclusive and accessible space where all participants feel comfortable talking about their individual experiences and aspirations.

For the third, fourth and fifth session, we will give time to the draft stories or excerpts provided by participants in advance. Each participant will be given approximately forty-five minutes to an hour of discussion and feedback regarding their piece, so that they feel empowered to return to the next draft with purpose and understanding.

In the final session, we will discuss what is next for their work, as well as practical elements such as submitting to appropriate literary journals.

Course Outcomes

• A foundation of confidence in their voice, identity, and direction as a writer.
• Clarity around goal-setting and planning.
• The ability to identify the feedback that benefits their work, and how to use it to improve their writing.
• The tools and feedback to improve and polish their work in progress.
• Knowledge of what to expect when it comes to submitting to journals, and applying for early-stage writer bursaries and allowances.

Rebecca Ivory is an author based in Dublin. Her first collection, Free Therapy, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2024. Her work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Banshee, Tangerine, Fallow Media and The Sunday Independent. She was awarded a Literature Bursary in 2020 and 2024, as well as the Agility Award in 2022, by the Irish Arts Council.

Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.