Words on the Page: A Novel Approach with David Butler
Info
Date: July 6, 2026
Time: 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Duration: 5 Days
Level: Advanced | Intermediate | Beginner |
Cost: €162 (€145 Members)
Online/In Person: In Person
This course will take place in person at the Irish Writers Centre as part of our ‘Words on the Page Summer Sessions’ -a week of in-person intensive courses.
Course Summary
In this five-day intensive course, facilitator David Butler will help you to workshop your novel-in-progress by examining areas such as point-of-view, structure, effective openings, voice, etc in order to help you create a page-turning work of fiction. By the end of the week, your novel should aim be, as Alfred Hitchcock phrased it, ‘life with the dull bits cut out’.
Course Outline
To begin with, participants will look in detail at great examples from literature, focusing on such key areas as structure, openings, character, dialogue, point of view etc. In-class discussions and short homework exercises will be set to develop and hone this skill-set.
More importantly, toward the latter half of the week, participants will be asked to submit extracts from their own works in progress. These will be examined in detail by the entire group, with constructive feedback being offered.
Course Outcomes
One of the most important capabilities for any writer is the ability to assess, criticise, and improve his or her own work in progress. This is at the heart of this course. In addition, participants will gain an insight into what makes for a solid structure, an effective opening, dramatic dialogue, memorable characterisation, and so forth.
At the end of the week, participants are invited to sign up to read their work at a showcase on Friday 10th July from 5-7pm.
David Butler’s novels include The Judas Kiss and City of Dis, both from New Island, and the story collections No Greater Love, (Ward Wood), and Fugitive, which was published in 2021 by Arlen House. City of Dis was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, 2015.
