Writing Sci-Fi and Fantasy with Oisín McGann
Info
Date: September 2, 2026
Time: 6.30pm - 8.30 pm
Duration: 6 weeks
Level: Intermediate | Beginner |
Cost: €200 (€180 Members)
Location: Irish Writers Centre
This course will take place in person on Wednesdays for 6 weeks from Wednesday 2 September.
Course Summary
This course will cover the basics of storytelling and the specific aspects of writing science fiction and fantasy. Throughout the course, we’ll be looking at how you write stories convincingly in worlds where the only rules are those created by the writer. We will discuss the different stages of writing, the key elements of any story, world-building, and how to write weird with skill. There will be short exercises, as well as advice on how to get published and develop your career.
Course Outline
Weeks 1 & 2: Character Development
Weeks 3 & 4: Setting and World-Building
Weeks 5 & 6: Plot and Narrative
There will be short writing exercises during the sessions, and there may be assignments to complete at home.
Course Outcomes
Participants will finish the course with a better understanding of the genres of science fiction and fantasy. They’ll have a reliable method for how to work from the spark of an idea out to a finished story in a systematic way, the fundamentals of how to develop characters, their arcs and their relationships to their settings, and how to structure an engaging plot, no matter what genre they choose to work in.
Oisín McGann is a full time writer and illustrator who has published forty-eight books for a range of reading levels, in a range of genres, including fourteen novels. He has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards in Ireland and abroad, and foreign rights for his work have been sold in sixteen territories.
Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email bookings@irishwriterscentre.ie.
