Mslexia Novel Kit

The latest offer from Mslexia Women's Writing Weeks is Novel Kit – a refined and updated version of our previous course, Novel School. We know that generating a publishable novel requires guidance, accountability, and tools to get the job done. 

This five-day online course will provide you with the basic ingredients of your next novel. If you're beginning a new project, our tutors will steer you in the right direction. If you have a ragged first draft, they'll help you knock it into shape. If your finished book keeps being rejected, they'll help you breathe fresh life into it.

Why you’ll love it 

• Intimate groups of under ten people
• Emphasis on feedback each day
• Ongoing support from the women you meet to keep you accountable beyond the course
• Motivation and goal-setting workshops to nurture the whole writer 
• Access to a trained counsellor if you need additional support
• Expert tuition from 
  - Claire Hynes
  - Jan Carson
  - Manya Wilkinson
  - Jane Rogers

What you'll be doing

A working synopsis: A day to develop a 300-word plan of your novel that will act as a blueprint and focus for the text, and form the basis of your submission to agents and editors

Unique selling points: A day to consider the unique aspects of your setting, characters and subject matter, and how these can be emphasised to strengthen the exceptional qualities of your book 

First 3,000 words – Voice: A day to explore your voice as an author – will you write in first or third person; in past or present tense; with lush or minimal description; intimate or distant point of view?

First 3,000 words – Engagement: A day to focus on engaging your reader (and your agent!), planting inciting scenes and intriguing clues that will keep them turning the page, desperate to know what happens next 

Next steps: A day for strategising and looking forwards, with advice from our guest literary agent, plus workshops on accountability, time management, groups and networks, for ongoing support

What you'll leave with 

• First 3,000 words of your novel
• Synopsis of your novel
• Unique selling points of your novel

Whether you experience a breakthrough with your work-in-progress, dissolve the roadblocks on your creative journey, or meet writers who will become part of your life when the course is over, this promises to be a game-changing week for your writing.

But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what participants said about our previous course.

‘This week has been so worthwhile - simply life changing for me in terms of my writing’

‘I have walked away feeling reinvigorated with a real sense of direction’

‘I found the week transformative’

Are you ready to kickstart your novel? 

Join us 23-27 March 2026.

We offer two bursary places for low-income writers. If this is something you're interested in applying for, please fill out this form and return it to postbag@mslexia.co.uk by 16 Feb. 

If you want to pay in instalments, please email postbag@mslexia.co.uk, and we will get back to you in early January to arrange a payment plan.