Writing workshops

Brian has been giving workshops on creativity and innovation for over 20 years, and thanks to his experience in having over 30 books published and writing for many newspapers and magazine, he has now extended this service to workshops on improving your writing skills. Brian has given a number of Guardian Masterclasses on science writing and gives writing workshops for business and organisations as part of Writing Project.

Our tailored writing workshops develop writing skills and stimulate confidence at work. A workshop can last from 1.5 hours to a full day, or longer. This list of workshops is not exhaustive and we'll be happy to create a workshop especially for you.

You’ll come away with a new approach to writing and the confidence to write effectively.

Communicating science
Ideal for any organisations in the science field, using Brian's extensive experience of science writing, can be focused on either writing for the public or writing the ideal academic paper.

Who Are You Writing For?
Knowing your audience is crucial. This workshop will help you communicate clearly and concisely to the people you want to influence. Participants will learn key writing and editing skills and boost their confidence in shaping their message for different clients/stakeholders.

Use More Engaging Language
There's often too much jargon and over-used vocabulary in professional communications. This workshop will experiment with fresh language and explore the use of metaphor and simile. It aims to provide tools for more engaging phrase- making and find alternatives for tired and unimaginative phrases.

Edit Yourself Better
Save management time by creating better first drafts. Using examples from your organisation, and others generated during the workshop, this session provides practical techniques for effective editing. Learn to re-structure, summarise, and make documents more accessible to your target audience. Experiment with editing your own and colleagues' writing.

Understanding Your Narrative
Narratives define who we are and what we do. Organisations need stories that clearly depict what they represent, why they exist, and where they are going. This workshop will help you define your story and express it memorably. We will look at how to foreground your USP and other stand-out elements of your organisation within a coherent narrative that will engage your customers and stakeholders.

Writing Press Releases
Snappy, factual, story-driven: press releases must be all these things if they are to grab a journalist's attention and get your message across. This workshop focuses on how to identify your core message, craft punchy headlines, and construct press releases that the media will want to publish.

Email Etiquette
Casual and friendly? Precise and official? Somewhere in between? This workshop discovers how to set the appropriate tone for your emails, both in-house and to other organisations. Explore the question of language register, how to establish authority and show tact in response – and learn how to self-edit before hitting 'send'.

Blogging and Social Media
Who do you want to engage? What image do you want to project? How do you find your desired audience and communicate your message in a tone that will keep them on your side? Participants will experiment with different voices and tones to attract interest, and discover techniques for building a compelling online presence as well as keeping up the momentum.

Writing Marketing Documents
Learn how to fine-tune public documents to attract and win over your target readership. Based on your organisation's own marketing/PR materials, this workshop shows how to hone your style and tone to convey the optimum public image/brand identity.

Note-taking Techniques
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you collect and collate. This workshop looks at ways to analyse information as you record it, and how to be strategic, concise and accurate in your note-taking. It also looks at selecting for relevance and priority in your notes, so that you can put what matters first.

(Charity professionals) Bid Writing and Grant Proposals
If you're seeking funding, this workshop will help you create powerful and effective
bids, proposals, and letters to potential donors. Written communication skills will be honed and polished through an understanding of the process, attention to structure, clarity of intention, and imaginative ways to engage different audiences.

For further details on writing workshops and audits, email brianclegg@me.com

Costs

Bite-sized 1.5 hour events cost £800, half day £1400 and full day £2000. Audits cost £750. Travel expenses and VAT extra.