Live Workshops
Apart from the teaching I do for Oxford University’s Department of Continuing Education, I may run in-person Focus Workshops in Oxford from time to time. Keep checking this page for announcements of future workshops or join my mailing list below to be the first to hear! (You can unsubscribe at any time.)
SELF-STUDY MASTERClasses
Storytelling Skills for Non-Fiction Writers: scroll down for full details! Incredibly useful for fiction writers too!
Create your Home Writing Retreat, Create your Writer’s Prompt Box and How to be a Happy Writer have now been withdrawn from sale. I hope to launch new products in 2025. If there’s any topic you’d like to see me cover let me know via the contact form!
Storytelling Skills for Non-fiction Writers
Learn how to craft your story to attract clients, customers and fans
Self-study masterclass, additional materials and lifetime access to upgrades
$27
Your story is your showcase …
You want to be heard in the world. You want to grow your audience. You have a message to share, a vision, a passion, a mission.
If you have a business, the best way to promote it is to write a book that’s as individual as you are. A book that:
reaches out to readers, making them want to spend time in your world
shares your hard-won expertise and knowledge
blends authority with enticement
gives them valuable insights but in your unique voice
has a powerful, compelling approach that keeps them hooked
You need storytelling skills!
Welcome to
Storytelling Skills for Non-fiction Writers
Storytelling Skills for Non-fiction Writers will teach you the methods fiction-writers use to attract readers, creating an emotional response and a lasting connection.
How can story techniques do that? Storytelling is one of the oldest human connections there is. Long before we started scratching pictographs on stone walls, we told each other stories. Those stories comforted us, kept the dark at bay, made us laugh, made us gasp. Stories taught us how to stay safe and deal with the world. Stories gave us meaning. Stories brought us together. They still do.
By tapping into the key skills I’ll teach you, you’ll gain the confidence to weave a spell of words which will hold your readers transfixed and eager to know what happens next! You’ll learn how to structure your story, bring events and people to life and discover the uniquely compelling voice your reader needs to hear.
“No other animal tells stories in order to understand itself. The telling of stories is absolutely what we are.”
This training is for you if …
You want to write a non-fiction book. That includes memoir, autobiography, biography, history, science and business. All of these genres thrive on story!
You need to write engaging human-centred copy, structured to make a reader curious and keep them interested, whether you’re writing a full-length book or just a few pages.
You want your style to be vibrant and memorable.
You’re not sure how to go about shaping your narrative.
You’re new to this writing game - or you’ve been stopped in your tracks by overwhelm and loss of confidence.
You’ve struggled with writing up to now - your argument gets lost, your words are flat, there’s no energy, no shape, no pace. Worst of all - there’s no you!
(If you want to write fiction, by the way, these techniques are for you too!)
“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”
Here’s what Storytelling Skills for Non-fiction Writers covers
Clarifying your intentions, whatever the form of non-fiction you’re writing.
How storytelling works when you want to add a business book to your business ecosystem.
Why you may think you don’t have any storytelling talent - and why you’re wrong!
The key techniques writers use for crafting a compelling story, from structure to characters, dialogue, setting, tone - and much more.
How to find your voice and make it individual and irresistible. (This is crucial.)
What the training includes:
A 90 minute recorded presentation, packed with practical advice and inspiration, split into separate lessons too for ease of consumption.
Downloadable presentation slides.
Specially designed worksheets so that you can take notes and start to put my advice to practical use straight away.
A bonus recording of a live Q & A session after the course was first launched.
You will also have lifetime access to any future upgrades and additions to this training.
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but the stories you tell.”
Why have I created this masterclass?
I’m a story-addict myself and I’ve spent my professional life helping writers create, shape and refine their stories, whether they are writing an academic essay, a biography, a self-help book, a business book – or a novel.
I’m an award-winning short story writer, published novelist, editor, speaker and writing coach. I founded Fictionfire Literary Consultancy fifteen years ago but I have more than two decades of creative writing teaching under my belt. I know what works. I know why writing matters, in the wider world and for the personal fulfilment of those who dream of doing it.
It’s my mission to inspire writers with self-belief, help them nurture their craft and enable them to take action on their writing dreams.
“She is one of the best instructors I’ve ever had, sharing a depth of understanding that I could immediately apply to my own stories. She combines her mastery with a hearty sense of humour that makes learning easy, rewarding and fun.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is this a live training?
The course began as a pre-recorded training, now split into separate lessons, followed by a live Q & A session, the recording of which has been added to the course as an extra resource.
I’m a fiction writer and haven’t even thought of writing non-fiction. Is this training suitable for me?
First, you write more non-fiction than you know! Do you have a blog or a newsletter? Have you ever written articles or reports? The techniques I teach in the course work, no matter whether you’re writing a high-octane thriller, an article for the local magazine, a memoir for your kids or the book that will act as a shop-window for your business.
Got another question?
Contact me at info@fictionfire.co.uk and I’ll do my best to help.
Are you ready to write your story?
Click the button below to be taken to my online school. The training costs $27, which is approximately £21. (Please note that EU VAT tax will be applied if you are in a relevant territory and this will alter the price you see when you visit the course page.)
“Lorna was an absolutely amazing teacher. I left this course feeling encouraged and challenged. It was a truly great experience.”
