I’m Tim Lott, journalist, novelist, and writing mentor.
I have been writing novels since my first fiction work ‘White City Blue’ was published in 1999. It won the Whitbread First Novel Prize. I was 43 years old so I had paid my dues ( and in my view, if you want to be a novelist, you have to pay your dues.)
My first published book was a memoir, ‘The Scent of Dried Roses’ (1996) which won the PEN prize for autobiography and is now a Penguin Modern Classic.
I’ve now got ten novels under my belt. Many of which won or were shortlisted for major prizes or bought for TV and film.
But that only means I can write. Can I teach ( a completely different skill)?
I’ve taught for The Arvon Foundation, Guardian Masterclasses, The Faber Academy, The Novelry, The Idler Academy and Brunel University. I have worked as an independent writing mentor for the last ten years and have taught scores of writers on a one-to-one basis. I’ve written maybe a dozen screenplays and I have also read pretty much every important book published on the craft of storytelling.
I have worked with some of the best story teachers in the world. This is what they say about me.
“Shaping a novel chapter by chapter requires complex psychological insight.
Tim Lott possesses that insight” Robert McKee, author, ‘Story’.
“Tim Lott is one of the few novelists who truly understands story structure” John Yorke, author, ‘Into the Woods’.
“Tim Lott has long experience of the practice of writing fiction as well as a deep knowledge the theory of story craft – a rare yet essential combination“ Will Storr, author, ‘The Science of Storytelling’
Form your own opinion by signing up below to receive weekly essays (paid) or free essays of writing lectures, comment threads, and access to the archive if you subscribe to a paid membership (plus you’ll be supporting me directly as a writer)
Now I have a book out on how to write a novel…
WHAT’S THE DEAL FOR SUBSCRIBERS?
There are three levels of subscription.
With Free Membership you will get a free post about writing from the archive every Thursday.
But you will not otherwise be able to access any of the rest of the extensive archive, or read any of the Saturday essay posts or join in the occasional Zoom talks and discussion threads.
With Paid Membership, whether Weekly, Annual or Group, you will be able to join the community by commenting and feeding back to other subscribers as well as me, and you will be able to access all my posts, past and present. You will be able to read my weekly essays in full. You will get access to my memoir, ‘The Scent of Dried Roses’ read by me as an audiobook - as well as my interviews about storytelling with luminaries like John Yorke, Robert McKee and Jon Ronson. You can access all my writing lessons as they appear. And you can access my weekly conversations on philosophy and psychology, another one (or two) of my passions, with the Zen practitioner and therapist Manu Bazzano.
You will be able to send me emails personally. You can attend the periodic Zoom writing sessions. And should you wish to pursue your writing career in greater depth, you will get a 5pc discount on any of my personal mentoring packages (worth up to £137.50) All this for £30 a year. With monthly membership, which is £4 per month, you can cancel at any time without notice.
But perhaps you need a little more than this in your journey as a writer. No problem. You can sign up for Founding Membership. This is where it gets personal. Not only will you get all the above (as well as an even warmer fuzzier feeling) I will read and assess a sample of your writing material - up to 5,000 words - and feedback on it via a personal 30 minute one-on-one Zoom call, during I will give you general advice and you can ask me any questions about your work. ALSO you will be entitled to a 10% discount on any of my mentoring packages ( worth up to £275).
Oh yes, and you can also take out Group Subscriptions if there are four or more of you which will give you a 20% discount on any of the above plans.
HOW DOES BOOT CAMP WORK?
Here is the current Timetable:
Once a Week - Essay for paying subscribers, every Saturday, 4pm BST
Once a Week - Writing lessons, exercises and advice from the archive for all subscribers, every Thursday 4pm BST
First Tuesday of the Month - Juke Books, where you can share your favourite books with other subscribers in a Zoomcast.
Thank you for supporting me and joining the community. I look forward to meeting you.
