Cuba and the Craft of Fiction with Romesh Gunesekera

As summer ends and the temperature drops, you sense change in the air. You open the newspaper and find Cuba splashed across the page. You wonder what it would be like to see a place on the brink of change. You wonder what it would be like to change yourself and discover new ways of seeing, of expressing yourself creatively.

You have been wanting to put your thoughts down in words, to get in touch with the stories in your head, to write, but there has never been the time to do it. You don’t know where to begin, and what to do next. What shall I write about? Who can I show it to? How do I write the next bit? Is it any good?

Trying to write unleashes a load of questions and not much progress and you forget that writing should be a joy.

You want to spend some time away to play with your imagination and explore a new world. You want to write more and better. You want to discover how to start that book you always wanted to write.

Cuba is the place. In our Havana writing workshop we will examine the craft of fiction and do short exercises to get back in touch with the pleasures of writing. We read out our stories and share tips. We will find inspiration from the place and from each other and have the time to write what we want.

In the Atsitsa workshop in Greece I led two years ago, the 8 participants ranged from those who had never tried writing fiction to those already embarked on a project. We had a fantastic time. A week of discovery, and already one published novel.

Cuba promises to be even better.

Romesh Gunesekera

Romesh Gunesekera, internationally acclaimed writer whose first Novel, Reef, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and his second one, Sandglass, was awarded the BBC Asia award. His most recent novel The Match was described by the Spectator as 'effortlessly accomplished', and the Irish Times as a book that 'shows why fiction is written - and read'.

Romesh will be running his course 'Fiction Writing' from 14 - 24 November 2010. Call Skyros on 01983 865566 to book or book online at www.skyros.com.