DEVELOP YOUR WRITING
You might be just starting a new idea or deep into a manuscript, play or project. Wherever you are in your story, Ironclad Creative offers a range of ways to support your writing.
Our programme includes masterclasses, retreats, short courses, one-to-one Creative Surgeries, and longer-term mentoring for writers and storytellers developing larger books, plays or projects.
These opportunities are designed to help you strengthen your craft, move your work forward, and navigate the creative process with support.
Creative Cauldron Members receive 20% off all courses, masterclasses, and Creative Surgeries.
MASTERCLASSES
Writing Characters with Depth and Desire
Wednesday 16th March 2026 | 7-8:30pm | Online (Zoom)
£25
Compelling stories live or die with their characters. It’s not just what they do, but what they want, resist, and carry beneath the surface.
In this online masterclass with author and Ironclad Creative’s Creative Director Michelle Arden Moore, we’ll explore how to create characters who feel alive on the page. We’ll look at how desire, tension, power, and internal conflict shape behaviour, and how to translate that into clear, engaging prose.
Suitable for writers at any stage, the session includes short teaching, guided exercises, and practical tools you can apply immediately to your own work.
COURSES
Six-week course
Starts Thursday 16 April 2026 | 7–8:30pm | Online (Zoom)
£250
A short course for writers who want to understand how stories actually work and build stronger foundations for their projects.
Over six weeks we’ll explore the core elements of narrative so you can develop a story with emotional drive, structure, and momentum. This is for you if you have a story idea that won’t leave you alone, if you’re stuck in the middle of a draft, or if your story keeps stalling.
We’ll cover:
Premise: Desire, need, and the central question of your story
Character journey: How characters change and why it matters
Conflict and theme: How opposition creates meaning
Plot and story beats: Practical structures that keep readers engaged
World and symbolism: How environment shapes story and character
First drafts and edits: How to approach the writing and editing process
Each session includes around 40 minutes of teaching, followed by writing time and optional sharing or discussion of work in progress.
By the end of the course you’ll have a clearer understanding of your story’s foundations and the tools to move confidently into writing.
Ironclad Story Lab
Creative Surgeries
Ironclad Creative Surgeries
Creative Surgeries are one-off one-to-one sessions designed to help you move forward with a writing project or creative idea.
We can discuss story development, overcoming creative blocks, navigating publishing options, structuring a project, or simply untangling what’s keeping you stuck.
You’ll leave with clearer direction and practical next steps for your project.
Please note: Creative Surgeries do not include feedback on written work, manuscript critique, or line editing. If you are looking for detailed feedback on your writing, please see our Story Mentoring programme.
Sessions last 60 minutes and take place online via Zoom.
Send us an email to request a session letting us know what you’d like support with.
£60 per session
STORY MENTORING
Ironclad Story Mentoring
Story Mentoring offers more in-depth support for writers developing a novel, memoir, play, or other substantial writing project.
Through a either stand-alone or a series of sessions, we’ll work together one-to-one to strengthen the foundations of your manuscript, explore character and structure, and help you move confidently through the drafting and editing process.
Mentoring includes written feedback on selected written work, alongside conversations about craft, process, and the practical realities of writing and publishing or producing.
If you’re looking for focused support while developing a longer project, mentoring provides the space, structure, and guidance to help move your work forward.
Places are limited.
Please apply via the email link to discuss availability and the best mentoring option for your project.
Prices:
One hour Zoom Session with feedback on up to 5,000 words £200
Three x one hour Zoom Sessions over three months with feedback on 5,000 words per session £540
Six x one hour Zoom Sessions over six months with feedback on 5,000 words per session £900
Please note: we cannot provide mentoring or feedback on work intended for submission to the Ironclad Short Story Competition or Ironclad New Writing Bursary.
