Date/Time
Date(s) - Wed 18th Mar - Wed 27th May, 2026
6:00pm - 8:00pm
The Wild and the Considered: process, practice and editorial
Following the success of Elizabeth’s Reeder’s A Year of Writing in 2024-25, we are happy to be able to offer this course again in 2026-27. This is a four-season writing course open to writers of fiction and non-fiction with a work in progress. It is led by Elizabeth Reeder, author of An Archive of Happiness (Penned in the Margins) and microbursts (Prototype). The course will run fortnightly on Wednesday evenings.
This course has a limited number of places for writers to join us. You are welcome to join on a season by season basis or book the whole year. If you choose season by season we’ll do our best to give you first choice to allow you to participate in the next season.
Course outline
Elizabeth’s year-long course, run season by season, is intended to support you and your writing process as you undertake a long-form fiction or creative non-fiction project. The premise is that by writing in the company of others, figuring out what sort of habits, goal setting and flexibility work for you, discussing elements of craft and process and what will bring the most joy as you write, even if it’s tough at times – you will have more resources to complete a longer project.
In this Year of Writing we are doing something a bit different.
There will be Three Online Seasons. The fully online Seasons are: Spring 26, Autumn 26 and Winter into Spring 2027.
& One Hybrid Season: This year, we are running the Summer Season as a hybrid season, which will include a residential week at Moniack Mhor, taking place from 24 – 29 August 2026! (There is a pared back online only option for the summer season too). Both include an initial session at the start of July and a post-residency discussion in September.
Each writer will receive a one one-to-one tutorial with Elizabeth each term where you can submit up to 3,000 words and then discuss it in a 40-minute session.
Seasonal themes:
Spring 2026 Motivation and Momentum
Summer 2026 Writing towards the residency/ a summer of writing; flexibility, kindness, toughness
Autumn 2026 Questions of Craft and Crafting
Winter into Spring Reflection and Creative-Critical Editing
Season One – Spring 2026 Motivation and Momentum
The Spring Season’s craft sessions include a mixture of discussion, close-reading and writing exercise-based elements. We’ll focus on what motivates us in our projects, how we build and manage momentum in ourselves and in the writing, and how we foster rest and processing time, and we’ll be considering what motivates readers through our work and how this helps us make choices as we write.
The quieter Writing Spaces are where we get together on Zoom and write. That’s it. We write in the company of each other and have a bit of chat before and after. Elizabeth will also set optional writing exercises/subjects for those who want a bit of an outwardly-set focus.
At the end of each term, we’ll share our work with each other in an online ceilidh.
Companions in the Wild: Season 1 includes:
- a 2-hour introductory session, also including a writing space
- two 2-hour craft and process sessions
- one 2-hour writing space
- one 2-hour peer-to-peer group workshopping session
- one 40-minute one-to-one tutorial and feedback on up to 3,000 words
- a closing sharing space / online ceilidh to share your work with your group
- Contact and support from your community of writers via Google Classroom (optional)
Timetable
Wednesday 18 Mar 18:00–20:00 Welcome session
Introductions, go through course, mini-craft session on process, writing space/exercises (if time)
Wednesday 1 Apr 18:00–18:40 Craft I
What motivates you within this project. What engages you about your process, fascinates you, frustrates you, gives you those little dopamine hits as you write?
Wednesday 15 Apr 18:00–20:00 Writing Space
Chat, write, chat
Wednesday 29 Apr 18:00–20:00 Craft II
Focused session on particular aspect of craft and editing draft poems
Wednesday 13 May 18:00–20:00 Workshop
Working in small groups / writing space
Wednesday 27 May 18:00–20.00 Ceilidh
Sharing of work with group
Tutorials
Your one-to-one tutorial with Elizabeth will be scheduled when the season starts.
Tutor
Elizabeth Reeder writes fiction, experimental essays, and hybrid work. Her most recent books are a novel, An Archive of Happiness (Penned in the Margins), which was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize, and a collection of hybrid lyric essays, microbursts, which is an artistic collaboration with Amanda Thomson (Prototype Publishing). From 2021-2024, Elizabeth was one of three Endangered Landscape artists in residence with Cairngorms Connect, and she co-runs DeathWrites, a network of Scottish writers exploring illness, dying, death and grief. She is a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow.
Signing up
This course will run with 12 participants each season. You can join on a season by season basis or let us know if you’d like to book for the four seasons. Please register your interest in future seasons by adding a note to your web booking, or emailing us on online@moniackmhor.org.uk. Writers who take part in all three seasons will be offered a £40 discount of their Season 4 fee.
We will try to offer priority booking to continuing participants in seasons two and three. New participants will also be welcome each season if spaces are available.
Fees
The full fee for Season One is £360. A deposit of £100 is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The balance payment of £260 is due six weeks before the season begins. Please read our Terms & Conditions for full details about our cancellation policy.
Bursaries are available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments, please email online@moniackmhor.org.uk to enquire.
All activity takes place on Zoom, and workshops include a short break. Moniack Mhor staff will be on hand to support you during your course.
For more information please email online@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements when working online so we can do our best to support you. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.