The Write a Novel Course
Write the novel you've always wanted to write with one-to-one mentoring from a multi-award-winning novelist
12 Months
Beginner-advanced
12
- Risk-Free for 30 days
- 12,000+ writers trained since 2005
- Rated 5/5 on Google Reviews
The Write a Novel Course
Write the novel you've always wanted to write with one-to-one mentoring from a multi-award-winning novelist
12 Months
Beginner-
advanced
12
- Risk-Free for 30 days
- Rated 5/5 on Google Reviews
- 12,000+ writers trained since 2005
Realise Your Dream of Writing a Novel
Fast-track your progress with our comprehensive,
step-by-step course
Our Write a Novel Course turns dreams into manuscripts. Collectively, our course graduates have had over 60 novels published by Penguin Random House, LUCA, LAPA, Naledi, Human & Rosseau, Catalyst Press, et al. or they have self-published.
For the duration of this twelve-module course, you’ll work one-to-one with a multi-award-winning novelist.
Through a structured curriculum covering essential creative writing technique and craft, plus 12 substantial writing assignments building directly into your novel, you’ll move steadily from a blank page to a manuscript.
Every assignment comes with line-by-line feedback, so you always know what’s working, what isn’t, and how to fix it.
At the end of the course, your manuscript-in-progress receives a publisher-style report, giving you a clear, professional read on its strengths and what to develop next. Along the way, you’ll also join two live online workshops each year.
What You’ll Master on This Novel Writing Course
- Structure a compelling plot using classic story structure, and sustain tension across the manuscript
- Create vivid, believable major and minor characters who drive your narrative forward
- Explore essential novel writing techniques in a 300-page course manual
- Write natural, engaging dialogue that reveals character and moves your story on
- Discover and refine your own writing style and authorial voice
- Apply professional revision and editing techniques to strengthen every draft
- Produce a partial manuscript of 25,000 words, plus a clear plan and chapter synopsis for your remaining chapters
- Understand how to approach a publisher, present a manuscript professionally and navigate contracts and book production
- Navigate current trends and opportunities in traditional and self-publishing
... Just Some of Our Published Students!
What You’ll Master on This Novel Writing Course
- Structure a compelling plot using classic story structure, and sustain tension across the manuscript
- Create vivid, believable major and minor characters who drive your narrative forward
- Explore essential novel writing techniques in a 300-page course manual
- Write natural, engaging dialogue that reveals character and moves your story on
- Discover and refine your own writing style and authorial voice
- Apply professional revision and editing techniques to strengthen every draft
- Produce a manuscript-in-progress of 25,000 words, plus a clear plan and chapter synopsis for your remaining chapters
- Understand how to approach a publisher, present a manuscript professionally and navigate contracts and book production
- Navigate current trends and opportunities in traditional and self-publishing
What makes studying with us different?
No Group Lectures/Group Feedback
We use traditional methods of assessing work with a real writer assessing your words. No generic feedback!
A Flexible Schedule
Work wherever and whenever you want, fitting the course around your life, over 12 months.
A Publisher-Style Manuscript Report
At the end of the course, your manuscript-in-progress is assessed with a professional, publisher-style report, the kind your work would get from a publisher's desk.
Two Live Online Workshops
Join fellow students twice a year in a live online workshop to deepen your creative writing craft. Get a chance to ask questions and be part of a writing community.
Multi-Award-Winning Tutors
Every assignment is read and assessed by a published, multi-award-winning novelist who knows what editors want and what's holding your writing back.
No Peer Reviews on Assignments
Outside of the workshops, your regular assignment feedback comes only from your tutor, a leader in their field. No guessing, you'll be guided line by line.
This course is for you if:
- You've always wanted to write a novel but don't know how to structure it
- You've started manuscripts before but struggle to sustain them past the first few chapters
- You're already a non-fiction or business writer wanting to try your hand at fiction
- You want honest, expert feedback from a published novelist, not AI-generated or peer-only responses
- You live anywhere in the world and need a flexible, self-paced structure
- You want a serious, structured curriculum covering the full craft of novel writing, from plot to publication
Course Curriculum
Module 1: Your Novel: An Introduction
Common questions answered, overcoming writer’s block, getting started. Exercise: construct a schedule, write a novel proposal, complete a warm-up exercise.
Module 2: Theme, Voice and Point of View
The core elements of a novel, genre, theme, point of view and voice. Exercise: write two genre scenes; analyse the voice and POV in a novel of your choice.
Module 3: Characterisation
Creating vivid, believable major and minor characters. Text instalment: at least 700 words.
Module 4: Plot Your Novel
Understanding the elements of storytelling and classic story structure. Text instalment: at least 1,500 words.
Module 5: Putting Scenes Together
Scenes, chapters, paragraphs, transitions, beginnings and endings. Text instalment: at least 2,000 words.
Module 6: Discover Your Writing Style
Good and bad style habits, finding your own authorial voice. Text instalment: at least 2,500 words.
Module 7: Dialogue Techniques
Writing natural, compelling dialogue, layout and formatting. Text instalment: at least 2,500 words.
Module 8: Revising Your Writing
Why revision matters and top professional editing techniques. Text instalment: at least 2,500 words.
Module 9: Selling Your Book
How to approach a publisher, present your manuscript, and understand contracts. Exercise: write a covering letter. Text instalment: at least 2,500 words.
Module 10: Book Production
Editing, design, distribution, marketing and selling a finished book. Exercise: write a blurb. Text instalment: at least 2,500 words.
Module 11: Trends in Publishing
What’s happening in publishing right now, traditional vs. self-publishing. Text instalment: at least 2,500 words.
Module 12: The Writing Life
The lifestyle of a working writer, opportunities and challenges ahead. After Module 12, you’ll submit a revised manuscript of 25,000 words, which receives your publisher-style report.
During the course, you’ll also be invited to two live online workshops each year to connect with and workshop alongside fellow students.
When you apply, you can choose your own tutor or let us match you with the perfect fit based on your preferred genre and goals.
Whatever story you’re wanting to write, there’s an award-winning, working novelist to help you write it.
For fantasy, YA and science fiction, try Nerine Dorman.
Write romance, romantasy and regency romance with Fiona Ingram, and YA thrillers, spec fic and dark fantasy with Andrew Salomon.
Qarnita Loxton specialises in feel-good women’s fiction.
For literary fiction, YA novels and memoir, work with Alex Smith.
Nerine Dorman
10 novels + 6 novellas | 3 award wins | 3 shortlistings | 4+ years tutoring at SAWC
Nerine Dorman is an author and editor of science fiction and fantasy, with short fiction published in numerous anthologies.
She is a contributor to the Locus Award-winning Afro-Centered Futurism in Our Speculative Fiction edited by Eugen Bacon (Bloomsbury, 2024), which was also the winner of the 2025 Ignyte Award for Outstanding Creative Nonfiction.
Her novel Sing down the Stars won Gold for the Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature in 2019 and The Percy Fitzpatrick Award for Children’s and Youth Literature in 2021. Her YA fantasy novella, Dragon Forged, was a finalist in the Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature in 2017.
Her short story “On the Other Side of the Sea” (Omenana, 2017) was shortlisted for a 2018 Nommo award. Her novella The Firebird won a Nommo for “Best Novella” in 2019. In addition, she is a founding member of the SFF authors’ co-operative Skolion.
Fiona Ingram
(Subject to availability)
12 novels | 6 award wins | 4 shortlistings | 14+ years teaching at SAWC
A graduate of the University of Natal, Wits, and international study abroad, Fiona Ingram started her writing career in magazine publishing and journalism. A holiday to Egypt with family sparked the beginning of her multi-award-winning Middle Grade adventure series, The Chronicles of the Stone, which delights adventurers and explorers of all ages. These titles include The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, and The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper, with new titles in the works. Book awards include the Nautilus, Moonbeam, Rubery, Children’s Literary Classics, Wise Bear, Readers’ Favorite, and New York Big City Book Awards, among others.
A chance remark by her mom set her off in a new direction, writing historical romance. Fiona writes Regency romances under the pen name Arabella Sheraton and says going back into history is both entertaining and educational. Fiona has written seven Regency novels and a Jane Austen-inspired relationship self-help book, The Secret of Love. Regency titles include The Reluctant Bridegroom, The Dangerous Duke, Married at Midnight, Lord Blackwood’s Valentine Ball, The Lady’s Revenge, The Wayward Miss Wainwright, and Miss Dashwood’s Dilemma.
Fiona relocated to Cyprus several years ago and lives in a small farming village where the peace and quiet are perfect for creative writing.
Andrew Salomon
4 novels | 2 award wins | 2 shortlistings | 17+ years teaching at SAWC
Andrew Salomon is an award-winning author. His debut novel Tokoloshe Song was shortlisted for the Terry Pratchett First Novel Award.
Additionally, his short fiction has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. He has also received the PEN Literary Award for African Fiction and the Short.Sharp.Stories Award.
Andrew is the author of the young adult thrillers The Chrysalis and Wonderbear. His latest novel is the dark fantasy thriller The Equilibrist. He completed an MA at the Institute for Archaeology at University College London. Some of his most memorable experiences have been at rock painting and engraving sites in subterranean caves and shelters across the world. These often find their way into his fiction.
Andrew tutors several courses at The Writers College, including the Write a Novel Course, the Advanced Novel Writing Course and the Advanced Short Story Writing Course.
Qarnita Loxton
5 novels | 1 award wins | 2 shortlistings | 5+ years teaching at SAWC
Qarnita Loxton was born and lives in Cape Town. She has practiced as an attorney, studied psychology and worked as an executive coach. Her first novel, Being Kari (Kwela 2017), was longlisted for the 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature and short-listed for the 2018 Herman Charles Bosman Prize. Being Lily (2018) and Being Shelley (2019) followed, with Being Dianne (2021) concluding the series. In 2021 Qarnita was awarded the Philida Literary Award for an Oeuvre of Literary Excellence. Qarnita co-wrote Chasing Marian (2022) with Amy Heydenrych, Pamela Power and Gail Schimmel.
Qarnita is inspired by everyday experiences, and the impact that such seemingly ordinary things can have on life. Her writing and her books are women-centred and deal with universal themes (such as friendship, parenting, relationships etc) that are relatable to all. Her books are marketed predominantly to women.
Alex Smith
(Subject to availability)
5 novels | 2 award wins | 5 nominations | 17+ years teaching at SAWC
Alex Smith is the award-winning author of five novels: Algeria’s Way, Drinking from the Dragon’s Well, Four Drunk Beauties, Devilskein & Dearlove (published by Random House/Umuzi) and Agency Blue (published by Tafelberg).
Her work has received widespread acclaim. Alex was shortlisted for the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing in 2010 as well as the Pen Literary Award and Short.Sharp.Stories Award. Drinking from the Dragon’s Well was longlisted for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award and Devilskein & Dearlove was nominated for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal in the UK. Agency Blue won the Sanlam Youth Literature Award, while Four Drunk Beauties won the Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award.
Alex tutors the Novel Writing Course, the Advanced Novel Writing Course, the Short Story Writing Course, the Advanced Short Story Writing Course and the Write Your Memoir Course, sharing her knowledge and expertise with students of all skill levels.
Our Graduate Students' Successes
A Stephen King Novel Sparked A Love for Crime Thrillers — Celebrating Award-Winning Author, Martin Steyn!
Martin Steyn came to SA Writers’ College to study the Write a Novel Course, and left with the manuscript that would launch one of the most celebrated careers in Afrikaans crime fiction.
Martin’s path to writing was anything but a straight line. As a boy, he wasn’t a passionate reader, but then at age fifteen, he picked up a Stephen King novel at the local library and everything changed. It was while reading IT that the writing bug truly bit. His first story — 26 handwritten pages crammed with devil worshippers and space aliens — was, by his own admission, not particularly wonderful. But he was hooked.
Martin studied at SA Writers’ College with acclaimed Afrikaans author Wilna Adriaanse. Working on his manuscript chapter by chapter through the course, Martin found in Wilna not just a tutor but a turning point. Her sharp editorial eye and unwavering support stayed with him long after the course ended, all the way to the final manuscript of Donker Spoor. In 2013, that manuscript landed on the desk of Cecilia Britz at LAPA Uitgewers. On what began as an ordinary day, an acceptance email arrived and Martin’s dream came true.
Since that debut, Martin has gone from strength to strength. Donker Spoor was published in English as Dark Traces, earning a prestigious Kirkus Star Review in 2017 — a rare honour awarded to only a fraction of books reviewed. His novels Donker Spoor and Skuldig both won the ATKV-Woordveertjie for Spanningslektuur (the top Afrikaans prize for thriller fiction) in 2015 and 2016 respectively. His work has been translated into English, Turkish and Albanian, bringing South African crime fiction to readers across the globe. His most recent novel, Donker Water (2024), was met with rapturous reviews, and his short story collection Skimme en Spoorsoekers followed in 2026.
Six novels. International translations. Award after award. And it all began with a writing course that changed everything.
Martin is proof that the right tutor at the right moment can unlock a remarkable writing career.
More Graduate Novel Students' Successes
We are proud of our Write a Novel Course graduates who have achieved success. Here are a few from South Africa and beyond.
COURSE FEE
R 11 495.00
Price includes VAT
NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS
12
The writing assignments vary in length.
NUMBER OF MODULES
12
These modules include 300+ pages of course notes.
COURSE DURATION
12
Work at your own pace – up to a maximum of 12 months.
START DATE: ANYTIME
Working with an individual tutor means you can start the course at any time.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Basic writing skills are essential.
- Computer skills, email and Internet access required.
- No previous tertiary qualification required.
Get These Additional Benefits
Lifetime Course Access
Benefit from free lifetime access to future course updates and access to our writing resources.
A Novel Reading Challenge
Tick of a curated list of novels recommended by your tutors as you progress through the course.
Be the First to Know About Writing Competitions
We'll help you keep up to date with the latest competition announcements
500+ Bonus Articles on Our Blog
A superb, constantly updated resource with articles on writing and interviews with writers.
Work Opportunities
Top students are invited to join our writers and editors for hire service.
Join a Community of Writers
You will have access to our friendly Facebook community, daily writing tips and writing inspiration.
You will receive an approval email and invoice within one working day.
Should your form not submit, please let admin know at admin@sawriterscollege.co.za
We’re so confident you’ll love your course that if you’re not 100% satisfied within 30 days, simply ask for a refund, minus any expenses incurred.
How does the course work?
Detailed course notes are emailed to you module by module. At the end of each module, you submit a writing task or a text instalment to your tutor, an award-winning novelist, for individual feedback.
Your tutor will read your submission carefully and return detailed, line-by-line feedback using Track Changes and Comments in Word or Google Docs. Tasks are marked within 3–5 working days.
The success of the course is largely dependent on how carefully and diligently you implement tutor suggestions.
As the course progresses, focus shifts from exercises to manuscript development. At the end of Module 12, your 25,000-word manuscript-in-progress receives a final critique.
The follow-on Advanced Write a Novel Course takes your word count to 65,000 words.
Do you offer a payment plan?
Yes. You can split your R 11 945.00 course fee into three interest-free payments: a 50% deposit (R 5 747.50) to get started, followed by two 25% payments (R 2 873.75 each) at the following month-ends.
Just let us know on your enrolment form if you’d like to pay this way, and we’ll invoice you accordingly.
There’s no extra charge for choosing a split payment.
Who are the tutors?
Every tutor is a multi-award-winning, published novelist. You’ll be matched to a tutor based on your genre and interests, or you can request a specific tutor when you apply.
When can I start a course?
Because you will work with an individual tutor, you can start your course as soon as your application has been approved. There are no specific start dates as would be the case at a traditional college.
An application is usually approved within one working day. Once we receive proof of payment, you can start your course.
You could be starting your course today!
What are the minimum time estimates for the course?
This is hard to predict, since writing speed varies a lot from person to person. You could finish the course in six months, if you have the time available. Others prefer to work slowly for the full 12 months.
As a rough guide, set aside a minimum of two hours to write each 1,000 words of your novel, and a further two to three hours to revise that same 1,000 words.
Across your 25,000-word manuscript, that works out to roughly 80–125 hours of writing and revising combined.
On top of that, many of the twelve modules include short standalone exercises that aren’t part of your manuscript word count (things like a warm-up piece, genre scenes, a covering letter, and a blurb). Allow up to two hours each, so around 10 hours in total. Add some further time near the end of the course for a final polish of your complete manuscript.
Altogether, a reasonable estimate is 90–135 hours across the 12 modules, or roughly eight to eleven hours a month if you work steadily over the full 12-month course.
What's the publisher-style report?
At the end of the course, your manuscript is assessed the way a publisher’s reader would assess it, providing a professional analysis of its strengths and what to develop next. This critique will give you a genuinely useful analysis on where your manuscript stands.
What are the conditions of certification?
You’ll receive a Writers’ College Certificate on successful completion, provided you complete all writing tasks within 12 months and achieve a minimum average of 50%.
Please note that SA Writers’ College is a private training institution. To keep our courses as affordable as possible, our courses are not accredited by SAQA.
Can I get an extension if I don't finish within 12 months?
We understand that unforeseen things can come up, and we want to see you finish what you started. Here’s how we support you if things get in the way.
Need a short break? Let your tutor and admin know, and we’ll pause your course for up to three months. A few weeks to a few months works well; longer breaks can fragment your learning and make it harder to complete the course successfully.
Need more time? Email the college principal before your deadline, with your reason for the request. We’ll note a new deadline on your file. Extensions are granted case by case and depend on you having genuinely engaged with the course so far. You get one extension request per course, subject to your tutor’s availability and approval.
Missed your deadline entirely? No problem; you can pick up where you left off. We’ll invoice you for 50% of the current course fee and set you a new deadline.
Just get in touch, and we’ll help you find the best way forward.
Are there opportunities to connect with other writers?
Yes. In addition to your one-to-one tutor feedback, you can attend two live online workshops each year, where you can share your writing and connect with fellow students.
Attendance to these workshops is optional (March and September each year). They will be recorded for replay for those who can’t make the sessions.
Who owns the rights to my novel?
You do. We never claim any rights to work you produce on our courses. We do appreciate it if you let us know if or when your novel is published.
Will anyone else see my work?
Outside of the optional workshops, only your tutor will see your work. It remains private unless you choose to publish it.
How does this course differ from doing an MA in Creative Writing?
There are some genuine advantages, depending on your goals and aspirations.
- Cost. At R 11 495.00, it’s a small fraction of MA tuition, which commonly runs well over R 100 000.00 for a two-year programme.
- Flexibility of pace and location. You can work from anywhere, start any time, and take up to 12 months at your own pace. There is no fixed semester structure, cohort start dates, or need to relocate or attend in person.
- 1:1 mentoring from a working novelist, from day one. MA programmes often mix workshop-style peer critique with faculty attention spread across a cohort; here, every single assignment is read individually by your own tutor.
- Purely craft- and manuscript-focused. No general coursework or unrelated modules. Every module of the Write a Novel Course builds directly towards your manuscript-in-progress.
- Lower risk to try. With a 30-day guarantee and no long-term enrolment commitment, it’s a much lower-stakes way to find out if sustained novel writing suits you, before committing a year and significant money.
- No prerequisites. No portfolio application, no admission competition, no prior qualifications. This course is accessible to a complete beginner.
The advantages of an MA degree are the formal academic credential and the institutional prestige associated with it.
What makes this Write a Novel Course a top choice for a student in South Africa?
Choosing the best writing course for you is a tough decision. We recommend you carefully research the type of feedback provided, the cost versus benefit and value offered, the tutor credentials that are current and authentic, and the student results and testimonials.
Our SA Writers’ College tutors are exceptional, commercially successful, real, working authors. Apart from winning and being shortlisted for multiple writing awards, they have published between five and 60+ novels each. Many of them have international reach.
Our student results, plus testimonials, are outstanding too. Feel free to scroll through our Student Success pages. Read interviews with graduates on our blog.
Unlike many writing courses that rely heavily on group workshops, peer reviews or generic videos with zero feedback, our Write a Novel Course matches you with an award-winning writer for all assignments, providing individual, line-by-line feedback.
Since we started the college over 20 years ago, we have remained true to our aims to keep our courses affordable and accessible to writers. What we can promise is excellent value for money, without compromising on the quality of personal feedback.
Many of our students are repeat subscribers. Our record right now is a student who has completed 13 of our 35 writing courses!
Why would I pay for this when I can use AI?
An AI can remix and recombine text it’s seen before. That’s fundamentally how it works. What it can’t do is mentor or help you create something unique or original.
AI has no writing career, no scars, no craft won through years of trial and error, so it has nothing to teach you about acquiring one.
While you may think your chatbot is giving you excellent feedback, it tends to err on the side of positive, and it butters you up. The result? You may think your writing is wonderful, when in fact, it might need work.
Every piece you submit is read by a published, award-winning author: someone who has sat exactly where you’re sitting, wrestled with the same structural problems, struggled with nuance and depth, and built a writing life from scratch.
That’s why their feedback works. Your tutor doesn’t pattern-match your prose against a training set; they read it. They hear your voice, feel what you’re trying to say even when you haven’t quite landed it, and tell you exactly how to get there. AI can only offer statistically likely suggestions that are smooth, plausible and interchangeable with what it would tell anyone else.
Writing is a craft you learn by doing and by being seen. That’s not something a machine can generate. It’s something only a human mentor can give you.