MASTERCLASSES
Introducing our online masterclasses…
Our online masterclasses are designed specially for historical fiction writers and feature a wide range of distinguished speakers and useful topics. We run one masterclass every month, usually on or around the first week of the month, with each masterclass lasting three hours and including a mix of presentation and Q&A, with an optional writing burst, discussion session, or exercises at the end. All of our masterclasses take place live and online via Zoom, with recordings available afterwards. Masterclasses are exclusively available to members of The History Quill.
Our next masterclass:
Writing historical thrillers and historical crime, with Anna Mazzola
Sunday 6 October 2024, 6:30pm BST / 1:30pm ET
Your tutor
Anna Mazzola
Anna is the award-winning author of five historical crime or Gothic novels. Her books explore the impact of crime and injustice and her influences include Daphne Du Maurier, Shirley Jackson and Sarah Waters. Her fifth novel, The Book of Secrets, is based on a real case from 17th century Rome and is a Times Historical Novel of the Month for March 2024, and her first legal/political thriller, Notes on a Drowning will be published by Orion in January 2025.
When not writing, Anna works as a human rights and criminal justice solicitor acting for survivors of crime. She is also a volunteer for Doorstep Library, working with underprivileged children.
Key topics
Finding and honing killer ideas
Anna will provide an overview of the historical crime market and explain how to evaluate your hook to decide if your idea is worth pursuing or if you need more research to develop and strengthen it further. You’ll learn how to set the rules for your novel and how much licence to allow yourself, and you’ll consider how historical policing, legal systems, and punishments of the past might limit or empower developments in your novels.
Developing your novel
Anna will explore structural concerns and writing rules specific to historical crime and thriller novels. In this light, you’ll learn how, how to drip-feed information to keep readers guessing, how to create red herrings, how to build towards a satisfactory outcome, and when and why to withhold information without the reader feeling like they’re being cheated.
Victims, villains, and detectives
There’s no whodunnit without a who. Anna will explore the secrets for writing great crime characters your readers can root for or against. You’ll investigate victims, villains, and the people trying to solve crimes or stop more deaths. You’ll uncover who the best narrator or narrators might be for your story. What limitations will your choices impose? Will they be reliable or unreliable? When and how should you up the stakes for them?
Structure and schedule
The masterclass will take place on Sunday 6 October 2024. All times are given in British Summer Time (BST) and US Eastern Time (ET).
6:30pm BST / 1:30pm ET
The masterclass begins. The tutor will welcome all participants and deliver a talk covering the key topics. There will be opportunities for you to ask questions during the talk, allowing plenty of time for interaction. This is the main section of the masterclass and will last two hours.
8:30pm BST / 3:30pm ET
The final interactive hour will feature a crime writing exercise and discussion, enabling to put your new skills into (legal?) practice.
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Both parts of the event will be delivered live and online via Zoom. You must have access to a computer or smart device capable of supporting Zoom and a reliable internet connection in order to participate.
Join this masterclass!
$54.00 USD per month
Membership
As a member, you’ll be able to enjoy this masterclass, and subsequent masterclasses, all included in the price of your membership. You’ll get indefinite access to masterclass recordings for as long as you remain a member. You can cancel at any time.
Future masterclasses
Monday 4th November 2024, 6:30pm GMT / 1:30pm ET
Planning a historical series that readers will want to finish, with Emily Murdoch
Tuesday 3rd December 2024, 6:30pm GMT / 1:30pm ET
Powerful Openings, with Martha Conway
Thursday 9th January 2025, 6:30pm GMT / 1:30pm ET
Embracing history: how to use real history to write historical fiction, with Vaseem Khan
Testimonials
See what previous participants have said about our masterclasses…
“Thank you to The History Quill for organising such an excellent masterclass; I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot but was also reassured that I’m moving in the right direction with my writing.”
“I was engaged from beginning to end. I really enjoyed the tutor’s presentation and the exercise afterwards. I’m usually too shy to participate, but I really wanted to join in. I am so pleased I found The History Quill!”
Frequently asked questions
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How can I participate in the masterclasses?
Masterclasses are exclusively available to members of The History Quill, so you’ll need to join us as a member. The masterclasses are included in the price of your membership – there is no additional fee.
We will email you a link the day before each masterclass, and you’ll use this to join the event on the day. We’ll also send you a reminder about an hour before the masterclass begins.
All our masterclasses take place live and online via Zoom. You must have access to a computer or a smart device capable of supporting Zoom, and you must have access to a reliable internet connection to take part.
Are the masterclasses recorded?
Yes, our masterclasses are recorded. The first two hours, consisting of the talk and Q&A sections, are always recorded. We sometimes record the optional hour-long session at the end as well, but it depends on the content and format.
You’ll get access to the recordings indefinitely, as long as your membership remains active.
Which countries do you accept bookings from?
We welcome bookings from people who are resident in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada (excluding Saskatchewan), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and any EU country. If you are not resident in one of these countries, unfortunately we won’t be able to accept your business at this time.
Please note the stipulation about time zones below.
If I become a member, when will my membership fee be taken?
We take membership fees monthly. Your first payment will be taken when you join, and it will renew automatically every month on the same date.
I'm a member – where can I find the recordings?
You can find the webpage with all the masterclass recordings here. You can also find the link in your user portal.
You will only have access to the masterclasses that occurred after you became a member.
Can I cancel my membership at any time?
Yes! You can cancel whenever you like. Members aren’t locked in for a minimum period, so you can join for as little as one month if you like.
You can cancel via your online account here. Go to the subscription section in order to cancel. Alternatively, you can email us at membership@thehistoryquill.com and we’ll cancel your membership for you.
How interactive are the masterclasses? Can I ask questions?
There is lots of scope for interaction during our masterclasses. You will be able to ask questions during the Q&A sections, and afterwards there is always an optional one hour session involving a group writing burst, exercises, or discussion.
Equally, if you’d prefer not to interact, you don’t have to. You can sit back, relax, and enjoy the talk. You don’t have to participate in the optional one hour session at the end if you don’t want to.
How does the optional one hour session at the end work?
At the end of the talk and Q&A, we will invite you to join an hour-long session at the end, which will normally consist of a writing burst, exercises, or discussion.
If you wish to watch the session but not directly participate, you’re very welcome to do so.
Do you accommodate different time zones?
Our masterclasses are live events, and we schedule them to align well with time zones in North America and Europe. If you are outside of these locations, you can still participate, but it may not align well with your local time zone. You also have the option of watching the recordings instead.
What accessibility options do you provide?
We use live AI captions for the masterclasses, and these are also included in the recordings. Please note, these captions won’t be 100% accurate and may be delivered with a short delay, but they should help people who are deaf or hard of hearing to participate.
How do I pay?
You can sign up for a membership subscription with a credit or debit card. Future payments will then be taken on the same day each month until you cancel your membership.
Which payment currencies do you accept?
We accept three payment currencies: USD, GBP, and EUR. The currency you pay in will depend on your country of residence. People resident in the UK will pay in GBP, people resident in the EU will pay in EUR, and people resident in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa will pay in USD.
What are the full terms and conditions?
You can view our full terms and conditions here.
More questions?
If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing us at events@thehistoryquill.com.