Do you find yourself stuck and staring at a blank page? It’s intimidating isn’t it. Because the hardest part of creating a new piece isn’t the structure, dialogue, or even the rewriting. It’s the beginning. And that’s why I’m offering a free online writing course for a limited time.
The pressure to “get it right” can be paralysing. But there’s no right or wrong when you’re. developing an idea. There’s just a path of exploration to follow, and that’s what Finding Starting Points helps you find.
This is exactly why I created Finding Starting Points — a short, focused, practical course designed to help you begin. And for the first time, I’m offering it completely free until the end of September.
What is Finding Starting Points?
This online course isn’t a watered‑down taster or a teaser. It’s a full course that you follow in your own time.
Three lessons, each building on the last, guiding you from uncertainty to clarity, from circling ideas to writing your opening.
If you’ve ever wanted to try my teaching style or have been curious about WriteForTheStage but aren’t sure where to begin, this is the perfect moment.
Why I’m Making the Course Free (For Now)
Most writers are procrastinators, and while spending time “back processing” an idea is valuable, sometimes you just need to get started.
Finding Starting Points gets you writing within the first couple of minutes. It gives you the tools, the spark, and the momentum to begin. And once you’ve begun — once you’ve felt that shift from stuck to moving — you’ll understand exactly how transformative a guided process can be.
I’m offering this online playwriting course for free until the end of September to let you experience that shift with zero risk. A way to help you make the first step toward the story you’ve been carrying around for far too long.
What my Free Online Writing Course Actually Does
Finding Starting Points is deliberately simple. It’s built around three lessons, each doing a very specific job.
Together, they give you everything you need to begin writing your next piece — whether that’s a play, a novel, a poem, or something in between.
Lesson 1 — Finding Your Theme
Every piece of writing begins with a question. A tension. A curiosity. A feeling you can’t shake. This first lesson helps you uncover that deeper idea — the thing your writing wants to explore.
You’ll work through fast, instinctive exercises that reveal:
- what you’re drawn to
- what unsettles or excites you
- what you want to say about the world
- the contradictions you keep returning to
You don’t need a plot. You don’t need a structure. You don’t need characters. You just need a theme — a direction of travel. This lesson gives you that anchor.
Lesson 2 — Finding Your Characters
Once you know what you want to explore, you need the people who will explore it.
This lesson guides you to:
- create characters who embody your theme
- discover their wants, fears, and contradictions
- identify the emotional pressure points that make them compelling
- generate material quickly without overthinking
You’ll discover characters in action, exploring through instinct and impulse — the way they reveal themselves in real writing.
By the end of this lesson, you’ll have characters with energy, tension, and potential.
Lesson 3 — Discovering the Conflict, the Rules of the World, and Your Opening
This final lesson brings everything together and gives you the tools to begin your first draft.
You’ll explore:
- the primary conflict that drives your story
- the rules or logic of the world your characters inhabit
- the pressures that shape behaviour and raise the stakes
- a writing prompt designed to help you draft the opening of your piece
This is where the course shifts from exploration to creation. You’ll leave with:
- a theme
- characters
- a conflict
- a world
- and the first spark of your opening scene
It’s a complete foundation — enough to begin writing with confidence and momentum.
Why This Structure Works
I know that this programme works because it’s how I write a play. It follows the natural path in which ideas form.
Some writers start with a plot—but that can be as much a barrier as a way in. Most writers start with:
- a feeling
- a question
- a person
- a moment of pressure
This course honours that process. It doesn’t force you into structure too early—we can help you with that later with our Top of the Stack courses. It doesn’t ask you to outline a story you don’t yet understand. Instead, it guides you through the organic stages of discovery — the ones that make writing feel alive.
The course is purposely short, focused, and instinct‑driven; you can complete it in a weekend or spread it across a month. It fits around real life. It meets you where you are.
Who this Free Online Writing Course Is For
Although WriteForTheStage focuses on playwriting, Finding Starting Points has been used by:
- playwrights
- novelists
- poets
- screenwriters
- writers returning after a break
- complete beginners
If you work with words, this course will help you find your way into your next piece.
Or if you want to write a piece from a playwriting competition or a BBC opportunity, Finding Starting Points is the perfect place to start.
Why Now Is the Perfect Time
Because it’s free — but only until the end of September 2026.
Because you’ve been thinking about writing for long enough.
Because momentum doesn’t come from waiting for inspiration. It comes from taking the first step.
And because once you’ve completed this course, you’ll have a starting point and a first draft of your First 10 Pages.
Make the First Step
If you’re ready to stop circling your ideas and finally begin, this is your time.
And don’t worry – it really is completely free! No bank card or holding fee. Completely free till September 2026.
Make the first move.
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