Yippee. I’ve now got all my ducks and dates in a row for the next few months of Writing with Jen Thorpe.

I am so delighted and proud and happy that I’ve managed to run these workshops for a year, that I’ve had the pleasure of reading and hearing new and wonderful writing, that I’ve met such truly fantastic people in the process. WHAT A TREAT!

Thank you to all of you who have come to a workshop, or shared this Substack, or recommended it to a friend. I am honoured.

And now, without further ado, the dates.

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I’ll do the full write up of what we’ll cover in each of these workshops soon, but in the meantime, mark your calendars so that you know you’ve promised yourself writing time all the way to December.

Have a goodie!

Jen

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Rainy weather here where I am. So tempting to get into bed with coffee and a notebook and write, but there are so many things to do. Plus, I’m aging and a day spent in bed is murder for my back and neck, and more money spent at the chiropractor. So, I shall heed the goddess and write in a properly ergonomic setting instead.

I’ve had a few people reach out to ask about having a workshop dedicated entirely to editing and revising your work. I love that people are wanting to work with what they’ve got, and to learn about how to turn our shitty first drafts (thanks for always giving us permission to produce those!) into works of art.

I’ve been thinking over how to make that happen. I love that the existing workshops are places to create and make things that are imperfect and messy and wonderful, so I don’t want to mess with that and bring our inner critic into the room (heeding further advice from to never let the critic take the driver’s seat). But I also do have a few tips and tricks for editing a piece and getting it submission ready that I can share.

So, I’ve decided to run a series of online lunchtime revision workshops starting in May.

The idea is that you’d bring your own work to the session and play with it a bit. The work could be any piece of prose writing, long or short, that you’d like to polish up, and we’ll work on it in the session in live time. You won’t submit it to me, or anyone else, so there is no need to worry about that.

You’ll need to come with:

• A piece or pieces that you’d like to work on, printed out

• Some colourful pens

• Some blank paper for notes about the piece

• RADICAL SELF-LOVE (Compulsory)

In the session, I’ll share different ways to look at a piece, edit it, and rework it. Hopefully the session will leave you with some new insight and ways to go back in and add layers and meaning and magic.

The cost of each workshop will be R150. If you’d like to attend all four, the price will be R500. Sign up via email - jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

If you’d rather have someone else look at it for you, I’m also offering a close reading service, which you can find out more about here.

Yay!

I hope you have a happy week of writing and reading!

Jen

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P.S. If you’re interested in a list of South African writers who are using Substack to share their writing with us, check out this list

South African Writers' Pub Hub

A Substack that shares the writing of South African writers

By Jen Thorpe

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I think it’s safe to say we live in a strange world - Dickens said it was the best and worst of times, and I can see how that’s true of most eras.

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We’re going round the moon and we’re blowing up countries here on earth; we’re developing crazy wonderful life-saving medical advances and we’re starving populations; we’re discovering new species and more are going extinct; people are being born and people are dying. Amidst all of this great change there are small lives being lived in the every day. People who are living and loving and learning and surviving and healing and growing. There’s a poem by Jess Janz that I love that I wanted to share.

Each of us has a story to tell about how we’ve made our way in the world so far. What the world has meant to us, and what we think. We remember things, they shape us. People do things to us, or things happen to us and we have to process them.

Life writing like journalling and memoir and autobiography is important. Vitally important. It can help to shape your own feelings about your experience. It improves your mental health. It can help others relate to the world in a new way. It can build empathy and compassion and we need that so much right now.

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The world needs your words, and your story.

At the same time you might not know where to start or what questions to ask to help guide you with what to put in and leave out. You might feel overwhelmed by structure or have a clear one in mind but need help with the ordering of your story.

That’s what the April workshops will look at. We’ll explore some great examples of memoir, some of the central tenets of a strong piece of life writing, and how you can use your life experiences to write fiction.

• The in-person workshop takes place in Cape Town on 18 April from 9am to 1pm. The cost is R500. Spots are limited to 12 people total.

• The online workshop takes place on Zoom on 24 April from 9am to 1pm. The cost is R400. Spots are limited to 20 people total.

If you have a story you need to tell, I’d love to help you get the words on the page. For you. For all of us.

Jen

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I feel so grateful for the last (almost) year of planning and hosting workshops. I have met wonderful people, heard fantastic fresh writing, and thought a lot about the writing craft. It has been a joy.

Since so many subscribers are new to this Substack (thank you!) I thought I’d share that there are a few workshop downloads that you can purchase. These include the PowerPoint from the session, a recording, and any prompts I used, so that you can complete the workshop in your own time.

After almost a year I still over prepare, wanting to share my excitement and knowledge with everyone, so there are usually additional resources too. I still do human things like talk while I’m on mute, share my powerpoint in the wrong setting, and lose track of time. But, I think based on feedback and how much fun people have, they’re still worth it.

This is great for anyone who:

• Is interested in writing, but doesn’t have a four-hour chunk of time to attend a workshop.

• Missed a workshop that they wanted to go to.

• Just joined the Substack and didn’t know about passed workshops.

• Struggles to concentrate for a long period of time, or sit in one spot.

Writing Speculative (recorded March 2026)

This workshop includes three guided writing exercises, some homework, and a bunch of additional resources. I read from what I think are some great examples of speculative fiction, I share some of the recent (as of March 2026) industry statistics, and talk about the many genres and sub-genres you might like to explore.

I also share a REALLY fun tool, called the Zwicky Box, which has the potential to generate 100 million unique story ideas for you. So that’s pretty cool, I think!

Writing Love (recorded February 2026)

This workshop includes four guided writing exercises, some homework to write a love poem, a deep dive into some of the key genres that are selling well in the romance market at the moment. I explore the key plot points in a romance book, and how to use those in a rom com. It also shares the good, the bad, and the awkward of writing sex scenes, and how to write them. The PowerPoint contains links to a number of additional resources that I think would be valuable for writing romance,

It was really fun to research this workshop, and I’m still thinking about the pieces of writing people produced.

The Best of 2025 (recorded January 2026)

In January I ran an online-only workshop that covered the five exercises I loved the most from the 2025 workshops. This covered — building strong characters, writing wonderful settings, getting characters in dialogue, building emotion in your story and in scenes, and writing different forms (flash fiction and poetry). I could have gone on for days, but I limited it to the usual time period.

How to get your copies

Workshops cost R350 each, and because they don’t contain our tea break they are about 3 1/2 hours long, but if you order all three you’ll get them for R900.

To order, email me at jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

Other workshops you can sign up for

If you’d prefer to attend in person or online, here is all you need to know about the upcoming workshops:

• Two free winter workshops in Cape Town.

• All the 2026 workshop details

Happy writing until then!

Jen

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This year I’ve been working with Bertha House to record the audiobook version of my first novel, The Peculiars.

The book came out in 2016 — ten years ago this year — and I wanted to mark the occasion by putting it back into the world in an audio format. I’ve done two recording sessions this year, realised that being a good audiobook narrator is truly an incredible skill, and I’ve got about half of my book still to go.

It has been fun to dive back into the world of Ruby, Nazma, and Sam again — to see what has changed in the world and what is still the same. To see how I’ve grown as a writer since my debut, and where I think I did okay first time around. It’s an opportunity that I’m very grateful for.

I have plans to record the audio for The Fall, and for a new combined version of Feminism Is and Living While Feminist, to be released later this year.

If you haven’t been there, Bertha House is a wonderful space filled with South African energy, activism, enthusiasm, commitment, and REALLY nice coffee and snacks at great prices. The media lab feels very professional and fancy. I encountered the lab for the first time last year when I helped Rape Crisis write and record their four part podcast series on changing the law around Sexual Offences Courts.

As a small gesture of thanks to Bertha for letting me use their media labs, I’m hosting two free writing workshops in July and August.

Space is limited to 20 people per workshop. To book your spot, fill in this Google Form.

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Workshop 1: Saturday 18 July 2026

This Nelson Mandela Day we’ll be writing character and learning a bit more about how to build them, where to get inspiration, how to make them come alive through dialogue and action, and much more.

The workshop will run from 10am - 1pm.

Workshop 2: Wednesday 12 August 2026

In Women’s Month I’ll be hosting a workshop looking at writing women — how women writers write women, some examples of incredible writing from South African women, and how we can build interesting female characters who are not confined by tropes or rigid gender norms.

The workshop will run from 10am to 1pm.

On top of these free workshops, there are still MANY more workshops you can attend in March, April, May, and June. In-person workshops are R500 and online workshops are R400.

Here’s an overview:

• 20 March (Online) - Writing speculative. Speculative fiction is like writing about the real world, but with a twist. We’ll look at some great local examples, what people expect from the speculative, and I’ll share some tips and tricks for building a world.

• 18 April (Cape Town) / 24 April (Online) - Memoir and life writing. We’ll explore some great examples of memoir, some of the central tenets of a strong piece of life writing, and how you can use your life experiences to write fiction.

• 16 May (Cape Town) / 22 May (Online) - Writing with the senses and through the seasons. We’ll use sensory cues and the weather to nudge us towards some vivid setting, affected characters, and tense plots.

• 13 June (Cape Town) / 19 June (Online) - Writing youth. Here we’ll talk about using memory in writing exercises, capturing a child or young character’s voice, what YA is and what some of the central elements are, and I’ll share some great local examples.

To book your spot in these paid workshops, email me at jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

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If you’d like to support my work you can buy me a coffee or buy one of my books! Thanks!

Hello writers,

Wow I had fun in the writing love workshops. Great people came and the little bits of writing that I was able to hear were so gooood. Like, I want to buy that book good.

I knew about writing love but I didn’t know much about the romance market before researching and it was great to learn that there are writers out there making oodles of cash. I can totally understand why people read romance — the world feels nasty sometimes, and to escape into a world where people grow and change and fall in love sounds very appealing. And the science shows it’s good for you.

When readers engage with emotionally compelling stories, research shows their brains release oxytocin—the hormone that fosters bonding and trust. Because the brain doesn’t tend to differentiate between lived and vividly imagined experiences, readers often respond to deep emotional connections as if experiencing them firsthand.

If you weren’t able to make it and you’d like to download a recording of that session, pop me an email. It’s R350.

The next sessions are something I really enjoy writing and reading, writing speculative. I’ve written a speculative fiction novel about the #FeesMustFall protests, and a few short stories which are published via Omenana (Best Laid Plans, The Third Option and The Return) and I have a heap more that I’m still trying to get published. I find speculative fiction writing to be a great outlet for exploring the ‘what ifs’ that exist in the world. It’s like the real world with a twist (I think said this to me way back in 2012, and it still rings true).

We’ll look at some great local and international examples of speculative fiction (including some from fellow Substack writers like , , and some Mirari fiction too (), we’ll talk about what people expect from the genre (and the many sub genres) and I’ll share some tips and tricks for building a world. I’ll share my humble opinions of what works and what doesn’t.

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We’ll write. Lots! We’ll start at least four different pieces that you can build on after the workshops.

It will be fun! I can guarantee that because I’ve heard from other writers who’ve said so. I’d love to hear your stories and write with you. It would be an honour.

• Do you need to have experience writing speculative fiction to attend? NO!

• Do you need to be an expert fiction writer to attend? NO!

• Do you need to know what speculative fiction is to attend? NO!

• Do you need to want to write? YES.

The workshops take place in Newlands, Cape Town on 14 March or online on 20 March. Both workshops run from 9am - 1pm. In person is R500 and online is R400 (this is really just because there’s delicious cake and coffee and tea at the in-person sessions).

I’d love to have you there. And if you have any questions you want answered in the sessions, let me know.

Sign up via email!

Since so many of you are newly following this account (THANK YOU!) I thought I’d reintroduce myself and share what happens in a writing workshop with me. I hope this post encourages some of you to sign up and get writing with me this year.

If you already know me, skip ahead to the workshop bit!

Who am I?

I’m Jen Thorpe, feminist, writer, researcher, mother, human being. I love reading and writing and believe that they’re good for you and that everyone should do both.

On Substack I publish this newsletter, as well as the South African Writers Pub Hub and Thinking About Today.

In terms of my writing ‘cred’ I’ve got a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town, where I worked on my first novel The Peculiars. The Peculiars is the story of three characters who meet at a study to cure fears and phobias. It’s a quirky love story, set in Cape Town. It went on to be longlisted for the Etisalat Prize and the Sunday Times Fiction Prize.

People said some nice stuff about it, like this:

“This is a fabulous book about people facing the things that scare them, and the knock-on effects that their healing has on those around them. But more than that Thorpe has managed to create a world for her characters that is so real and in touch with the landscape the story plays out in that you feel that you are with the characters…The Peculiars satisfies on so many levels; it works as a love story, as an entertaining story about phobias…it is a fantastic read that will have you thinking… Thorpe is a voice to watch, and I look forward to her next book.”

My second novel, The Fall, was longlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize. It’s a speculative fiction take on the Fees Must Fall protests of 2015, and features activists, journalists, politicians, and the President. It’s part political thriller, part wild ride.

The Sunday Times thinks you’ll like it. They said:

Sunday Times: 5 stars! “The dizzying suspense in The Fall mounts from the first line…The Fall is remarkable in giving readers a riot of a time in a book that defies genre – part political satire and history, crossed with drama and sci-fi, united by the oldest story of all, a love story.”

Even people who thought I shouldn’t be writing this novel liked it. Like this person on Goodreads:

“After I reached the 130 page mark I couldn’t put down the book … I mean I was hooked, I read the last couple of pages with my flashlight because not even loadshedding would have stopped me.”

I’ve also edited three collections of feminist essays - My First Time, Stories of Sex and Sexuality from Women Like You (2012); Feminism Is (2018) and Living While Feminist (2020). And I’ve written three children’s books with Book Dash.

If you'd like to know more about any of those books, you can find that all here.

For my day job I work as a gender analyst, writer and researcher. I take on work that I think makes the world a healthier, happier, and more equal place. For more about my day job, you can connect with me on LinkedIn.

Oh, and I look like this (when I’m dressed up fancy).

Phew, now that’s out of the way… let’s get to the point.

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What happens in a writing workshop with me

For me a good writing workshop does a few things:

• It gives me a bit of theory so I can understand the craft of writing.

• It showcases great examples of writing so I can start to think about what I might aim for, or what I can learn from.

• It provides some prompts / guided exercises to get me out of my head.

• It creates an atmosphere where I can have warm, encouraging interactions with other writers so we can all create together.

And that’s what I try to do in my workshops. I offer workshops online and in person (in Cape Town).

Workshops are four hours long. This time includes:

• An average of five guided writing exercises.

• About twenty minutes of breakaway time to read your work with other writers.

• A twenty to thirty minute tea break with cake (if you’re at an in-person workshop).

• A chance to meet other writers who are lovely, hear their fresh new work, and talk about writing and books.

After the workshop you’ll get an email with all the work I’ve quoted from or shared in the workshop, and all the prompts I’ve used.

What workshops are happening in 2026?

For the first half of this year I’ve chosen five themes for the workshop. They are love, speculative, memoir, the senses and seasons, and youth. Workshop dates are detailed in the images below.

In-person workshops cost R500. Online workshops cost R400. They’ll be taking place from 9am to 1pm.

I’ve also written a bit about these themes and what they’ll entail in the post below.

How do I sign up?

It’s simple. Pop me an email on jenthorpewrites@gmail.com or comment below and we can chat.

I hope to see you in a workshop soon.

Jen

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This newsletter is free, but if you’d like to support my work you can buy me a coffee or buy one of my books.

Hello writers,

Very excited to have you all here. Thank you to everyone who is newly subscribed.

January workshop

Last Friday I held the first writing workshop of the year on Zoom. It was called The Best of 2025 and featured some of the exercises I liked from last year. It was REALLY hard to choose. I had so much fun and spent so much time planning those workshops that it felt like I was killing my darlings when I didn’t get to include an exercise.

Choices had to be made and so I chose:

• Character: An exercise in building characters using N.K. Jemisin’s Pyramid of Character, Pinterest, and a character questionnaire table.

• Setting: Using the senses and the 5,4,3,2,1 meditation to create a strong setting for our characters to interact.

• Dialogue: Putting two characters in dialogue in a situation where one wants something the other has the power to give.

• Emotion: Using memory (a birthday party) to write a scene filled with emotion.

• Form: Playing with poetry and writing a terzanelle using snippets of the writing produced in the workshop.

I even added my little logo to all my slides, making myself seem very profesh.

In the run up to Friday’s workshop I was nervous - I felt rusty, imposter syndrome drummed in my chest, and I couldn’t find half the presentations I’d prepared last year. I was having wild dreams where I said the wrong thing or gave people bad writing advice. I woke up that morning thinking, can I do this?

And then … it was fun! So much fun!

The people were warm and wonderful, as they always are. The writing they produced was great (I only got to hear a bit but following the feedback from the breakaway groups it was clear that everyone was impressed with each other and with themselves, YES!). I hung up the call feeling so glad to have been there.

The most wonderful thing about a writing workshop is that you can give a room of people the same exercise and they will almost certainly produce completely different things. We bring so much to each workshop before we’ve even started - what we’re going through, what we’re reading or watching, our observations about the others in the room. It’s alchemy. Magic. I love it!

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February workshop - writing love

Now I’m in the planning mode for February’s workshop, writing love.

A recap, these are the themes and dates for 2026.

For this workshop I’ve been thinking about love, desire, heartbreak, longevity in love, fun forms (time travel love), romantasy, romance novels, poetry … I’d love to hear your suggestions on the best love, sex, and romance stories that you’ve read recently (or a while ago).

The in-person workshop is happening at the Athenaeum in Newlands and it will be our first time in this new venue. I went to have a look at it last week and was so delighted by the potential but couldn’t take any pics because there was a meeting in progress. I hope to share some of those soon. The workshop takes place on valentines day from 9am to 1pm and costs R500.

Online workshops will be on Zoom as usual. The February workshop will take place on 20 February from 9am to 1pm and will be R400.

I really hope to write some love with all of you next month. Sign up soon to avoid disappointment. Pop me an email: jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

My own writing news

I recently got the rights back to both of my novels.

I’ve put both of them on Amazon Kindle, for about $10 each. If you haven’t read them, I’d love you to give them a go. Both were long listed for the South African Sunday Times Fiction prize.

Happy writing until then!

Jen

This newsletter is free but if you’d like to support my work you can buy me a coffee or buy one of my books. I’d be so grateful!

Hello writers,

I’m fresh off the back of birthday celebrations for my eldest who just turned four - a very serious and significant age if you ask him - and I feel like I need a holiday to recover.

There’s something so wonderful about celebrating children. I know kids’ birthday parties get a bad rap, and my god some of those play parks are a massive sensory overload zone, but seeing the joy on children’s faces when they sing for their friends and when they get to choose their own slice of cake is a special kind of magic.

And in that spirit of doing something small but magical, I’d like to offer all you writers a treat.

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Workshops in January and Feb

This Friday, 23 January, I’m running an online workshop for just R250! A steal. But also, happening two days before payday in the longest month of the year. Yikes.

I’m also offering workshops in February to write about love, which is something I’m super excited about. I’ll be offering one in person on the 14th of February in Cape Town, and one online on the 20th February on Zoom.

I’m reading books and thinking about just how hard it is to describe that moment of realising you love someone and how supremely talented the writers are who have done it well. Like this, from Tolstoy:

“But Levin was in love, and so it seemed to him that Kitty was so perfect in every respect that she was a creature far above everything earthly; and that he was a creature so low and so earthly that it could not even be conceived that other people and she herself could regard him as worthy of her.”

Or this, from Adichie:

“This was love: a string of coincidences that gathered significance and became miracles.”

Or this, from McCarthy:

“Those who choose a love that can never be fulfilled will be hounded by a rage that can never be extinguished.”

Or this, from van der Wouden:

“She had held a pear in her hand and she had eaten it skin and all. She had eaten the stem and she had eaten its seeds and she had eaten its core, and the hunger still sat in her like an open maw. She thought: I can hold you and find that I still miss your body. She thought: I can listen to you speak and still miss the sound of your voice.”

Special offer

So in the spirit of magic and love here’s the deal.

Book for both the January and February workshop this week, anytime between 19 - 22 January, and only pay for them on 10 February.

Writing is magic to me. Writing is love. It’s a way to find truth and joy and certainty and doubt. I’d love to share what I know about writing with you, and to hear the wonderful things you’ll produce.

Come join me.

Email: jenthorpewrites@gmail.com to book your spot.

See you soon. Happy writing.

Jen

This newsletter is free but if you’d like to support my work you can buy one of my books or buy me a coffee.

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Hello writers,

What if you started today? That’s the question I keep asking myself this week. What habits / life changes / writing projects could be done by the end of this year if I just started today?

Last year I decided to bid farewell to Instagram because of the barrage of AI slop, Meta’s gross business practices, advertising, content that’s not child-friendly and at times is dangerous for kids, but also for myself. I was spending so much time looking at the creative outputs of other humans and that was time that I was not creating myself. Time that I was not reading good literature either. So, it was a time drain and I decided to stay off there as much as I could. Not the smartest business model when you’re trying to launch your writing workshop business but I had to get my time back (with that in mind, if you have someone you think might like this newsletter, please share it with them, because right now I’m not hanging out on Meta much).

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So in the many hours of my life that I’ve gotten back, what have I done? Daydreamed, rested (like, where you just lie down and let your brain do nothing for a bit, not where you lie with your phone in your hand and doom scroll), read good books, watched some good series, and come up with more than one idea for a new writing project.

So, which of these writing projects could I finish if I just started today? Well, I guess I’ll only find out if I start.

And so will you.

You have to start somewhere. It might be keeping a daily journal. It might be a notepad where you give yourself permission to jot ideas down, or, eek!, start writing some rough drafts of that short story or novel or memoir you’ve been wanting to write.

And if you need a little nudge, why not come to the January workshop with me on the 23rd. It’s online (so you can wear your pjs if you want), and it’s going for a steal. R250 for a four hour workshop.

Sign up now, via email, jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

And if you can’t make January’s workshop, here is all the info you need about the 2026 workshops.

Happy writing until then!

This newsletter is free. If you’d like to support my work, please buy a book or buy me a coffee.

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Hello writers,

The year ended with everyone’s ‘best of’ lists, and now it’s starting with lists of resolutions. It can all be a bit much.

I used to be BIG into resolutions. I’d write them out by hand and tack them up on my wall or cupboard and look at them all year in a sort of self-imposed browbeating. I totally get that feeling of needing to reinvent yourself, to start anew, especially when the world is bonkers and 2025 was not the best year for many people.

Though I’m not as into resolutions, I’m not opposed to setting goals. I still do it. I don’t know how not to do it. Maybe it’s because I’m a list maker.

This year my goal is to get 26 rejections for my writing (or, one every other week). Rejections are tough - they definitely give me a confidence wobbly and make me question what I’m doing. But, what makes rejection easier is having a story to send out right away. So one rejection in, one story out. That’s my goal.

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The only way to get stories is to write, so this is a sort of sneaky complex goal that requires me to keep writing without actually scaring myself by saying that.

If you’d like to join me on this quest for rejection, you can sign up to one of the 11 workshops I’m running in the first half of this year. And guess what? The January one is cheap cheap.

Here are all those details, in case you missed them

Dates and themes 2026

• 23 January (Online only!) The best of 2025. My five favourite writing exercises from 2025 on building character, setting scene, building emotion, writing dialogue, and writing different forms.

• 14 February (Cape Town) / 20 February (Online) - Writing love. Here we’ll write and learn about writing love, sex, romance, and relationships. We’ll look at the currently popular romance genres, and talk about what they entail.

• 14 March (Cape Town) / 20 March (Online) - Writing speculative. Speculative fiction is like writing about the real world, but with a twist. We’ll look at some great local examples, what people expect from the speculative, and I’ll share some tips and tricks for building a world.

• 18 April (Cape Town) / 24 April (Online) - Memoir and life writing. We’ll explore some great examples of memoir, some of the central tenets of a strong piece of life writing, and how you can use your life experiences to write fiction.

• 16 May (Cape Town) / 22 May (Online) - Writing with the senses and through the seasons. We’ll use sensory cues and the weather to nudge us towards some vivid setting, affected characters, and tense plots.

• 13 June (Cape Town) / 19 June (Online) - Writing youth. Here we’ll talk about using memory in writing exercises, capturing a child or young character’s voice, what YA is and what some of the central elements are, and I’ll share some great local examples.

Prices for workshops

• January special workshop - online only - R250.

• Online workshops - R400 each, or R1800 for all five (Feb - June)

• In-person workshops - R500 each, or R2250 for all five (Feb - June)

To sign up, email me: jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

It’s almost the end of the year and as usual I’m feeling reflective. I loved running writing workshops so much this year, and I can’t wait to meet some of the new people who have already signed up for next year’s workshops.

A reminder, the dates and themes for those, below.

I know personally that 2025 has been a tough financial year for many creatives, and that spending money on your future creativity when it seems like the AI apocalypse is imminent might feel a little frivolous. But I thought I’d share some very good reasons why it’s not.

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1. Writing makes you healthier, mentally and physically

I’m not making this up. It’s been proven in hundreds of studies. Spending time writing creatively, whether it is fiction or memoir or non-fiction, has a powerful impact on the way we feel. It can allow us to put things down (on the page and emotionally), and to notice patterns.

2. Writing builds a sense of community

COVID taught us that being alone for long periods of time is not good for us. Connecting with other creative people is incredibly generative, allowing new ideas to spark and simmer, and soothing too. There is something incredibly special about being in a workshop where a fledgling piece of writing has just been formed, and having a group of warm-hearted people smile at you and say they loved it, or it moved them. It’s not an opportunity that gets easily replicated in most day jobs, or in many day to day lives. But it happens in every single writing workshop. Magic.

3. Writing more means writing more means writing more… to infinity

I can personally attest to the absolute terror and joy when you read something aloud for the first time to a receptive audience. Despite the pulses of nervous energy that will inevitably course through you, you will find that having read something to others is a powerful act. Hearing your own words, your own writing, helps you to write better. It’s encouraging. It’s motivating. It makes you want to write more, and more often.

Committing to a writing workshop means committing to showing up for yourself and getting those words on the page. Being in a writing workshop and being guided by prompts takes the pressure off of you for a little while. You don’t need to confront a blank page. I’ll always start you off with a word or two to nudge you along.

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In short…

Writing is something that is often done alone, but the presence of a group of people who are also making magic with only their minds and some stationery makes it much more fun.

Sign up now. Email jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

Want to support my work? Buy me a coffee.

Hello writers,

In an effort to put all the information you need about the 2026 workshops in one place, I’m doing a combined post about the online and offline workshops here.

The previous two posts will be removed because a) it’s confusing for everyone and b) I accidentally posted two March workshops. Whoops. That’s how you know I’m not AI (and that I’m very very tired).

Prices for workshops

• January special workshop - online only - R250.

• Online workshops - R400 each, or R1800 for all five (Feb - June)

• In-person workshops - R500 each, or R2250 for all five (Feb - June)

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What you need to know about what happens at a workshop

• They are a warm and friendly space to get some writing done.

• The online workshops take place on Zoom. The in-person workshops will take place at the Athaneum in Newlands, Cape Town.

• In person workshops are limited to 12 people. Online workshops are limited to 15.

• Workshops are four hours long - 9 - 1pm (Zoom) / 9.30 - 1.30 (Cape Town).

• They are usually on a set theme.

• They include guided writing exercises, shared readings of good writing examples, and a little bit of writing craft content too.

• The other writers are absolutely wonderful, warm, and encouraging.

• You don’t have to EVER have written ANYTHING before to join. Exercises are aimed at writers of all levels.

• To sign up you just need to send me an email. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

• They are fun!

Dates and themes 2026

• 23 January (Online only!) The best of 2025. Here I’ll be sharing my five favourite writing exercises from 2025 on building character, setting scene, building emotion, writing dialogue, and writing different forms.

• 14 February (Cape Town) / 20 February (Online) - Writing love. Here we’ll talk about writing love, sex, romance, and relationships. We’ll look at the currently popular romance genres, and talk about what they entail.

• 14 March (Cape Town) / 20 March (Online) - Writing speculative. Speculative fiction is like writing about the real world, but with a twist. We’ll look at some great local examples, what people expect from the speculative, and I’ll share some tips and tricks for building a world.

• 18 April (Cape Town) / 24 April (Online) - Memoir and life writing. We’ll explore some great examples of memoir, some of the central tenets of a strong piece of life writing, and how you can use your life experiences to write fiction.

• 16 May (Cape Town) / 22 May (Online) - Writing with the senses and through the seasons. We’ll use sensory cues and the weather to nudge us towards some vivid setting, affected characters, and tense plots.

• 13 June (Cape Town) / 19 June (Online) - Writing youth. Here we’ll talk about using memory in writing exercises, capturing a child or young character’s voice, what YA is and what some of the central elements are, and I’ll share some great local examples.

How to sign up

Send me an email! jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

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Want to support my writing and work? Buy me a coffee.

On 5 December I had the pleasure of hosting Aimee Armstrong from Staging Post, the self-publishing arm of Jacana.

You can watch the whole webinar here. Enjoy!

Hi writers,

Happy hump day.

I have just finished listening to the audiobook of The Safekeep, by Yael van der Wouden and, even though I picked up the twist early on, was blown away by the book. The characterisation is sublime. She’s an artist in the way that she reveals personality through the character’s speech and action, and how the setting and time period of the story emerges in delicately woven details. It’s just fantastic. No wonder it won the Women’s Prize!

The dialogue is superb - so many interruptions, and half sentences. She captures the rhythm of speech so well.

On that topic, I’ll be running a repeat of my October dialogue workshop this Friday, 14 November, from 9 - 1pm on Zoom. The cost to attend is R400. Pop me an email on jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

And, there is still lost of space to attend the workshops in November too. Details below!

Hope you’re writing up a storm today!

Jen

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Hello writers!

I’m writing from a glorious heatwave, the scent of fire in the air. Cape Town is flammable in spring and summer, the dry proteas ready kindling for deliberate arsonists and lazy cigarette smokers. That and every afternoon seems to be deemed a suitable occasion for a braai.

This month there are two opportunities to write online with me in a formal workshop, and I’ll be running weekly writing meet ups either on Zoom or on this platform (if I can get it together to work out how to do it) so that we can all complain together about how hard writing is and all tell each other how we must and love to do it.

Writing different forms

On the 22nd of November in Cape Town and 28th of November on Zoom, I’ll be hosting a writing workshop that focusses on exploring different writing forms. We’ll be playing with writing diary entries, flash pieces, memoir, poetry, and talking about how to structure a longer piece of writing. You can find out more about what to expect here.

The in-person workshop is R500 and includes tea, coffee, and cake. The online workshop is R400.

If you’d like to sign up, pop me an email to jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

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Weekly writing meet ups

Every November there used to be a thing called NaNoWriMo where people tried (and some succeeded) in banging out a first draft of a novel in one month. I have tried and failed at this many times. I thought it would be fun to host weekly writing meet ups on a Wednesday where we can join together and write for an hour, or talk about writing, or have a sort of Ask Me Anything session. If you’d like to join one of these, email me!

Oh, and one more thing

November to January are quite quiet times for us freelancers, so if you’ve been writing all year and are wanting a fresh set of eyes on your manuscript, or short piece, I’d love to take a look. Email me to find out more about how I’ll charge for this.

Happy writing until we next meet!

Jen

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It’s almost the end of the year and maybe you’ve been working on something that’s starting to feel ready to send out into the world. If you do, I’ll be hosting two free webinars in December that you might like to join.

On Friday 5th of December at 1pm, I’ll be hosting Aimee Armstrong, of Staging Post. Staging Post is the self-publishing arm of Jacana, and Aimee will be sharing everything you need to know about that.

Then, on Monday 8th of December at 1pm, and Karina Szczurek of Indeed Books will tell us everything we need to know about collaborative publishing.

If you’d like to sign up for either of these free webinars, please pop me an email to jenthorpewrites@gmail.com and reserve your spot.

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And, if you’d like to attend the online creative writing workshop this month, which focuses on dialogue, you can sign up via the same email address.

Happy writing!

Hello writers,

I am having an absolute ball preparing the dialogue workshop for 31 October. I’ve been rereading books, picking up new ones from my bookshelf, and going through all my writing books looking at dialogue advice.

If you’d like to sign up for the workshop on the 31st there are still a few spots left. Pop me an email to jenthorpewrites@gmail.com. It’s from 9am - 1pm on Zoom and costs R400.

So many of us consume dialogue in books and are not really paying attention to what it’s doing on the page, and I’m so grateful for having this chance to really think about it.

While planning, I started to think about my favourite pieces of dialogue in film. I started loading these up into the PowerPoint but realised that I’ll soon be just spending a whole workshop watching video clips. Instead, here are some excellent examples of dialogue in action from film.

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August Osage County

I think about this scene all the time. It’s such a great example of how people speak over each other, how powerful subtext is, and how frustration can be expressed in speech. Obviously, with this cast, the acting is spectacular too. But the dialogue. It’s just … mwah!

Fleabag

I could just put every episode from both seasons in here. The dialogue in Fleabag glimmers. Especially since she’s addressing us directly, one of the best things about this show. This scene though, is rife with family dynamics and power and silencing and saying the opposite of what people mean. MAGIC!

Marriage Story

This was something I watched after listening to the How to Write a Book podcast. It had been in my Netflix list for ages before that and I watched in on maternity leave, so my emotions were high too. But wow, this film is so much about how we communicate and how we mess things up by not saying what we mean, or saying what’s on our mind too often.

The Roses

Laughed out loud so much during this film. Olivia Coleman and Benedict Cumberbatch have great chemistry.

Before Sunrise / Before Midnight / After Sunset

I was sucked into their chemistry and it was wonderful to watch these actors age with the films. If you’re not familiar with them, it’s the same actors, each film set and filmed ten years apart. The entire film is basically dialogue and despite all their talking they often manage not to say what they mean.

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Looking forward to creating some powerful dialogue with you all on the 31st.

If you’re keen to sign up, pop me an email!

Sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways.

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I’m part of the Book Lounge’s feminist book club, and last week I advertised the last copies of Living While Feminist for sale on that group. A lovely person ordered three copies, and accidentally paid me twice. Instead of wanting a refund, she suggested that I do something fun with the money.

So, here’s what’s fun for me - writers who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford a workshop getting a chance to write for free!

To enter this month’s competition to attend the online writing workshop on 31 October, all you need to do is share your favourite piece of dialogue from a book or movie by 14 October. Pop your answer into the comments.

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I’ll use a random name selector to choose the winner and will announce it on Friday 17 October.

Can’t wait to read your suggestions. Who knows, maybe that very piece of dialogue will make it into the workshop!

Happy writing until then

x

Hello writers,

September is almost over.

A short little month filled with many birthdays in my family (clearly new years eve is a romantic one), some warmer weather, and a few cool days.

I did not write as much as I should have, and I’m feeling very restless about it. Do you know that feeling?

Happily, I’ll be hosting three writing workshops this coming month and at least I know that you will be writing, even if I’m not.

In case you missed it, you can now also purchase downloadable versions of past workshops. The Character and Setting workshops are already available, and I’ll be recording the Emotion workshop next week! See the post below for details.

1 October - Free Workshop at Rondebosch Public Library

My family and I visit the library pretty much every week and we spend hours there browsing, and listening to stories read by the fantastic children’s librarians. So I am very excited to offer a free creative writing workshop on Wednesday 1 October, from 4-5 pm.

Bring some paper and a pen, and we’ll have a lovely time!

25 October, 11am - 3pm (Rondebosch) Cancelled

31 October, 9am - 1pm (Online)

When you have worked out your character’s voice, and the way they interact with other characters in a story, you can really start to have a lot of fun. In this workshop we’ll play with:

• Trying out different ways that a character speaks - their vocabulary, their tone of voice, their sentence length.

• Exploring things to try and to avoid when writing dialogue.

• Sharing some great examples of dialogue from fiction, non-fiction, and memoir.

• Putting oppositional characters in conversation with each other to build tension.

• Looking at how to use and reference modern ways of communicating in your story.

You’ll leave with fresh writing that gets your characters in conversation, moving your plot forward, and helping us to invest more deeply in the story you’re telling.

The price for the in-person workshop is R500 and the price for the online workshop is R400.

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As always, if you’d like to join a workshop, you can pop me an email on jenthorpewrites@gmail.com

See you soon!

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