Welcome to Pebble Beach Writing.
We offer workshops and mentoring for creative writers of all levels and experience. Among our participants are new writers trying out their first ideas on the page and published authors who want support and feedback as they develop their work.
Pebble Beach tutor, Susanna Jones, has over thirty years' teaching experience and was the main fiction tutor on the Creative Writing MA at Royal Holloway University of London for fourteen years. She has also taught at the University of Exeter and has tutored courses for the Arvon Foundation.
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Courses are held in Brighton and Hove or online. Groups are small – usually 5–8 participants – allowing everyone time for individual feedback and space to develop.
Classes for summer term 2024:
Writing a Novel (new), Saturday mornings, Brighton
Writing from Life (new),Saturday afternoons, Brighton
Writing a Novel (continuing), Monday evenings, Hove
Fiction Workshop (continuing), Tuesday evenings, Hove
Online tuition is also possible for individuals or small groups of writers with similar aims. See below or get in touch to find out more.
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'Susanna is, without a doubt, the best creative writing teacher and workshop leader I’ve ever come across. Whether you are just starting out on your writing journey, or have a couple of novels under your belt and want to hone your skill, Susanna is the right person for you. She was the lead fiction tutor on my Creative Writing MA and, more recently, has guided me through editing my first novel. I’m not sure I could have done it without her - and I certainly wouldn’t have done it this well. I have complete trust in her judgement and believe she has made me not only a stronger writer but a much better editor. She is generous with her time and with her extensive experience and will give your work the kind of respect, care and attention that most writers can only dream of from a third party. In short, whatever stage you’re at as a writer, Susanna will help you progress, improve and reach your writing goal.' Louisa S.
One-to-one Mentoring/Small Group Tuition
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One-off or a series of sessions for writers of all levels.
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Beginners' tuition package of 5 sessions, including prompts and ideas to get you started.
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Editorial and developmental feedback on your novel.
Small group Zoom sessions may be possible for two or more writers with similar requirements.
About us
Pebble Beach Writing is run by Susanna Jones, the author of several novels, including The Earthquake Bird, Water Lily, The Missing Person's Guide to Love and When Nights Were Cold. She is currently writing for film.
Susanna has been teaching for more than thirty years. From 2005 to 2018 she was the main fiction tutor on the MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway University of London. Many of her former students have gone on to publish novels and win awards. She has taught and mentored writers of all levels, from beginners to PhD students.
TESTIMONIALS
'Susanna is an amazing mentor. I was lucky enough to be taught by her when I undertook an MA in Creative Writing before going on to teach the subject myself. Her insightful advice and editing skills are second to none. When I started a novel and hit some thorny difficulties, I was so pleased to discover that Susanna was running an Advanced Fiction Writing course. She was invaluable in terms of helping me pick out the strands which were working and the ones which needed further thought. She has an exceptional eye for detail and her feedback is positive and constructive. She offered accessible solutions based on her many years of experience and opened up new avenues I hadn’t considered, which was so helpful. There is no way I could have produced work at this level and this quickly, without her support.
Susanna created a great rapport within a workshop environment. Even though the sessions I took were online, the respectful and encouraging tone she set, eased us into working comfortably together. Her sessions were well- run and well-structured and I thoroughly looked forward to each one. Susanna brought out the best in my writing and I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.'
Hilary W
'Susanna is, without a doubt, the best creative writing teacher and workshop leader I’ve ever come across. Whether you are just starting out on your writing journey, or have a couple of novels under your belt and want to hone your skill, Susanna is the right person for you. She was the lead fiction tutor on my Creative Writing MA and, more recently, has guided me through editing my first novel. I’m not sure I could have done it without her - and I certainly wouldn’t have done it this well. I have complete trust in her judgement and believe she has made me not only a stronger writer but a much better editor. She is generous with her time and with her extensive experience and will give your work the kind of respect, care and attention that most writers can only dream of from a third party. In short, whatever stage you’re at as a writer, Susanna will help you progress, improve and reach your writing goal.'
Louisa S
'Susanna is incredibly insightful and has been a huge help in identifying areas where my manuscript needed development. She’s helped me work through options while bringing a fresh insight into the work as well as identifying potential pitfalls. She’s a great tutor and coach and all her workshops leave me feeling energised and confident for the next stage.'
Shirley S
'I taught the novel as literature and writing fiction in Universities for over thirty years but putting this experience into practice when writing is much harder. Susanna Jones really knows how to help. She is an accomplished writer who really understands storytelling but also how a novel is structured and built from the blank page. I found her advice and encouragement priceless. Her novel writing courses and workshops are excellent and I recommend them without reservation. I am still writing and learning and I will return.'
Andrew M
'Susanna's artful teaching method helps you get those words down on paper with no pain or shame. Inspiring!'
Madeleine C
'One of the things that made this course so enjoyable was Susanna's enthusiasm for us, her students, and our work. She clearly loves teaching - and is brilliant at pin-pointing what a piece of writing is trying to do, as well as suggesting how to do it. She is entirely undogmatic about how to approach writing. She really listens and gives intelligent but non-prescriptive responses. Every session was thought-provoking and stimulating and really specific about how and what works in fiction.'
Kate E
'Susanna is a brilliant creative writing teacher and mentor who is now mentoring me through my second book. She has that rare capacity to pinpoint exactly what works and doesn’t work in a piece of writing, and why. Whether you need help with overall structure and direction, or a close critical reading with a scrupulous editor’s eye, she will give you the best possible support to transform your writing.'
Hilary S
'I find it difficult to start, to pick up that one simple thing that can propel me into the creative flow. The 60-minute sessions I did last December were enjoyable, useful, and left me with material to develop into a couple of short stories - and a poem that was published.'
Denisa P
'I’d like to tell you how much your Creative Writing workshops meant to me. Your guidance encouraged me to think as well as to enjoy writing and we had fun too! Thank you so much, Susanna.'
Liz K
'Susanna Jones was an outstanding lecturer on my MA course in creative writing – her books were one of the reasons that I chose the course. She provided clear and helpful teaching on how to produce the best writing, together with incisive critical feedback. Being such a talented author herself gave her a unique insight into the most effective ways to encourage budding writers. I have no doubt that my work measurably improved as a result of her efforts.'
David B
'Susanna was my tutor on the MA and I looked forward to her classes every week. Her feedback was always spot on and encouraged me to reflect on my writing in new ways and dig a little deeper. Susanna is one of those rare breeds of people who both excels at her craft but is also able to pass on her knowledge and years of experience in an engaging way. She is just a brilliant tutor and I can't recommend her highly enough.'
Nora G
'I felt a little ambivalent about joining an online writing course but it turned out to have been such a good move. Somehow I found it easier to focus, not harder, and the fact that I could simply continue with what I was writing the moment the class finished made for some very productive Sunday evenings. Susanna is just lovely. She has a knack for nudging you gently towards fresh perspectives, different angles. In just a few sessions I found myself thinking very differently about what I was writing, what I could be writing, and why. Not at all what I’d expected!'
Jo O