Picking Up the Pen
An Introduction to Creative Writing
Unleash your creative spirit
Nurture your creativity and deepen your love for writing through creative challenges, personal reflections and inspiring classes.
Strengthen your writing skills through technical exercises, literary analysis,
and personalised feedback.
(Only helpful, always kind.
We’re nice, we promise.)
Master the craft
Build an unbreakable writing routine
Find a writing process that works for you through exploratory activities and personal check-ins. Get the support you need to create the writing life that you want.
Awaken your unique voice
Discover the true you, in a safe, welcoming space that celebrates your authentic style and perspectives.
Learn the tools to help you say what you want to, how you want to — regardless of your genre or level of experience.
Connect with fellow writers
Join a community of artistic allies, sharing inspiration, encouragement, and the joy of the journey.
Is this for you?
An ideal creative writing course for…
first-time writers wanting a solid grounding in the creative, practical and technical aspects of writing
seasoned writers returning from a creative hiatus, and wanting to recover their artistic instincts
any writer wanting to stabilise their writing routine with a creative flow best suited to their body and lifestyle
anyone looking to hone their cognitive abilities, or deepen their spiritual connection to creative practice
With you all the way
Get 1-on-1 attention, personalised support and comprehensive feedback to help your writing soar.
What you learn
A holistic grounding in the writing life
Module 1: Creativity
Unlock your wellspring of artistic motivation, and fall in love with making.
Module 2: Craft
Master essential language skills for writing that doesn’t just inform your reader — but transforms them.
Module 3: Routines
Build a regular writing practice, keeping yourself nourished so your creativity can flourish.
What you get
Everything you need
Classes
8 weekly lessons of 75 mins each (i.e., 10 hours total class time), in small cohorts of up to 12 students, following an original curriculum designed to unleash creative freedom, within a stable structure that ensures steady progression
Tasks
High-impact writing tasks in manageable chunks, including creative challenges, technical exercises, and a course project — all customisable to suit your preferred genre, style and subject matter.
Feedback
Comprehensive, personalised notes on all practical tasks, giving you the 1-on-1 attention to support your unique development as a writer.
Community
Lifetime access to our Facebook Group and Discord Server, sharing daily inspiration, encouragement, opportunities, humour and exclusive offers.
Playbook
Value-packed course playbook, including all lesson notes plus bonus materials: explanations, demonstrations, tips and templates, bonus exercises, and our extensive list of resources.
What you do
A selection of experiments
Technical exercises
Short, weekly assignments which align with that lesson’s theme. Write in any form you like: poetry, prose or script, literary or genre.
Creative challenges
Weekly tasks and provocations to inspire and embolden your artistic process, including habit-building hacks and strategies for unlocking flow.
Course project
A single, larger piece (or batch of poems) which you write over the course of the entire 8 weeks, allowing you to synthesise and showcase all your new skills along with all your personalised feedback.
All tasks are customisable, so you can make them your own.
Write in your preferred genre (e.g., poetry, fiction, memoir, script, etc.).
Pick from suggested topics, or come up with your own.
Stick to a length that works for you (word count for prose, line count for poetry, page count for scripts).
Do it your way
Transformation guaranteed
Our promise to you
We’re here to help you win — not waste your time.
If your writing hasn’t demonstrably improved by the end of any of our courses, we’ll gladly refund you 100% of your purchase.
Students eligible for refunds must fulfil all reasonable criteria, demonstrating that they’ve attended all lessons, completed all assignments, implemented all feedback provided, and liaised with their teacher for additional support to raise concerns or query our learning content.
Course details
Course dates
Picking Up the Pen runs for 8 weeks, each term.
Classes start in the third week of April (13-17/04/2026) and end first week of June (1-7/06/2026).
Click start learning to get notified.
Class times
Each in-person class runs for 75 minutes, once a week.
Classes take place in the afternoons and early evenings on Tuesdays or Thursdays, or on Saturday mornings, depending on participant availability.
Time slots are 3:30-4:45pm or 5:30-6:45pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or 10:30-11:45am on Saturday mornings. (We're happy to explore alternatives to find the best scheduling solution for all writer-participants, so if you are unable to make these times, please contact us.)
Pick your preferred time slot on the enrolment form.
Location
We teach across Cape Town, including the Southern Suburbs, Atlantic Seaboard, around the CBD, in Somerset West, and online.
For students’ convenience, we finalise venues only once we have an indication of interest, allowing us to choose an optimal location.
Pricing
Download our brochure for up-to-date pricing, or contact us for more info.