A holiday with a difference – stimulate your imagination and change your life

Instead of lying on a beach, idly dreaming of the novel you want to write one day, you could actually do something about it this summer. Author Sam Taylor offers a range of creative writing courses at his home near the Pyrenees in southern France.

The course mixes the relaxing peacefulness of a holiday in the French countryside – good food, local wines, long hot days, like-minded company, beautiful surroundings, and the time and space to think and write – with a stimulating, tailor-made writing workshop designed to help you achieve what you want.

There are also special themed courses that mix creative writing with wine-tasting, cycling, walking, jazz, or a visit to a local thermal spa. Plus a range of three-day and five-day courses that focus on a particular element of writing, such as Writing From Life or Characterisation.

Whether you're working on a novel, a memoir, a screenplay or a short story, whether you have a detailed plan of what you wish to do or only the vaguest idea, whether your goal is to publish a bestseller or simply to try your hand and see what happens, I can help you turn your dreams into reality.

I won't ask you to do any dull, irrelevant exercises such as writing about your pet or your working day. You're here to develop your own personal project, so that's what you will write – and what we will discuss.

I can offer constructive criticism, advice about how and when to write, how to get started, how to unblock yourself in difficult moments, how to develop your characters, improve your prose, structure your narrative, and focus your ideas. The course is jargon-free and practical, and I will draw on my own experiences as an author and an editor to help you get the best out of yourself.

For those who are more ambitious, I will also offer advice about the practical realities of finding an agent and dealing with publishers, selling foreign rights and film rights, and how to avoid damaging your chances by making costly mistakes. In short, I will tell you everything I wish I'd known when I was starting out ten years ago.

I will also take the time to talk to you individually about your own personal project. Indeed, if you would like me to read something you've done before the course begins, I will read up to 1000 words free of charge, and if you want me to read something longer I will give you a free estimate of how much it will cost for an in-depth report. (I work as a French scout for several major UK publishers, and have experience in compiling such reports.)

Please visit the rest of the site to learn more about me and my family, the course and other services we offer, where we live, where you'll stay, our competitive prices, and how to book your place. And please contact me if you have any specific questions.