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Virginia Woolf was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Her approaches to writing character interiority were at the forefront of modernist literary innovations. This day workshop explores the literary interpretations of several seminal texts and writing exercises that encourage you to experiment with Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style.
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In this one-day workshop you will explore how Virginia Woolf, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developed her unique style of fiction. You will also take Woolf’s attention to interiority as a starting point for your own writing practice, combining analysis of extracts from seminal texts, The New Dress (1924) and Solid Objects (1920) (with writing exercises to experiment with stream-of-consciousness prose.
This course is offered jointly by Literature and Creative Writing. You will be taught by a tutor from each department.
What will we cover?
-Read, analyse and discuss two short stories by Virginia Woolf, considering theme, character development, imagery and the use of ‘stream of consciousness’ to convey internal and external realities. - Explore Woolf’s connection to the ‘Bloomsbury’ group of writers and artists flourishing in the early decades of the 20th century. - What is style and how to find yours as a writer - How to express the minds of your characters.
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Understand the key features of Woolf’s literary style - Understand the historical context of Woolf’s fiction - Craft passages of character interiority in the style of Woolf, using your own writing voice.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This is an intermediate course suitable for those with some prior experience of creative writing and literary study. You should be an enthusiastic reader of fiction, comfortable sharing your ideas and writing, and fluent in English.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught by two tutors, Patricia Sweeney (Literature) and Thomas McMullan (Creative Writing). You will learn through a combination of short lectures, interactive tutor presentations, group and individual writing exercises. Please come to class having read the short stories assigned. The tutors will provide copies of the two stories to read in advance of the class.
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
No additional costs. Stories will be provided in advance. Please come to class having read the short stories assigned. Please bring writing materials. You are welcome to bring a laptop or tablet for use during writing activities if it will help you.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Look up Literature courses in the prospectus under Humanities or on the website under History, Culture and Writing at www.citylit.ac.uk.
You may also be interested in taking a creative writing course at City Lit. Learn more about short stories in Reading for writers: the short story (a fortnightly course) and practice your skills in Short story writing.
Thomas McMullan lives and works in London. He is the author of Groundwater (Bloomsbury, 2025) and The Last Good Man (Bloomsbury, 2020), which won the 2021 Betty Trask Prize. His short fiction has been published in Ploughshares, The Dublin Review, Granta, 3:AM Magazine, Lighthouse and Best British Short Stories, and his journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, frieze, ArtReview and BBC News. His practice also encompasses scripts, both for stage and film, and narrative design for video games. For the latter, he was the lead writer on Rollerdrome (Roll7, 2022), which won the 2023 BAFTA for Best British Game.
Patricia SweeneySee moreSee less
Patricia Sweeney is Programme Coordinator for Literature at City Lit. She has been working in the university and adult education sectors for over 20 years, with specialist teaching interests in American cultural studies, modern and contemporary British and American fiction, drama and film adaptation. In addition to her work at City Lit, Patricia has taught Literature courses for the Open University, Literature, Drama and Film courses for Birkbeck, University of London and contributed to MA and PGCE courses at the Institute of Education, University College London.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
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https://www.citylit.ac.uk/masters-of-style-reading-and-writing-virginia-woolf310643Masters of style: reading and writing Virginia Woolfhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/m/a/masters_of_style_virgina_woolf-square.jpg7979GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Writing/Novels and short stories/Courses/Writing/Courses/Writing/Novels and short stories/Courses/Writing/Reading for writers/Courses/International Women's Day at City Lit228515881358113599136342003122851177120513581Virginia Woolf was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Her approaches to writing character interiority were at the forefront of modernist literary innovations. This day workshop explores the literary interpretations of several seminal texts and writing exercises that encourage you to experiment with Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style.152693970Masters of style: reading and writing Virginia Woolf7979https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/m/a/masters_of_style_virgina_woolf-square_3.jpgInStockDaytimeSatKeeley StreetAvailable coursesOne-off onlyWeekend2026-06-20T00:00:00+00:00Some experience, AdvancedJun 2026WritingHW6687979Masters of style: reading and writing Virginia Woolf794079Thomas McMullan, Patricia Sweeneymasters-of-style-reading-and-writing-virginia-woolf/hw668-2526Virginia Woolf was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Her approaches to writing character interiority were at the forefront of modernist literary innovations. This day workshop explores the literary interpretations of several seminal texts and writing exercises that encourage you to experiment with Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style.0000-Available|2026-06-20 00:00:00Virginia Woolf was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Her approaches to writing character interiority were at the forefront of modernist literary innovations. This day workshop explores the literary interpretations of several seminal texts and writing exercises that encourage you to experiment with Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style.-Read, analyse and discuss two short stories by Virginia Woolf, considering theme, character development, <br/> imagery and the use of ‘stream of consciousness’ to convey internal and external realities.<br/>- Explore Woolf’s connection to the ‘Bloomsbury’ group of writers and artists flourishing in the early decades of the 20th century.<br/> - What is style and how to find yours as a writer<br/> - How to express the minds of your characters.- Understand the key features of Woolf’s literary style<br/> - Understand the historical context of Woolf’s fiction<br/> - Craft passages of character interiority in the style of Woolf, using your own writing voice.Look up Literature courses in the prospectus under Humanities or on the website under History, Culture and Writing at www.citylit.ac.uk. <br/> <br/> You may also be interested in taking a creative writing course at City Lit. Learn more about short stories in Reading for writers: the short story (a fortnightly course) and practice your skills in Short story writing.No additional costs. Stories will be provided in advance. Please come to class having read the short stories <br/> assigned. Please bring writing materials. You are welcome to bring a laptop or tablet for use during writing activities if it will help you.virtual797940HW668NONESat20/06/2610:30 - 16:3010:3016:301 session1One-off onlyWeekendKSKeeley StreetThomas McMullan, Patricia SweeneySome experience, AdvancedAvailable courses2026-06-20T00:00:00+00:00DaytimeJun 2026Writing7979Masters of style: reading and writing Virginia Woolfmasters-of-style-reading-and-writing-virginia-woolf/hw668-2526Virginia Woolf was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Her approaches to writing character interiority were at the forefront of modernist literary innovations. This day workshop explores the literary interpretations of several seminal texts and writing exercises that encourage you to experiment with Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style.0000-Available|2026-06-20 00:00:00Virginia Woolf was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. Her approaches to writing character interiority were at the forefront of modernist literary innovations. This day workshop explores the literary interpretations of several seminal texts and writing exercises that encourage you to experiment with Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness style.-Read, analyse and discuss two short stories by Virginia Woolf, considering theme, character development, <br/> imagery and the use of ‘stream of consciousness’ to convey internal and external realities.<br/>- Explore Woolf’s connection to the ‘Bloomsbury’ group of writers and artists flourishing in the early decades of the 20th century.<br/> - What is style and how to find yours as a writer<br/> - How to express the minds of your characters.- Understand the key features of Woolf’s literary style<br/> - Understand the historical context of Woolf’s fiction<br/> - Craft passages of character interiority in the style of Woolf, using your own writing voice.Look up Literature courses in the prospectus under Humanities or on the website under History, Culture and Writing at www.citylit.ac.uk. <br/> <br/> You may also be interested in taking a creative writing course at City Lit. Learn more about short stories in Reading for writers: the short story (a fortnightly course) and practice your skills in Short story writing.No additional costs. Stories will be provided in advance. Please come to class having read the short stories <br/> assigned. Please bring writing materials. You are welcome to bring a laptop or tablet for use during writing activities if it will help you.configurable
15881205Novels and short storieshttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/history-culture-and-writing/writing/novels-and-short-stories1/2/285/1177/1205/1588/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Writing/Novels and short stories
