Tim Lott
Personal Mentoring for Writers
Novelist and Memoirist
Journalist and Cultural Commentator
Storytelling Teacher
“Shaping a novel chapter by chapter requires complex psychological insight.
Tim Lott possesses that insight”
Robert McKee, author, ‘Story’.
“Tim Lott is one of the few novelists who truly understands story structure”
John Yorke, author, ‘Into the Woods’.
"At the point that I became stuck with my novel, Tim proved invaluable. He’s perceptive, intuitive and straightforward with an instinctive understanding of how to meld character and plot and get the two aligned. I really appreciated both his empathy and his candidness and couldn’t recommend him more."
Daisy McNally, Author of I SEE THROUGH YOU
"Tim Lott exceeded my expectation of a literary mentor. He is a delight to work with, pushes you beyond your imagined capability and crucially, understands the writer's fear, neurosis, vulnerability, and ambition. Sessions with him are a cross between an Oxbridge tutorial and a therapy session. I felt bereft when my book was finished.”
Anna Pasternak, best selling author.
"I heartily recommend Tim Lott’s one-to-one mentoring to any aspiring writer. Tim’s invaluable expert advice and ideas have given fresh impetus to my work as a first-time novelist and have guided me in readying my manuscript for submission to an agent."
David Marsh
"I thoroughly looked forward to our meetings which were always enlightening and entertaining. Tim's approach is both analytical and creative. Whatever point you have reached in the writing process, his constructive, generous and insightful expertise will help you navigate your way. I warmly recommend him to every (yes, every) writer."
Alexia Bartlett
Tim has been teaching writing for the last ten years, as a lecturer, teacher and individual mentor.He taught for three years at the Faber Academy, then moved to Guardian Masterclasses where he teaches individually and lectures with his partners John Yorke and Will Storr, collectively known as the Story Board.He has also taught creative writing at Brunel University and lectured at the University of East Anglia, the How To Academy, the Idler Academy, and the School of Life.
Books
Tim has written ten books. He is currently published by Scribner/Simon and Schuster.Awards: ‘White City Blue’ won the Whitbread First Novel Award and his memoir, ‘The Scent of Dried Roses won the PEN/Ackerley Award and is now published as a Penguin Modern Classic.‘Rumours of a Hurricane was shortlisted for the Whitbread novel of the Year Award and the Encore Award, and ‘Fearless’ was longlisted for the Guardian Children’s Book Award.His last book (2019) was ‘When We Were Rich’, a sequel to ‘White City Blue’.His next book, on storytelling, will be ‘The Magic Helix – How Plot and Character Bring Stories To Life’.
The scent of dry roses
"Brilliant"
Hilary Mantel
“To read it is to be spellbound as by a gripping novel”
Ruth Rendell
White city blues
‘"A very funny book..far exceeds the work of Nick Hornby both in intelligence and Range"
Daily Telegraph
Rumours of a Hurricane
"The first great novel of the 21st Century"
Tony Parsons
The Last Summer of the Water Srider
“A lovely song of innocence and experience”
The Irish Times
The Love Secrets of Don Juan
"Passionate, witty and tender, relentlessly unswervingly honest"
The Guardian.
The Seymour Tapes
"Plots don’t come any tighter..the kind of cunning the best thriller writers manage only rarely."
Daily Telegraph.
Fearless
"Powerful, haunting and utterly original…an immediate classic’"
Jacqueline Wilson.
when we were rich
"A terrific novel, wickedly sharp, wildly entertaining’"
Deborah Moggach.
MENTORING
In association with Guardian Masterclasses, I offer personal mentoring and editing services for those who wish to develop their fiction writing skills. I have over the last several years mentored scores of writers from all over the world. All have spoken highly of the process.I cannot guarantee publication or agency as a result of mentoring, but I can guarantee that you write a better manuscript.My key skills are not only that of a teacher, but as a writer. In other words, I won’t merely critique or develop your ideas, but use my own imagination to help find a way forward. This falls very short of co-authoroing, but it is also more than just teaching, since I am highly proactive in the creative process and spend a lot of time brainstorming with my clients.I am also unfailingly honest ( although also unfailingly gentle ) in my assessments of your writing potential. This cannot be taken for granted – many creative writing teachers are largely there to bolster confidence and underpin motivation. I endeavour to do both these things, but not at the cost of it undermining my critical skills. If you really want to know whether you are capable of writing a novel or not, I am certainly a good option for you.
THE STORY BOARD
The Story Board was established in 2000 as a bringing together of Britain’s best talents of Storytelling.
Contact me
To find out more about the work of Tim Lott, or to enquire about mentoring, please fill in the form or email [email protected]
© Tim Lott. All rights reserved.