The Ultimate Start: video course free taster
The Ultimate Start: Nail the Opening Pages of your Novel
About this course
Starting a novel is hard. Like, “stare-at-the-blank-page-and-cry” hard. But a killer opening can change everything… Nail introducing your characters, their world and your plot in your opening pages, and you’ll find yourself filled with motivation to push forward. That strong opening will become the foundation your whole story rests on. Even better, it will fascinate readers and give you the best possible chance of engaging literary agents and editors. The Ultimate Start is a six-part online course delivered by the expert tutors of our Ultimate Novel Writing Programme. It will give you the tools, tricks and confidence to craft a truly compelling opening for your novel. Ready to get cracking? You can either purchase this course as a one-off, or get unlimited access to all our self-paced video courses with a Premium Membership, starting at just £15/month.
Nail the opening pages of your novel
Across six lessons, our expert tutors will help you master hooking your readers, setting the scene for your story, introducing characters and conflict and establishing your narrative voice.
Build confidence
Discover tricks and tools
Get peer feedback
One-year of access
Meet your course tutors
At Jericho Writers, we’re a team of published authors who’ve been exactly where you are now. For over two decades, our approach has helped authors launch their careers, sign with top literary agents and even go on to become Sunday Times Bestsellers.
All of the tutors on The Ultimate Start also teach on our Novel Writing Course and Ultimate Novel Writing Programme: flagship courses that offer more close mentoring and personalised support than any alternatives out there. The Ultimate Start boasts teaching from experts in publishing, commercial fiction, thriller writing, children’s and YA fiction – not to mention lessons from award-nominees, critically acclaimed authors and international best-sellers.
Get a taster lesson, for free
Want to check out the first lesson in this course for free? Sign up below and we’ll email you a link.
Reviews for Jericho Writers
Frequently asked
questions
How do I get more feedback on my work in the forums?
As the old saying goes, give and you shall receive. If you comment on someone’s post with helpful feedback, they will be more likely to comment on your post. It’s worth mentioning that the threads in Townhouse with the most recent replies get moved to the top of the forum, so if you don’t have any feedback on your post you are welcome to reply to your thread with the word ‘Bump’ – but please don’t do this more than once per week to give everyone a fair chance.
How long will I have access to the course content?
If you join us as a Premium Member, you will continue to have access to the course videos, PDF guide, and forums for as long as you remain a Premium Member. If you purchase just this course, you will have access to the course content for 1 year from the date of your purchase. Once this year is up, your access will expire and you will need to either purchase the course again or join us as a Premium Member in order to regain access.
Will I receive feedback from the course tutors?
No. This is a self-paced video course, in which you are encouraged to share your work in the designated forum for peer-to-peer feedback. If you are looking to receive personalised feedback from an expert, you can either take the Novel Writing Course or the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme. Some of our NWC and UNWP tutors also offer one-to-one mentoring. You can find out more about that here.
When will I get access to the course content?
The lessons of this course will be released week by week, from 19 January 2026. From that date, you will continue to have access for as long as you’re a Premium Member. If you have chosen to purchase just this course rather than opting for Premium Membership, you’ll have access to the course for 1 year from the date of your purchase. After this period, your access will expire and you will need to either purchase again or join as a Premium Member in order to re-gain access.
Who is The Ultimate Start suitable for?
This course is suitable for writers who are just getting started with a new project or want to develop a manuscript they’ve already begun work on. This is a self-paced video course, so you won’t receive feedback or one-to-one support from the course tutors. If you feel like you would benefit from a more in-depth course with additional support, you may want to consider the Novel Writing Course or Ultimate Novel Writing Programme.