Live online · eight Tuesday evenings · starts 12 January 2027
Write the story your family keeps asking you for.
Eight evening workshops, one small writing task a week and the same six readers from start to finish. You come out with the first chapters of your memoir on paper and a plan for the rest.
- Starts
- Tue 12 Jan 2027
- Each week
- About 4½ hours
- Group
- 24 places, circles of six
- Price
- $690, or $240 a month
Most memoirs stop in one of three places.
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Page one
Do you start with your birth, with your grandmother, or with the day the farm was sold? Weeks go by deciding.
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The family
Your brother remembers it differently and your mother is still alive, so the notebook goes back in the drawer.
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Page thirty
You wrote every night for a month, then lost the thread, because nobody was waiting for the next pages and you couldn’t see the shape of the whole thing anymore.
Rushlight is for you if
- you have a life or family story you’ve been telling at the table for years;
- you can give it about four and a half hours a week, for eight weeks;
- you’ve never written more than a letter, or you have a drawer of drafts that stalled;
- you want to write, every week, more than you want to learn about writing.
It is not for you if
- you want someone to write it for you, or to edit a finished book;
- your goal is a publishing deal next year: this course gets you writing, it doesn’t find you an agent;
- you can’t make most Tuesday evenings and don’t want to watch recordings.
The method
Small scenes, written every week, read by the same six people.
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Scenes before chapters
You never sit down to “write your life”. Each week you write one scene of 500 to 900 words: one room, one afternoon, one argument. Scenes are small enough to finish on a weeknight, and by week five you have enough of them to see where the book wants to go. Then, and only then, we build the chapter map.
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A circle of six
You’re placed in a circle of six people who read each other’s pages every Sunday. The feedback has two rules: say what you saw, then ask one question. Nobody rewrites your sentences.
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Margot reads your pages
Twice in the eight weeks, Margot writes you a one-to-one note on up to 3,000 words.
Starts Tuesday 12 January 2027 · Enrol now
The eight weeks
Eight Tuesdays, from a list of memories to a plan for the book.
- Tuesday7:30 to 9:00 pm LondonLive workshop on Zoom, recorded
- Wednesday to SaturdayAbout 2½ hoursYour writing task, whenever it suits you
- SundayAbout 30 minutesPost your pages, read two from your circle
If you miss a Tuesday, the recording is up within a day and your circle still reads your pages.
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- In the workshop
- Why you don’t start at the beginning. The memory list, and how to pick the three memories that still make your chest tight.
- Your task
- Write your list of forty, choose three, and write one of them as a scene of about 500 words.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 2 hours writing, 30 minutes in your circle.
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- In the workshop
- The difference between “we didn’t have much” and the coins counted out on the kitchen table. One room, one moment, the senses.
- Your task
- An 800-word scene from one of your three memories.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 2½ hours writing, 30 minutes in your circle.
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- In the workshop
- What you owe the living, changing names, the letter you write and don’t send, and when to ask permission.
- Your task
- A 600-word portrait of one person, as fair as you can make it.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 2½ hours writing, 30 minutes in your circle.
The refund window closes when this workshop starts.
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- In the workshop
- Photos, letters, old addresses and certificates; interviewing a relative; how to write a gap honestly instead of inventing it.
- Your task
- One interview with someone who was there, using the question sheet in the workbook.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 2½ hours for the interview and notes, 30 minutes in your circle.
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- In the workshop
- Timeline or theme, the one question your whole book answers, and how to lay your scenes out as a chapter map.
- Your task
- A one-page chapter map. Margot reads it and sends your first one-to-one note.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 2½ hours writing, 30 minutes in your circle.
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- In the workshop
- Voice: dialect, the words your family really used, swearing in front of the grandchildren, and cutting every “I remember”.
- Your task
- Rewrite your scene from week two in your own voice.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 2½ hours writing, 30 minutes in your circle.
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- In the workshop
- Writing grief, illness and shame with care, for yourself first, and knowing when to stop for the night.
- Your task
- The chapter you’ve been avoiding, or its first page. Margot’s second one-to-one note covers it.
- Time
- 90 minutes live, about 3 hours writing, 30 minutes in your circle.
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- In the workshop
- A twelve-month writing plan, reading aloud, and the choice between a binder for the family and a printed book.
- Your task
- Read five minutes of your own work aloud at the last session.
- Time
- 2 hours live (the last session runs longer), about 2 hours of preparation.
Your teacher
Margot Penhallow
Margot is a made-up teacher for this example design.
Margot taught English at a secondary school in Cornwall for twenty-two years. In 2017 she started a Thursday memoir evening at her local library for six people; it now runs three groups and has a waiting list. Rushlight is that evening, moved online, with the parts that worked kept and the parts that didn’t thrown out.
Don’t write your life in order. Start in the kitchen, in the car, in the hospital corridor. The order comes later, and it’s usually not the one you expected.
- MA in Creative Writing, life-writing route
- 22 years teaching English, ages 11 to 18
- Runs a weekly memoir group at her local library since 2017
- Teaches every workshop and writes every one-to-one note herself
From earlier circles
What students say, in their own words.
The quotes below are sample testimonials for this example design. On a real page, each one is a real student’s words, with their permission.
Sample testimonial
I had been “going to write about Dad” for eleven years. In week two I wrote the afternoon he taught me to drive, and I couldn’t stop. My circle asked one question about the car and it opened up three more scenes.
Sample testimonial
Week three saved my book. I stopped worrying what my sister would say and started writing what I saw.
Sample testimonial
I’m not a writer and I never will be one. I do have twelve scenes my grandchildren can read, and that was the point.
The January circle has 24 places · Enrol now
The January 2027 cohort
Your place in the January circle.
Everything that’s included
- Eight live workshops with Margot90 minutes each, on Zoom, all recorded
- Eight writing taskswith prompts and a worked example for each
- Your circle of sixthe same readers for all eight weeks
- Two one-to-one notes from Margoton up to 3,000 words each
- The Rushlight workbook64 pages, a PDF to print at home
- Twelve months of the recordingswatch any workshop again until March 2028
- Bonus: your first chapter, printed and boundposted to you after week eight
Example
You’re in the January circle.
- Name
- Payment
- Your first workshop
On a real page, a welcome email with the workbook and your circle would follow.
This is an example: nothing was paid and no place was booked.
The guarantee
Two workshops to decide.
Come to the first two workshops and try the tasks. If Rushlight isn’t right for you, email Margot before the third workshop starts and you get back every dollar you paid.
The terms, in full
- Ask by email before 7:30 pm London time on Tuesday 26 January 2027. No form, and no reason needed.
- The money goes back to the card you paid with, within ten working days.
- On the payment plan, you get back what you paid so far and no further payments are taken.
- After the third workshop there are no refunds, but you can move your place to the next cohort once, free.
- The workbook and the recordings you watched stay yours.
Margot
Questions
Before you enrol.
How much time does it take each week?
About four and a half hours: the 90-minute workshop on Tuesday, about two and a half hours of writing whenever it suits you, and half an hour on Sunday to post your pages and read two from your circle. Week seven takes a little more.
What if I miss a Tuesday?
Every workshop is recorded and up within a day. Watch it, do the task, and post your pages as usual. Most people miss one or two; that’s fine.
I’ve never written anything. Is that a problem?
No. Most people in a circle have never written more than letters and emails. You need to be able to type or write by hand, and to want to tell a true story.
Do I have to share my writing with the group?
You share with your circle of six, not the whole cohort. If a scene is too private, send it to Margot only that week, or mark a page “not for feedback”.
I’m not in the UK. Will the times work for me?
The workshops are at 7:30 pm London time, which is 2:30 pm in New York and 6:30 am on Wednesday in Sydney. Pick where you live in the enrol form to see your own time. Circles are grouped by time zone where possible.
How long can I watch the recordings?
Twelve months after the course ends, so until March 2028.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes: three monthly payments of $240 (today, 12 February and 12 March), $720 in total. Paying in full is $690.
Can I give a place as a gift?
Yes, and it’s a common gift for a parent. Enrol with your own email and add their name; Margot will send you a printable card and send them the welcome email on the day you choose. If your employer or a writing grant pays, ask for an invoice in your name.
What do I need?
A computer or tablet that runs Zoom, an email address, and a notebook. The workbook is a PDF you can print or read on screen.
What’s the refund policy?
A full refund if you ask before the third workshop starts (7:30 pm London, 26 January 2027). The full terms are in the guarantee above.
Watch the first workshop free, before you decide.
Week one, “Forty memories in twenty minutes”, as a 35-minute recording. Make the list tonight and see whether this way of writing suits you.
Example
On a real page, the recording would now be on its way to .
This is an example: no email was sent.
The January circle starts Tuesday 12 January 2027.
Enrol from $240 a month