Online 5-Week Evening Course: Fiction
Book

Online 5-Week Evening Course: Fiction

Writing Contemporary Fiction, Empowering Originality and Imaginative Flair
Tutors
  • Sophie Mackintosh Arvon tutor
    Sophie Mackintosh
  • Black and white portrait photo of Ashley Hickson-Lovence
    Ashley Hickson-Lovence
Date Monday November 20th - Monday December 18th 2023
Location Online

How do we tell stories that come alive for the reader, which feel modern, timely, and exciting? Across five weeks we will explore the possibilities offered by structure, form and language for penning contemporary tales. Writing exercises, recommended reading and feedback will give you the confidence to respond in bold and new ways, to push yourself, and to shape your ideas into dynamic work that thinks beyond the traditional. From the comfort of your home, you’ll be guided through workshops, exercises, and one-to-one time with critically-acclaimed authors Ashley Hickson-Lovence and Sophie Mackintosh. The goal is that by the end of the five-week course, you’ll come away with a renewed sense of possibility for your work and a solid understanding of how to create compelling and imaginative modern fiction.


Do you want to commit time to your writing but can only manage a couple of hours a week? Would you like a writing boost and a network of writing buddies? Then join us for this Arvon Evening Course which unpacks our popular 5-day online writing week over 5 weeks of evening classes. Each week, your tutors will deliver a workshop designed to propel your writing forward, with one-to-one tutorials offered mid-course, alongside tutor readings and weekly socials.  You will develop a regular writing routine and come away from the course with a whole new network of contacts and companions for your writing years ahead.

Online: £425

Concessions: £297.50

As part of our effort to increase participation in the arts, we offer limited concessionary places at a 30% reduction. You can select this option at checkout if available.

Grants are available to help with the course fee

We are committed to making our Arvon at Home programme accessible to as many people as possible.

Across all of Arvon at Home

Masterclasses and Online Writing Day

How I Write

Online Writing Weeks / Weekends

Subject to funding/permissions (please contact us for more details)

If you have any access issues that we have not covered here, please contact us on access@arvon.org

See here for more access information.

Week 1

Monday

18.30-18.45 Everyone gathers online in Arvon’s Zoom Writing House. Your Arvon host will welcome you and the tutors, giving you an overview of the next 5 weeks, how the technology works, along with some ideas for making your writing ‘cocoon’. You’ll get to meet everyone, ask questions, and settle in. Your tutors will ask you to start thinking about your writing, perhaps setting an exercise.

18.45-21.00 Workshop with both of your tutors (includes a 10 minute comfort break)

Tuesday

17.30-19.00 Please keep this time pencilled in your diary. Over the course of the 5 weeks you will have 2 x one-to-one tutorials lasting 25 minutes (one with each of your tutors). These will be allocated for you and sent to you a week before the course starts.

Week 2

Monday

18.00-18.15 ‘Write Together’ writing time, with cameras off (eating dinner and introducing pets welcome!)

18.15-18.30 Arvon host leads checking-in session

18.30-21.00 Tutor 1 long session

Tuesday

17.30-19.00  Please keep this time pencilled in your diary. Over the course of the 5 weeks you will have 2 x one-to-one tutorials lasting 25 minutes (one with each of your tutors). These will be allocated for you and sent to you a week before the course starts.

Week 3

Monday

18.00-18.15 Writing with cameras off (eating dinner and introducing pets welcome!)

18.15-18.30 Arvon host leads checking-in session

18.30-20.00 Tutor 2 shorter workshop

20.15- 21.00 Mid-course sharing session- you are invited to share up to 3 mins of their novel/story/poem/play-in-progress

Tuesday

17.30-19.00 Please keep this time pencilled in your diary. Over the course of the 5 weeks you will have 2 x one-to-one tutorials lasting 25 minutes (one with each of your tutors). These will be allocated for you and sent to you a week before the course starts.

Week 4

Monday

18.00-18.15 Writing with cameras off (eating dinner and introducing pets welcome!)

18.15-18.30 Arvon host leads checking-in session

18.30-21.00 Tutor 2 longer workshop

Tuesday

17.30-19.00 Please keep this time pencilled in your diary. Over the course of the 5 weeks you will have 2 x one-to-one tutorials lasting 25 minutes (one with each of your tutors). These will be allocated for you and sent to you a week before the course starts.

Week 5

Monday

18.00-18.15 – Writing with cameras off (eating dinner and introducing pets welcome!)

18.15-18.30 Arvon host leads checking-in session

18.30-20.00 Tutor 1 shorter workshop

20.15-21.00 Final reading – Closing comments by your tutors, followed by group readings. An opportunity to share some of the new words you have conjured over the past 5 weeks in a celebratory atmosphere among new friends.

And then...

Next steps: The 5 weeks don’t stop here. You now have a writing community. Stay in touch. Share your work with each other, and take it forward!

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