Online 5-Week Evening Course: Non-Fiction

So many of us want to share our stories, and memoir is often the obvious starting point. But it’s also a process of understanding and sharing vulnerability, so what of the impact on oneself while writing, and once published? With acclaimed writers Alexandra Heminsley and Pragya Agarwal as your guide you will look at writing about intimate experiences while also managing boundaries and care of oneself. This will be a gentle space in which you look at boundaries in your stories, helping you decide what parts are an important aspect of your narrative, and which are not. You will examine your motives for writing, what your definition of success is (whether it’s sharing with the family or becoming a bestseller!) and how to be aware of the emotional reverberations of reliving profound and intimate experiences. Through regular writing exercises and prompts, group discussion and take-home tasks you will learn how to get to the core of what your story is. How do you make the personal universal in a way that will connect with others, and what style and structure is right for you? You will also be provided with a comprehensive reading list of life-writing excerpts and guidance on how to put together a proposal document if you wish to submit to agents. The course can be attended by anyone at any stage in their writing journey, from those who suspect they might have a story to tell, as well as those who are in the middle of a project and want to find renewed focus. ᐧ

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

• All sessions will have auto-generated captioning.
• During sessions we will have a text version available via screen share.
• There is a Chat facility to ask any questions.

Masterclasses and Online Writing Day

• A recording of the Masterclass will be available to view for one month after it is aired live.
• There is a Chat and Q & A facility to ask any questions.
• Zoom webinar format (your video and audio will remain off throughout, & your name will not be visible to other participants so it is a ‘relaxed’ event).

How I Write

• There is a chat and Q&A facility to ask any questions.
• Zoom webinar format (your video and audio will remain off throughout, & your name will not be visible to other participants so it is a ‘relaxed’ event).

Online Writing Weeks / Weekends

• Courses have much smaller groups than Masterclasses and How I Write events, and are also more interactive with your fellow course participants and tutors, so cameras and audio are usually on (though both are completely optional). If you would prefer your camera and audio to be off, it would be helpful to let your course host know this in advance.

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

• Recording of Writing Weeks and Weekends.
• Downloadable transcripts.
• BSL interpretation.
• Live captioning.

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.