Online Writing Day: Fiction

In the short story form, nothing is wasted. The writer must concentrate their words so that every sentence holds enough meaning to move their narrative forward. Whether you consider yourself a short story writer, novelist or poet, there is much to be gained from the craft of writing short stories, which can help to hone your sensitivity to the flexibility and power of words.

During this one day workshop we will work towards mastery by first diving into the writing practice. On our path towards a complete short story draft, we will practice using the tools of fiction to craft a narrative: character, tense, point of view and metaphor, to name a few, working at the edge of our comfort zone and looking at new and original ways to use these tools.

We will look at the editing process, cutting out loose words and tightening flabby sentences, to see our short stories take shape on the page so that you will be able to continue crafting your work after the session has ended.

Whether you have an idea for a short story that has been in your mind for a long time, or plan to come with a blank sheet of paper and see what happens, we will aim to have a scratch draft of your short story by the end of our day together, beginning from that crucial first line, bringing it round to a satisfying ending.

The guest for this session is Tom Conaghan, publisher of Scratch Books – a small press dedicated to the craft of the short story.

To make the event as accessible and flexible as possible, all sessions of the day are delivered live via Zoom webinar. You have the choice to attend each session live, which will mean you can contribute via the chatbox, or you can watch the recordings of each session at any time over the course of the following month. Please note, your camera and audio will not be visible/audible, allowing you to relax and take the day at your own pace. 

Online: £90

Concessions: £45

As part of our effort to increase participation in the arts, 50% concessions are available for this course at checkout.

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.
• 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, simply log in to your account on our website and you’ll find a link under the ‘Event Details’ tab in the ‘Video recording’ column (you may need to scroll right on your screen to see it), similarly, if any learning resources are available, another link will appear under the ‘Course Materials’ tab.
• 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).
• During sessions we will have a text version available via screen share (if you require these in advance of the session, please email arvonathome@arvon.org).  

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).
• A recording will be available to view for one month after the event is aired live, simply log in to your account on our website and you’ll find a link under the ‘Event Details’ tab in the ‘Video recording’ column (you may need to scroll right on your screen to see it), similarly, if any learning resources are available, another link will appear under the ‘Course Materials’ tab. 

Online Writing Weeks / Weekends

• Courses are delivered by Zoom meeting, which means they are not recorded. 
• 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 at all times, it would be helpful to let your course host know this in advance. 
• We use Padlet as a landing page for all course materials, and to provide an optional platform for interaction with your tutors and fellow course participants. If you would like some more information about this, or if you have any anxiety about using this platform, please email arvonathome@arvon.org.  

Subject to funding/permissions (please contact arvonathome@arvon.org 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.