Online Writing Day: Making Progress with your Novel-in-Progress

For Stephen King, a story’s ‘impending shape’ is a fossil awaiting excavation. It exists intact beneath the sediments of the mind, an imprint of life waiting to be raised to the surface. Writing a novel can feel as if you’re trying to find that fossil on a lonely shore. It can be overwhelming, which means we often rush past the buried truths and discoveries our novels need to grow. How do we learn to be better excavators of our own work? How do we unearth the crucial elements and connections from the mounds of drafts, research, back-story and plotting?

Join Alison MacLeod as she guides you through an exploration of your novel-in-progress. Alison will help you to consider your novel afresh, and the promise that waits within it. You will identify the ‘lynchpin’ moments that give your novel structure and explore the power of setting within your story. You will excavate character, plot progression and sharpen your use of mystery, tension and revelation.

Writing a novel is an act of faith. It involves self-belief, openness and resilience. Join us for a little company in the struggle, and a guiding hand to help you lift your finished novel into the light of day. This Writing Day is suitable for writers of any genre of fiction with a work-in-progress.

Alison will offer advice on:

1. excavating character and ‘the secrets that lie hidden in the human heart’
2. finding the keys to plot progression in relation to character
3. the dynamics of mystery, tension and revelation – how to make your storyline ‘go’
4. novel structure: identifying the ‘lynchpin’ moments that give you the confidence to ‘travel blind’ into your story
5. setting – exploring the power of setting (place, metaphor, imagery) as an agent within your story
6. in general, thinking about the ways in which a writer can stay alert to ‘the cues’ from his or her story and its needs.

NB this day will not explicitly deal with established plot formulas sometimes used in genre fiction (ie crime, romance etc). It will be a broader exploration of how to form a narrative that is unique to each specific writing project.

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. 

Cost: £85

Concessions: £42.50

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.
• 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.