Online Writing Day: Nature Writing

Some of the most engaging written views of the natural world come when an author allows us to feel part of the nature they describe, rather than, say, showing us a picture of a hill they put us on the mountainside. John Muir wrote of his time in the wilderness, not as being out, but as going in. When we think of writing about nature, it’s easy to become so focused on what’s ‘out there’ that we forget the greatest understanding can come from being ‘in there’. If you’re drawn to writing about the natural world, then together we’ll find ways not only to explain the life of a tree, but to feel its energy from root to leaf, to see a bird in the air and show your readers not just how it flies, but the feeling of its flight. We’ll look at stepping away from the idea of observing the natural world as something outside of ourselves and find ways to express a world of which we are all part, to which we’re all connected, even if we’re not conscious of the bonds. Let’s spend a day ‘going in’.

Is this course for me?

Our one-day courses are aimed at anyone who is currently, or would like to begin, writing. They are regularly attended by writers who:

• would like to spend an intensive day progressing their writing
• would like a concentrated bolt of creative inspiration
• have time constraints
• would like to try out writing in a different genre

What will I gain?

• A taste of the Arvon experience in a day
• A whole day focusing on your writing while being guided and tutored by an experienced professional writer
• Two fully interactive workshops to propel your writing forward
• A Q&A at the end of the day to ask specific questions about your project
• Support at all times from friendly Arvon hosts
• An inclusive and supportive environment in which to open up creatively
• A live fully interactive experience with cameras optional

How does it work?

All sessions of the day are delivered live via Zoom meetings, with the option of cameras off or on. We strongly encourage you to participate in the live sessions, but if you find yourself unable to attend on the day, it will be possible to watch the recordings of each session at any time over the course of the following month.

A detailed timetable is included below.

Why Arvon?

Arvon is a not-for-profit charity that has been running since 1968.

At Arvon, everyone who crosses the door of one of our writing houses is a writer – no matter what their age or writing experience – and all are welcome.

For more information About Arvon – Home of Creative Writing since 1968 – Arvon

Online: £90

Concessions: £63

As part of our effort to increase participation in the arts, a limited number of 30% concessions are available for this course at checkout, as well as two fully funded places for those who cannot afford the concession rate. To request a fully funded place please email grants@arvon.org. 

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 

• 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).
• We aim to present all resources in two formats e.g., extracts of texts will be read aloud and provided in text form via screen-share or as a document. If it would be helpful for you to have any available resources ahead of the session, we will try to arrange this for you. Please email arvonathome@arvon.org to discuss.

Online Writing Day

• A recording of the workshops 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.
• All sessions of the day are delivered live via Zoom meetings, with the option of cameras off or on. 
• We aim to present all resources in two formats e.g., extracts of texts will be read aloud and provided in text form via screen-share or as a document. If it would be helpful for you to have any available resources ahead of the session, we will try to arrange this for you. Please email arvonathome@arvon.org to discuss.

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 and Evening Courses

• 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 Evening Courses.
• 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.