Do you have a first draft of a novel that needs a final push? If you’re already working on some material, this 4-week course will help you to reach completion. You will be guided through refining structure, developing your world and characters, tightening your key themes and narrative questions and polishing your prose. There will be opportunities for group feedback and one-to-one tutorials, as well as insight into the publishing industry. You will be encouraged to experiment with some new ideas to help you see your work through a fresh perspective. If you are struggling with structure or simply need encouragement to get over the finish line, this course will give you time and space for your novel to flourish.
This week, we will look at the structure of your work in progress. We will think about forward momentum, character development, thematic progression and internal logic. We will look at examples of both conventional and unconventional narrative structures to tighten the architecture of your novel.
During week two, no matter whether you’re writing far-flung sci-fi or kitchen sink realism, we’ll hone in on the ‘world’ of your novel, focussing on the power of detail, and techniques that can help refine and realise that world in the mind of your readers.
- Week 3: Key themes and narrative questions
In Week 3, we will refine your key themes and narrative questions. We will dig into your intentions behind your work-in-progress, to work out what your novel wants to say about the world. We will ensure your exploration of key themes is cohesive and consider the important links between form and content.
Finally, we’ll take a close look at the editing process: that vast plain between initial creation and having a solid, sharable first draft. Through discussion and exercises, we’ll get technical about ways to make your writing better, and break down the editing process into three key stages: cutting, enriching, and polishing.
Is this course for me?
Our month-long courses are aimed at writers who have a specific goal in mind for the month. This might be to begin their writing journey, to make progress on a work-in-progress, or to kickstart a commitment to their writing going forward.
These courses are often attended by writers who:
- Want to commit time to their writing but life keeps getting in the way
- Can attend evening workshops and tutorials
- Would love one-to-one feedback from two professional writers
- Feel they could set aside a month to kickstart (or restart) their writing habit
- Want a live, fully interactive experience with a group of no more than 14 writers
What will I gain?
- Weekly interactive evening workshops to propel your writing forward
- Two 25-minute one-to-one tutorials with experienced tutors
- Free passes to all webinar events happening elsewhere at Arvon at Home during your month with us including masterclasses (each worth £40)
- Accountability each week to make progress through intention setting and group support
- A group of creative peers who you may decide to keep in contact with after the course
- Support at all times from friendly Arvon hosts
- An inclusive and supportive environment in which to open up creatively
How does it work?
The month kicks off with an introductory session to get to know you and to ensure we meet your individual writing needs, as well as the chance to meet the other writers in the group. Then each week for the next month there will be evening workshops on Tuesdays designed to move you and your writing forward. You will also be offered one-to-one tutorials with each tutor + a free pass to all readings and masterclasses happening elsewhere at Arvon at Home.
A more detailed timetable can be found 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 visit About Arvon – Home of Creative Writing since 1968 – Arvon
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.
Jessica Andrews
Rosa Rankin-Gee
