Last week I was co-tutoring a ‘Writing for Children’ course with Malachy Doyle at Totleigh Barton, the Arvon Foundation’s house in Devon. Arvon courses run from Monday afternoon to Saturday morning and they follow a tried-and-tested format a 3-hour writing workshop every morning individual tutorials in the afternoons talks and readings in the evenings from both the tutors, … Continue reading What happens on an Arvon writing course?
A couple of years ago I had the good fortune to teach someone on an Arvon course who, it turned out, was a branding and marketing expert. I needed help with my branding and marketing and she needed help with her writing, so it proved to be the start of a very fruitful friendship. She helped … Continue reading On being a ‘veteran author’
I like to start every new year with a brand new piece of writing so every autumn I put together a short-list of ideas for my next book and then watch for synchronicities to help me decide which one to go with. This year, as usual, life has given me some prompts. 2013 got off to a cracking start for … Continue reading The new year, synchronicity and my next book
Years ago a tutor on a Society of Authors Arvon residential gave us a five-point character sketch, which I’ve used as a first way in ever since, although the fifth point always puzzled me. Point 1: Name Choose a name for your character, bearing in mind that names carry information about, for example, age and … Continue reading Unravelling the mystery of the five-point character sketch
Years ago, I was on a Society of Authors retreat at Totleigh Barton, the Arvon centre in Devon. It wasn’t a taught course, but an opportunity to explore our writing ambitions as a group and with individual tutors. The group was made up of successful authors from every area of writing – medical books, Black Lace, children’s fiction, ELT, … Continue reading Are you a proper writer?
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