writing courses

Attending a Writing Class by John Camari

I had already been writing short stories for a couple of years before I began attending a writing class. I saw a notice in the library in Bristol one afternoon and as I have attended other classes in the past for photography and learning French I decided to give this a go.

When I phoned the teacher my main concern was whether I would be good enough. I didn’t want to attend a class where everyone had had masses of writing published and were on their way to the Booker Prize! The teacher assured me that there were people at all different levels and people of all different ages. As I am in my fifties I did not want to be in a class full of twenty somethings!

At the first class I attended I discovered that there were six women and one other man, ranging in age from the late thirties into the seventies. Everyone was very nice and welcoming and Jenny, the teacher was very professional and maintained control of the class at all times. I had heard of other classes where certain people are allowed to dominate the group, but at my class Jenny would never allow this to happen. If she has favourites she doesn’t show it!

The classes are held at Jenny’s house every Wednesday evening during term time. They last for two hours which might sound a long time but passes by very quickly.

Jenny, who has had several biographies published as well as a historical novel, starts the lesson by asking if anyone has any prepared work which they would like to read out. Each person who wants to can then read out their work and Jenny will comment about the style, characterization and grammar. She always offers constructive criticism and is always encouraging. Not everyone reads and we have had some people at the class who have never prepared any work-maybe they still lack confidence. Pressure is never put on anyone to read. Other people in the group will sometimes make comments and it is always interesting to hear other people’s point of view. Although we are a group Jenny gives everyone individual attention.

We are given set exercises to do each week-sometimes a particular story to read and comment on, sometimes an exercise involving grammar. Jenny is particularly good at characterization and grammar, both very important aspects of writing.

The others in the class all have different styles of writing and different areas which interest them. One person always reads humorous stories, another writes thrillers and one is writing her auto-biography, I have started writing a novel which I have been reading at the class and have been greatly encouraged by the others comments.

By following Jenny’s advice and completing her tasks I feel that my writing has improved enormously. I look back on my earlier stories and can see the difference.

I would definitely recommend going to a writing class. We all get along well and give each other encouragement. The last meeting of the session involves a trip down the local pub where we all chat about our progress during the term.

My week on an Arvon writing course by JamieH

Lumb Bank is an isolated house near Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire. I didn’t know quite what to expect when I arrived – the usual trepidation: would everyone else on the course be so much more experienced than me? I felt a little nervous at the thought of reading my work out in front of them all, but I really wanted to go on this course as I had heard such good things about Arvon.

The accommodation was clean and comfortable and the rest of the group were all friendly and just as nervous as me!

In the mornings we had seminars led by our two tutors, Kate Long and Jeremy Sheldon, who gave us various tasks and writing assignments: lots of advice and tips on writing, how to deal with characterisation and different methods of approaching prose - all of this was explained clearly and concisely and the information given was extremely helpful. During the afternoons we had individual tutorials with our tutors who went through a couple of our stories and offered constructive criticism.

We also had a visiting tutor, David Armstrong who talked about his book “How not to write a novel” and gave a very amusing account on how he started out in writing.

The last couple of evenings we each read a piece of our work to the group. This was not as scary as it sounds; everyone received praise and encouragement and we all gained a lot by listening to each other. Apart from this, the evenings were taken up with socialising. Everyone took a role in helping to prepare each evening meal and this helped people to get to know each other. I think that the success of this type of course depends very much on the group and the tutors involved. In my case I had a very sociable crowd and the tutors were very friendly. Both Jeremy and Kate were very approachable and always willing to offer their help and advice.

Ted Hughes’ old house at Lumb Bank is set in beautiful woodland surroundings - very peaceful. I could not fault the accommodation. The whole atmosphere was friendly and welcoming and I have since stayed in touch with most of my group. Not least feel that my writing has also benefited by going. I would certainly recommend an Arvon course to any aspiring writer.