Arvon course Fiction, 22-27 May 2006

By Martin van Brakel - Young Writers Award 2006 runner-up

> Back

After coming second in the BBC Young Writer's Awards, I was given the opportunity to attend an Arvon writing course in England. Both the booking of the course and the travel arrangements were taken care of for me.

The Hurst, where my course took place, is situated in the beautiful region of Shropshire, on the Welsh/English border. It is five minutes walk down the long driveway to the road, and 20 minutes walk into Clun, the nearest town. The station at Craven Arms is 15 minutes by car, provided you don't get stuck behind a tractor.
The river Clun runs through the valley, resulting in the need for a bridge on the driveway. A spinney grows on the roadside bank by this bridge, which has become my favourite spot.

The first night, the rules were outlined, and the tutors, Susanna Jones and Courttia Newland, were introduced. The 14 participants were also introduced to each other.
Each day followed the same general structure: breakfast was when we wanted it, which was usually somewhere around 8 a.m.
The workshops started at 10 a.m. and continued until around 12. On Tuesday, the workshop covered character, and Wednesday dealt with structure. Thursday looked at setting, and Friday was a question/answer round. Character and setting were given by Susanna, structure and Q/A by Courttia. Personally, I found Susanna's workshops more interesting, as she included quite a bit of writing exercises. Courttia leaned more towards classroom lectures.
Following lunch, our time was ours to spend. We could sign ourselves up for a half-hour one-on-one session with either Susanna or Courttia, we could spend time writing, and we could go to Clun or take a walk, whatever we wanted.
I found the workshops and one-on-one sessions very helpful. I feel that they have had a positive effect on my writing, and have helped me on my way.
Dinner was at 7 p.m., followed by readings in the library at 8.30 p.m. On Tuesday, Susanna and Courttia read from some of their books. On Wednesday, we had a guest. Maggie Gee read from two of her books. On Thursday and Friday we could present our own work.
After the readings, we would chat and drink wine (except for me), until finally retiring for the night somewhere around 11 p.m.

There was a roster for cooking the evening meal. When it was our turn to cook, we had to be in the kitchen at 4.30 p.m. We needed every minute of the two-and-a-half hours that this gave us.
The menu was set, and the recipes were easy to follow. Not to forget that every group turned out a superb meal. I greatly enjoyed every single dinner.

All in all, I had a great time. The setting was beautiful and the tutors, participants and Centre Directors, were wonderful. The week has given me a jump-start to writing a story I probably wouldn't have started otherwise. The week has definitely been worthwhile.

> Back