Amazing Arvon - The Difference A Week Can Make

Two weeks ago I went on a “Writing For Young Adults” Arvon Foundation course.  It's still pretty much impossible to talk about the incredible week I had there without sounding totally OTT and pathetically sycophantic. I'm good at OTT, so I don't mind that accusation, but I detest sycophancy.  But, credit where it's due, so I'll risk it!

This is just an overview or taster really - there’s so much to share from it that I’ll be unpacking it for you in blog posts for weeks to come :-)

If I'm completely honest with you then it didn't always feel like the most amazing week of my life at the time. Events like that quickly and massively wear me out, resulting in lots of triggers being pressed.  There were times when I was overwhelmed by inadequacy and felt like a complete fraud.
 
But it WAS amazing and there were three key factors that made it so. The first was simply the fact that I was staying in a beautiful country house, in an idyllic setting, with fantastic food that I didn't have to make and nothing to do for the week but concentrate on writing!

Gorgeous Lumb Bank (thanks to Dorthe Andersen)

The beautiful view from my bedroom window!

The second factor was the amazing tutors. When I'd first discovered the course I was gobsmacked that such big successful authors as Melvin Burgess, Lucy Christopher and Meg Rosoff were doing it.  More detail on them in future posts, but they were fantastic!   They gave so much of themselves – their insights, experience, knowledge, encouragement, energy and time.  They went far above and beyond what I'd expected of them. They weren't just teaching a course, they were totally WITH us. I was super impressed.

The workshops were where the most condensed learning took place and over the week we looked primarily at voice, plot, setting and using objects to help you connect with a scene or situation.  I learnt so much in each of these that they’re gonna need their own blog post (or two!) too - there are plenty of funny stories and insights to share from them :-)

The downside of learning about good writing is that it made me more and more aware of how much my writing could be improved.  Add to that overwhelming feelings of inadequacy caused by hearing others read out amazing pieces of work and you’ll understand why it was such an emotional, challenging and cathartic time as well as amazing (although none of those things are mutually exclusive).  All these struggles are being fast forgotten though, and I’m just increasingly aware of the huge value of what I've learnt and the impact it's already having on my writing.

The final great factor was meeting 15 other wannabe YA writers. Everyone was really friendly and interesting - I never minded who I sat next to in workshops, meals or social times. No cliques formed.  Naturally there were people I got on particularly well with and I'll definitely be keeping in touch with them, not least to encourage and cheer them on in their writing journeys!  It's very exciting to think that one day - hopefully in the not too distant future - I'll see a new YA book advertised that's written by one of my Arvon friends.

Everything I learnt and experienced in that week at Arvon will have positive repercussions in my writing for years to come.  I can’t recommend their courses highly enough – although I do now have the problem that any future courses I might attend couldn’t possibly be as amazing as this one!  If you’re serious about writing – or any other dream - then investing money in a good quality course is priceless.  If you find one you want to do then sell your TV, sell your car, sell your kidney, but make sure you find a way to do it :-)