Are you fascinated with the art of storytelling? Are you interested in taking stories from life? Perhaps you’re a new writer or someone returning to the page after a time away?

This transformative Starting to Write Week with award-winning authors Helena Attlee and Conor O’Callaghan will help you put together the creative building blocks that lead to compelling stories, whether fiction or non-fiction. Using objects and shared histories as a vehicle for ideas, Helena and Conor will have you diving into characterisation, worldbuilding and structure before you know it.

With input from both tutors and the company of a supportive cohort of first-time and returning writers, this week of workshops will enable you to begin writing the unique stories only you can write.

Join us! https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/residential-writing-week-starting-to-write-fiction-and-non-fiction-3/

SETTING

Denhay Corner is a delightful home from home. Think comfortable sofas and log fires, cosy bedrooms with rural views. It’s old-school, there’s a a wealth of welcoming atmosphere and a distinct dearth of Swedish furniture and en-suitery. You will of course be comfortable and well fed.

 Most workshops and talks take place in the main sitting room, either around the large table or from the comfortable sofas and chairs. Food is served and eaten in the light filled kitchen. Each bedroom has a writing desk, two or three students share a bathroom. There’s a cosy snug to curl up in, or lounge in the kitchen or sitting room when there’s no course activity going on, and the large rather wild gardens provide lots of places to sit and chat or just muse. You can walk from the door over fields, up lanes, through holloways….. We’re only 3 miles from bustling Bridport, 4 miles from the Jurassic coast and there’s a pub within walking distance (just), but you may find it unnecessary to move far!

ABOUT THE COURSE

Whether you have just started to think about writing or already have a work in progress, this course will be an opportunity to re-energise your writing and explore new techniques.

You will build the skills you need to convey a powerful sense of place, to create vivid characters, to build a compelling narrative and to seek out the universal appeal of your personal story.

There will be workshops each morning, while the afternoons will be the opportunity to discuss your writing in detail during a one-to-one tutorial with Helena, to continue work on your own project, read or explore the garden and its beautiful surroundings.

By the end of the week you will be well on the way to turning raw, autobiographical material into carefully crafted writing.

https://bit.ly/3fB1Zf8

Do you have a story to tell? This course is for anybody interested in memoir, travel writing, biography or any other form of life writing. It is a chance to explore techniques that will allow you to capture your experiences on the page and transform them into compelling narrative. You will also learn to nurture your unique writing voice, convey a powerful sense of place, create vivid characters and seek out the universal appeal of your personal story.

The Setting:

The course will be held at Boldshaves, a lovely, rambling house set in a beautiful garden on the edge of the Weald of Kent. It is surrounded by ancient woodland and set in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Friday
Arrive late afternoon or early evening and take your time to settle in at Boldshaves before a delicious home-cooked dinner and an introduction to the weekend ahead.

Saturday and Sunday
Writing workshops of Saturday and Sunday mornings will be practical, interactive and dynamic. There will be plenty of time to explore new techniques, and share your writing with others if you feel like it. After the workshops we will meet for a wholesome lunch in the beautiful, 18th-c  barn. Saturday afternoon will be a time to focus on your own writing and attend a personal tutorial with Helena. You might also take the opportunity to read in the Wealden library, go for a walk or explore the lovely garden. We will converge again for a delicious home cooked dinner.  Afterwards Helena and our visiting author will share readings from their own work. On Sunday afternoon we will share a farewell tea and a final celebration of your writing.

Level of experience:

This course is suitable for writers of all levels, from complete beginners to those already immersed in a non-fiction project.

BOOKING

https://wealdenliteraryfestival.co.uk/events/writing-weekend-2023/

Story, characterisation, a sense of place and strongly-voiced narrative are the drivers of effective and memorable non-fiction. But how do you manage these elements while juggling your research? How do you rise above a welter of facts? And what happens when your research doesn’t ‘fit’?

This course, taught by acclaimed non-fiction writers Marina Benjamin and Helena Attlee, will give you tools, mentoring, community and inspiration, wherever you are in the writing process, helping you to shape your narrative and make it sing from the page.

https://bit.ly/3QRX2vn

See the WRITING ITALY page on this site for details of the non-fiction course I will be teaching with Julian Evans and Rachel Roddy in the wonderful setting of Castello di Potentino in Tuscany. There are still a few places left, so do think of booking if you are interested in a wonderful week of writing, walking, swimming and digging deep into local landscape and traditions.