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Thinking of becoming a writer?



Thinking of becoming a writer?

I often tell people that my interest in crime and mystery was ignited by my grandfather, who was a detective (later spycatcher) and used to regale my brother and me with stories of grisly murders and the villains who committed them. I always liked the idea of writing one and was sure I’d get round to it ‘one day’.

‘One day’ threatened never to arrive. I had a succession of great jobs, and enjoyed life too much. To write a novel, surely you had to have a burning need of some kind or been through a harrowing experience, whereas I had coasted along, going to parties and having a good time. As the years went by, I wrote lots of words – in the form of magazine features and cookbooks - but it looked as if the novel, which was my dearest wish, wasn’t going to happen.

In the early 2000s, I had an enlightened line manager who suggested, as part of HR’s ‘personal development’ programme, that I should do a course in something non-work related, at the company’s expense. I’d noticed that a colleague in the magazine world, Alexandra Campbell, had recently had a novel published, and asked if she could suggest a novel-writing course.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she replied, ‘What you need is the Arvon Foundation.’

Alexandra is one of those people with the golden touch, who excels at everything. (Her current claim to fame is The Middle-Sized Garden, with 200k followers on Youtube.) I proceeded to book a course at Totleigh Barton in Devon, and although it took me quite a few years to knuckle down and get that novel finished, here’s what I loved about the course, and why I've worshipped at the shrine of Arvon ever since.

1) Because the course was residential (and literally miles from anywhere) you were able to bring all your energy and concentration to the task in hand. No excuses or distractions.

2) The tutors – who in my case included Andrew Taylor (now a multi-award-winning novelist) and Laura Gregory (now crime critic for The Guardian) – were hell-bent on sharing their skills and experience with the students, and inspiring us students to believe in ourselves and their talent.

3) The atmosphere was 100% friendly and supportive, and for the first time I realised that although writing itself might be a lonely business, writers are a community, and one that I felt I’d like to belong to.

I came away from that week confident that I had the tools to start my novel, and even a couple of plots to get my teeth into. Without it, I wouldn’t have had the faintest idea where to begin, let alone write Knife Skills For Beginners, and the sequel Murder Below Deck, coming out shortly.

A few years after this, I was asked back to Arvon, to be a tutor for a course on food writing… so I’ve seen the organisation from both sides. I’m inordinately proud that of the students on this course: one just published her fourth cookbook; another is now a food editor on a top magazine with two cookbooks under his belt; another wrote a successful tome about baking and is now a bread guru;  another is a prolific mystery novelist and writes short stories for magazines. I’d call that a result.

I’m often asked by fledgling writers if I have any advice, and I have two suggestions. First, learn your craft, by going on courses, practising what you’re taught and reading widely. Second, become part of the writing community, so that you move among writers, learn about the industry and have the support you need. I can’t think of a better place to start than the Arvon Foundation, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

You’ll find details of the course I’m co-tutoring in March at the Hurst in Shropshire (as shown in the picture) here.

 

 

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