No matter how long the path…
Writing is a journey; you’re constantly learning the writing craft and also uncovering details about yourself. Some ways of travel are faster than others; sitting alone and thrashing out pages of verbiage may teach determination, but feedback from others can help you learn faster as can studying creative writing books.
There are excellent writing courses but they’re often expensive and aren’t typically focused on your genre or your particular writing style.
Jericho Writers offer services which admit more writer into their training: their offerings can be tailored to your needs. So far I’ve bought three of their services and I’ll detail these here with my thoughts. Their website is at jerichowriters.com
I work next to the elegant shabbiness of Oxford’s Jericho’s region: so might count as a Jericho Writer even without taking out a membership, but I’m not meant to write my novels at work, so don’t tell anyone.
Festival of Writing
Jericho Writers offer a ‘Festival of Writing’ – a three day residential programme at York University. Workshop sessions here were illuminating and entertaining though it wasn’t possible to attend everything and occasionally you’d rue your choices. Attendees could attend 10 minute surgeries with agents to discuss their work – these felt rushed but I emerged with a few useful questions to ask my writing. I enjoyed meeting other nascent writers – you’ll see your problems aren’t unique – talking to the right person can motivate.
The word ‘useful’ comes to mind: as an introvert the sessions were draining, but hiding remains an option. One nag, I was told I’d receive printed materials from the sessions but this never arrived.
Self-Editing your Novel
Another offering is their ‘Self-Editing your Novel’ a six week online course. Highly enjoyable and a great way to bolster those writing skills – I worked with eleven other students on focused topics (character, plot, voice, and the fascinating concept of psychic distance) and we checked our prose technique). Written materials covered theory and exercises involved rewriting our existing work to show understanding. Course tutors and other students gave feedback – usually I had the right answers but not always. My own mistakes make the best teacher – fellow students were polite enough to give constructive feedback when I’d missed an exercise’s point.
Giving feedback on other people’s writing is a great way of growing your writing muscles: and this course helped turn my occasional analysing into a habit.
I rewrote my novel to fold in the course concepts: I believe my main character’s motivation is clearer now and I ditched some plot threads which weren’t increasing tension.
They said the course forum would stay available permanently but it went down some months after the course’s end. Jericho Writers apologised; a third party had let them down but they happily sent out updated course notes. A shame, but muscles built at a gym remain even if the gym vanishes.
Perhaps I could set a future novel in a world where people suffer because essential information is lost thanks to ‘upgrades’, but that’s another story…
Manuscript Assessment
My greatest single move forward came through buying a ‘Manuscript Assessment’ from Jericho Writers. I was assigned the author Hal Duncan who handled my genre, and I received a 30,000 report covering my novel. (Spoiler alert: Hal said there was much to like but my work had issues). He analysed areas like staging, prose, action, dialogue, narrative logic, world-scape, character, resolution, etc, and pointed out areas for improvement. I printed his report out and studied each sentence – and nothing in my writing career elevated my prose like his report. Crammed with trenchant advice, directly relevant to my work; if I ever succeed as a professional writer this document will be to blame.
Hal explains complex issues well, though it is worth taking a few days to let his points settle. Don’t respond rudely or get defensive. Hal didn’t spend serious time analysing my novel’s effective parts so a superficial scan of his report might make it look like a 30,000 word attack. It isn’t – it’s an account of everything you can do to improve. I see myself as a good writer with a few problems and deep personal analysis is a great way to advance.
I had the option of asking Hal questions, but his work was clear. Hal, if you see me at a writing event I’ll buy you a pint.
Summing Up
Good writing requires a long apprenticeship for all but the most gifted, but the right training journey can accelerate your journey. Consider the ‘Festival of Writing’, seriously consider the ‘Self Editing Your Novel’ course, and you’ll need a very good reason to avoid the Manuscript Assessment’.