{"id":702,"date":"2020-11-27T07:37:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T07:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=702"},"modified":"2023-03-17T16:10:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T16:10:22","slug":"how-to-make-the-most-of-the-festival-of-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-festival-of-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make The Most Of The Festival Of Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guest author and blogger Mari Griffith<\/a> is a bestselling author of historical fiction. For fans of Philippa Gregory and Hilary Mantel, Mari\u2019s debut novel Root of the Tudor Rose<\/em> has been internationally acclaimed. Read her top tips on making the most of our annual Festival of Writing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d kept trying various writers\u2019 advisory groups, but nothing really opened any windows of understanding for me. I had a knowledge of writing after thirty eclectic years in broadcasting, churning out scripts for documentaries, concerts, children\u2019s programmes, the Schools Broadcasting service, even on-air programme promotions. But a novel? That was something very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I came across some publicity for a writers\u2019 weekend conference in York. Coming to my very first Festival of Writing<\/a>, I found myself among like-minded people there for the same three reasons \u2013 to hone craft, to meet other writers and to relish the whole experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motivating workshops and one-to-ones provided insights I needed to get me into good habits. I saw the sense of crafting my novel, of getting to know my characters. I learned about scene setting, plot development, pace, character arcs, convincing dialogue, evocative prose \u2026 suddenly, there was so much to think about. My 2B pencil was working overtime!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home again, I realised the need to keep up the momentum. I junked my Prologue and twenty thousand words of my current draft and promptly enrolled on the Writers\u2019 Workshop online course with Debi Alper and Emma Darwin. I never regretted it. They were unfailingly focussed, practical and pleasant in their teaching. Emma guided my footsteps as a writer of historical fiction and Debi offered flashes of pure inspiration. I\u2019ll always be grateful for her thoughts on \u2018psychic distance\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My association with the Writers\u2019 Workshop has been enormously beneficial. It has given me confidence in my work<\/a> and the ability to be my own best critic. That\u2019s important for a writer because it means that your book will be as good as you can possibly make it before you show it to anyone else. Anything that can be enhanced thereafter by editors or book doctors becomes a valuable bonus. Chances are that your work will eventually be good enough to publish, if you can find an agent<\/a> \u2013 and you might manage to do that in York<\/a>, too. It has been known!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, everything depends on you, what you make of this golden opportunity. Having thought long and hard about it, I\u2019ve drawn on my own experience to come up with six bullet points to help you make the best possible use of everything the Festival of Writing offers:
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