Alice Fraser's Writers' Intensive

Early trains (four of them, for four and a half hours) to get to Shibuya after a hellish week at work, and I forgot (yet again) that there’s no longer a trolley service on the shinkansen so no coffee or breakfast until 11:30 when I arrived at the venue. The things we do for our art.

Caffeined up, the intensive was really enjoyable. Four writers (two novelists, two stand-ups), plus Alice and her 6-month old. We did the usual introductions, then each of us worked on our own projects while Alice did one-on-one discussions. She also delivered four “mini-lectures” based on her experience working in the arts. I know from experience that it can be hard to pitch these things when you don’t know your audience in advance (what level of experience, what interests, what expectations) but there was a lot of wisdom and humour in there, which is a blend I like.

My one-on-one was extremely useful. I’m at the beginning of a project so I didn’t need much feedback on the nitty-gritty of writing. Also, this book ain’t my first rodeo, and working as an editor for years means I now have a good sense of what not to do. What I needed at this stage in the process was a damn good chat.

In advance, I sent her the opening few pages because I need to find my narrative voice before going any further (if I don’t have my narrator in place I can’t plan the structure, which will be episodic), and she gave me some good tips about where the voice was going wrong and where to find examples of what I was trying to achieve. This is a big important part of creative advice for me, be it writing or music: it’s hard to explain abstract things, to get a sense of tone or atmosphere across to someone, and examples are a useful shortcut. We (Red Flag Waltz) are recording an album just now and being able to say to our producer, “I want my guitar to sound like Ginger’s on ‘TV Tan’” is a lot easier than saying “a full tone, but with a strong high-end without losing the bass…” I was in a band once with someone who had a very narrow taste in music and it was a nightmare trying to communicate while songwriting. Alice is obviously very well and widely read, but in different directions from me, so I got some good tips there.

The main thing I needed however was just to talk through the ideas, to go through the story, to discuss the potential pitfalls. I needed an experienced sounding board with a totally different perspective from mine, someone else’s brain, a brain I respect. I also wanted—and I didn’t really realise this until after—someone to give me a response in real time, face to face, rather than an email or text. I love my friends that read my work and give advice but, living where I do, the chance to have that interaction as a conversation is rare.

I came away motivated, invigorated, with a fresh perspective on my novel and a sense that coming all the way to Tokyo from Gifu for this session had paid off. Every artist is different, and these things may not be for everyone, but if you get the chance I would heartily recommend Alice’s writing groups in the future, whether online through her Patreon or in person when they happen. I’ll definitely be going again.