The RWA has partnered with national creative writing charity, Arvon, to bring a new avenue for creative exploration to the Drawing School. 

Accompanying each new season of programmes is a Writing Day, a workshop that will use the RWA's lead exhibitions as a stimulus for different forms of writing. Artists often move between different forms of artistic expression, and writing is no exception.  

The next workshop, focused on fiction and creative-nonfiction, is led by writer and editor Helen Gordon. We spoke to Helen to about her work, and what to expect from her upcoming workshop.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Helen. Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your work? 

My books include The Meteorites, Notes from Deep Time and the novel Landfall, and I teach creative writing at the University of Hertfordshire. I’m also a freelance editor and my background is in literary publishing. After university I worked for many years at Granta magazine, publishing short stories and creative nonfiction. It was there that I learned how to edit and – through that process – how to write.   

Your most recent book, The Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space and Deep Time, covers the history of some of the oldest and unknowable objects ever to be discovered on Earth. Where did you start your research? 

When I started my research, I was on maternity leave from my university teaching job. The first thing I did was strap my daughter into her carrier and go wander around the meteorite collection at the Natural History Museum in London. I also spent a lot of time staring at the night sky, trying to figure out where the different stars and planets are. Starting a new project, I like to gather some initial first-hand impressions and sensory details, to see what something looks, feels, smells and sounds like. 

Have the intersection of self-expression (such as writing) and science always been of interest to you? Why are you drawn to scientific subject matter? 

I’m a literature graduate and for a long time would have been too intimidated to write about science but at Granta I was introduced to some of the great writers of creative nonfiction, such as John McPhee, and realised that a good writer can probably turn their hand to any subject. Sometimes not knowing is a strength. As a reader I love the way McPhee takes me with him on his learning journey, that we share discoveries rather than one simply lecturing to the other. Also, I find it interesting to write from the position of an outsider – perhaps by doing that you notice things that an insider has stopped seeing. When I write about science, I’m an outsider. I’m fascinated not just by the work of the scientists but also by their characters, by the chance to explore ways of looking at the world that are often different to my own.  

You are leading a Writing Day at the RWA, as part of our partnership with Arvon. The workshop will spend time focusing on fiction and creative nonfiction. Can you tell us what creative nonfiction is? 

A piece of creative nonfiction is a true story told using the techniques and tactics of fiction, such as characterization, setting, poetic language, dialogue etc. It can range from straightforwardly chronological narratives to something much more fragmented and experimental.   

What else can students expect from the workshop? 

We will be doing lots of writing exercises and using prompts designed to spark the imagination, get words on the page and expand our writer’s toolkits.  

What is your top tip for someone wanting to start a new writing project? 

My favourite tip comes from Ernest Hemingway: “…always stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck.’ 

 Ernest Hemingway on Writing, p.41-42 

Arvon Fiction and Nonfiction Writing Day with Helen Gordon takes place on 13 March 2026 from 10am. Book your place and find out more.  

Find out more about Arvon’s work at arvon.org