National Book Award winner visits St Mary’s First Novel MA Students

Nathan Filer, winner of The National Book Award, and the Costa Award for his debut novel, Shock of The Fall, has visited St Mary’s MA Creative Writing students to advise them on the process of writing their first novels. Filer described the difficulties of completing his own first novel, which went through nine years of drafting before finding a publisher. Shock of the Fall tackles the subjects of schizophrenia, the mental health system, and the plight of carers. It has been praised for the subtlety of its approach, and students commented on the intensely moving experience of reading the book. A former mental health nurse and writing tutor at Bath Spa, Filer encouraged students to make the most of their year in contact with writers, while always remembering to take responsibility for their own writing. He described the key breakthroughs in narrative approach, which took an incoherent draft of 35’000 words, to a complete novel of 60’000 words. He also discussed the pitfalls and boons of first person narration. Leaving the First Novel MA cohort, Filer described the seminar at St Mary’s as the best discussion he’d had about the book since its publication in 2014. On St Mary’s First Novel MA, students work towards the completion of a novel, with the guidance of published authors.