Ian and Annabel: ICE students mastering creative writing

The Centre for Creative Writing at ICE welcomes hundreds of budding and established writers to its courses every year – from bite-sized genre introductions to comprehensive postgraduate study.

In this edition of Inside ICE, we hear from two part-time Master’s students, Ian Ridley and Annabel Steadman, about how they’ve finessed a flair for fiction. Spoiler alert: we predict successful endings.

Ian Ridley – MSt in Crime and Thriller Writing student 

Ian Ridley is an award-winning sports journalist and non-fiction author who began pursuing a passion for crime writing during a time of grief. His exploration of love and loss, The Breath of Sadness: On love, grief and cricket, came out in early 2021.

"The first time around, I was a terrible student. At 18, clearing took me to the University of London, and I was a kid in a giant sweetshop. I spent three years watching football and bands, eventually scraping a poor degree. Now, in my 60s, taking the Crime and Thriller Writing Master’s is an opportunity to prove I’m a better student.

My career as a sports journalist gave me the chance to enjoy success writing non-fiction books, but part of me felt I’d done that now and wanted to try fiction. My wife (trailblazing sports journalist Vikki Orvice) died in February 2019, and I was a bit lost, to be honest. Studying at ICE has been part of helping me refocus.

I’d already published one novel (The Outer Circle) through a crowdfunding platform, and I’d started a second that I wanted to improve. The pandemic disrupted the first year’s teaching, meaning we mixed residential and online learning. But led by (bestselling Crime author) Sophie Hannah, there are so many good lecturers guiding us through the Master’s. As students, we’ve formed our own WhatsApp group to chat and share work; I’ve made some wonderful friends here.

Even as a writer, the thought of composing essays again terrified me. But I was determined to show I could do it. It had been such a long time, so I had to work hard to incorporate all the teaching, but I was astonished to get such good marks. It was really satisfying.

Last winter, I finished drafting my second novel. Now, during the final year of the Master’s, I’m working with my tutor, Jon Appleton, to develop and hone it. Having learned so much about plotting and structure, I’ve also realised how my first novel could be better, so I plan to re-visit that and establish it as the first in a series of Jan Mason detective stories that I hope to publish. I just love dreaming up characters and worlds and then throwing a grenade in to see what happens."

Annabel Steadman – MSt in Creative Writing awardee

In 2020, Annabel secured what’s believed to be the biggest advance in history for a debut children’s author, signing a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster for her fantasy series. Skandar and the Unicorn Thief will be released on 28 April – Sony Pictures have already acquired the film rights.

"I was constantly writing stories when I was little, but I left that behind when I became a lawyer. Applying for the Creative Writing MSt at ICE was the first time I’d written a non-legal document in years. Yet I always had the urge to write gnawing away at me.

The Master’s is brilliant because it’s so varied. It immerses you in lots of writing styles – from poetry to nonfiction and screenwriting – and helps you find out what kind of writer you are. For example, I had the idea for Skandar a long time ago and didn’t really write children’s stuff for my MSt, but the course definitely helped me find that voice.

Studying alongside my classmates was great, especially reading our work. It’s so interesting hearing someone read their writing because their emphasis can be totally different to yours. And it’s amazing practice to read aloud – particularly now I’m preparing to do readings for my book launch!

I wrote the first draft of Skandar during the course summer break. I then experienced the awful low of rejection for an adult’s novel I’d written, so I didn’t show Skandar to anyone for about a year. Pressing ‘Send’ on the email to Sam Copeland (author and agent) was hard. I knew the story was either crackers or great, and if Sam had said it didn’t work, I probably would have dropped it. Fortunately, he loved it.

My publishers have bought three books so far. I’ve finished the second one, and I’m planning the third. With lockdowns, I’ve spent so much time in a bubble that it still doesn’t feel real. That’s probably helped me stay focused.

With the first book coming out in April, I’m equally nervous and excited. I’d love to have kids passing it around the playground or talking in-depth about the mythology. As I grew up borrowing books from the library, seeing Skandar in that clear plastic cover on a library shelf would be a thrill too. I like to imagine my 12-year-old self would pick it up to read."

Learn more

Find out more about the range of Creative Writing courses at ICE.

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This article was originally published in the Lent - Easter 2022 edition of Inside ICE.