Upcoming workshops and events

All workshops require payment at time of booking. Bookings can be made by phone on 6262 9191 (Tuesday-Saturday), online at https://app.formassembly.com/forms/view/10261 or in person at the Writers Centre office, Gorman House, Ainslie Avenue, Braddon. The Writers Centre has credit card facilities and EFTPOS. If paying by cheque, make payable to ACT Writers Centre. Enrolment will not be confirmed until payment is received.

Learn to love editing

with Nicole Murphy

10am-4pm Saturday 3 March

Nicole Murphy used to be a terrible editor. Spell check. Grammar check. Punctuation check. Submit.

Today, she loves to edit - so much so that she doesn't really like drafting, because it takes so long to then get to the editing. How did she turn it around, and develop the skills that enabled her to sell a trilogy to a major publisher? In this workshop, Nicole will go through the steps she used to teach herself how to edit, and will give you some key advice and resources in order to help you become objective about your own writing.

In this workshop you will be introduced to a variety of methods of achieving objectivity in revising your work. You will consider your own weaknesses and draw up plans to check on your writing, and look at a number of meta documents and use them as a base to create your own.

Nicole Murphy has been a primary school teacher, bookstore owner, journalist and checkout chick. She grew up reading Tolkien, Lewis and Le Guin; spent her twenties discovering Quick, Lindsey and Deveraux and lives her love of science fiction and fantasy through her involvement with the Conflux science fiction conventions. Her urban fantasy trilogy Dream of Asarlai is published in Australia/NZ by HarperVoyager. She lives with her husband in Queanbeyan, NSW. Visit her website http://nicolermurphy.com

This workshop is sold out. If you would like to be added to our waitlist, please contact us at 6262 9191. If a space becomes available, it will offered to people in the order they were placed on the list.

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Going solo: Crafting a comic monologue

with Harry Laing

10am-2pm Sunday 4 March

The comic monologue is a wonderfully versatile and satisfying medium combining as it does elements of soliloquy, story-telling and stand-up. In just a few lines the speaker can create a world; in a few more he or she can subvert it completely. Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads are famous examples of the genre. Samuel Beckett was no mean practitioner and more recently Rob Brydon has written some corkers (Marion and Geoff).

This workshop focuses on how to craft a comic monologue. Participants are encouraged to have a go at short pieces (2 minutes) in different voices before tackling a longer monologue. There will also be time to sharpen up performance skills. All participants go away with a monologue they’ve had a chance to work on and read/perform.

Harry Laing is a writer and comic performer. He’s written and performed seven solo comedy shows and most recently a comedy two-hander Playing For Time. He has toured his previous show, Away WithThe Birds, a series of comic monologues in the Southern Tablelands region. Harry has also written two series of quirky country tales which were broadcast on ABC Radio National Stories from the Edge of the Forest and Tales of a Tree Changer.

Code: All.
Cost: $72 members of the ACT Writers Centre, $64 concession members, $102 non-members (includes 6 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

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Writing a popular fiction novel: A weekend intensive master class

with Phillipa (PD) Martin

10am-4pm Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 March

In this weekend intensive course, Phillipa (PD) Martin will guide you through some of the major elements of writing a popular fiction novel - genre, planning, research, character development, plot development, dialogue and the all-important writing process. The sessions will focus on take-home theory and practical tips, coupled with some exercises/workshopping to improve your writing skills.

Phillipa Martin is the author of five crime fiction novels published in 13 countries. Her Sophie Anderson series has met with international acclaim. Her books are Body Count, The Murderers' Club, Fan Mail, The Killing Hands and Kiss of Death. She's also published an ebook novella, Coming Home.  You can find out more about Phillipa at www.pdmartin.com.au  

This workshop is a Writing Australia program and is supported by the Harold Mitchell Foundation. This workshop is for members of the ACT Writers Centre and other Writers Centres affiliated with Writing Australia.

Code: 1, 2, 3.
Cost: $200. You must be a member of the ACT Writers Centre or another Writers Centre affiliated with Writing Australia to enroll.
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191 or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

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Creative non-fiction: What is it? Why write it?

with Kim Mahood

10am-4pm Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April

Most of us have a set of underlying preoccupations that motivate our desire to write.
This two-day workshop is designed to invigorate all forms of non-fiction writing, and to help participants identify and develop the constant themes in their writing.

Participants will look at examples of the genre, carry out a number of writing exercises and develop basic techniques for self-editing and how to give and receive critical feedback. At the end of the workshop they can expect to have several short pieces of writing, a set of techniques to stimulate the writing process and assist in the development of an authentic voice, and a reading list. The workshop is pitched towards a range of levels, and is suitable for beginners who are prepared to be challenged as well as more advanced writers.

Day 1 — Finding your idea
Through a variety of exercises participants will experiment with techniques to invigorate their writing and establish an individual voice. They will identify the preoccupations that continue to emerge in their writing and explore ways of developing those preoccupations into sustained pieces of writing.

Building on the exercises, participants will critically examine their own work, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and look at ways to improve the quality of their writing without losing the spontaneity of their own voice.

Day 2 — What is creative non-fiction?
Participants will examine a range of different examples of the genre, discuss how each writer has handled his or her material, and carry out exercises based on these literary models.

Using the techniques developed and themes identified on day one, the class will explore the possibilities and boundaries of the genre. They will work on several sustained pieces of writing, subject them to critical feedback from the group, edit and rewrite.

Kim Mahood is the author of Craft for a Dry Lake, which won several awards for non-fiction including the Age Book of the year and the NSW Premier’s Award. She has published essays in a number of art and literary journals, and is currently working on an essay collection.
She is also a practising artist with work held in state, territory and regional collections.
She lives near Canberra, and spends several months each year in the Tanami and Great Sandy Desert region, working on cultural and environmental mapping projects with Aboriginal traditional owners.

Code: All.
Cost: $192 members of the ACT Writers Centre, $168 concession members, $252 non-members (includes 12 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

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Writing a self-help or spiritual book

with Lucy Baker

10am-4pm Saturday 21 April

Topics covered in this workshop include:

• The first draft and how to begin it
• How to get yourself out the way - self-esteem and the ego
• Your personal development experiences and how to access them as an author
• Writing for the market
• Becoming visible as a writer and expert

Lucy Baker is an AWGIE-nominated screenwriter, former journalist, editor and author of several self-help books. She is a self-development trainer specialising in Stress Management, a hospital chaplain and the Pastor of the ACT's largest multifaith, alternative Church, The Spirituality Church of Canberra.

Code: All.
Cost: $100 members, $90 concession, $160 non-members (includes 12 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

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Book marketing and self-promotion

with Tania McCartney

10am-2pm Saturday 5 May

This workshop tackles the issues of marketing your work, self-promotion and brand development, as either an author or illustrator. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how vital effective self-promotion is for authors and illustrators. It has been said that the difference between a ‘successful’ author and a not-so-successful one may soon well be in their ability to market themselves effectively.

Participants will learn about marketing both their work and themselves. They will learn how to compete in the market, how to make themselves and their work stand out in a saturated book world and how to do things with excellence and savvy.

They will learn about hosting readings and other events, the phenomenal marketing opportunities available online, brand development, and how to maximise their output for positive results.

This workshop is suitable for anyone interested in how to maximise their exposure as either a published or unpublished author/illustrator - for those who would like to make themselves stand out from the crowd, or who are a little lost in the internet/social networking fray. The workshop also covers approaching publishers, so would be perfect for new authors/illustrators. It would also be ideal for people who are already published but feel they are not ‘getting anywhere’ on a publicity level.

Tania McCartney is an author, publisher, magazine editor and book reviewer. She runs well-respected literary website Kids Book Review [www.kids-bookreview.com], writes for several online sites and is a senior editor for Australian Women Online, where she edits Bedtime Stories, a literacy initiative in support of National Year of Reading. Her current books include the latest in the Riley the Little Aviator series – Riley and the Grumpy Wombat: A journey around Melbourne (Ford Street Publishing, 2011), Australian Story: An Illustrated Timeline (National Library of Australia 2012) and Beijing Tai Tai: Life, laughter and motherhood in China’s Capital (Exisle Publishing, 2012). Find out more about her at www.taniamccartney.com

Code: 1, 2 & 3.
Cost: $72 members, $64 concession, $102 non-members (includes 6 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

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How to write a ten minute play

with Alex Broun

18-20 May

An intensive weekend workshop with one of the world’s leading 10-minute playwrights, Alex Broun. The workshop will run Friday 6-9pm, Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-6pm. The aims of the workshop are to INSPIRE you to write a good ten minute play and INFORM you with the knowledge required to write the play. In one weekend learn how to write a ten minute play then see it come to life right before your eyes.

Session 1: What makes a good ten minute play?
The opening session will tackle the fundamental question of just what is a ten minute play? What should you write your play about? How do you know if you’re trying to tell too big a story in too short a time ? What are the elements required for a good ten minute play?

Session 2: Your idea
Pitch your ideas for a ten minute play to Alex and the group. Find out which of your ideas will work best in the ten minute play format – and which won’t! Sharpen and focus your structure and storyline to help shape a strong ten minute play.

Session 3: Story and style
This session looks at Story Structure and will explore how to dramatise your story in the most theatrically satisfying way. It will also consider what makes a good Beginning, Middle and End. We will also introduce you to different styles or genres of theatre and consider what is the best style for your play.

Session 4: Character and dialogue
This session explores how to create memorable characters. What is the role of character in the theatre ? Also allowing your characters to speak truthfully – the slight variations that make one character on stage different and bind your characters with an audience. The session will also explore rhythm, dialogue and use of language in the theatre through encouraging participants to act out a moved reading of a short scene.

Session 4: Theatricality and surprise
This session explores WHY your play needs to be produced on stage and what makes it different from film and television. This session will challenge the writers to find adventurous and new ways to tell their story and bring it to life on stage. It will also explore the important nature of surprise in theatre through character revelation and/or incident and staying one step ahead of your audience.

Session 5: Workshopping your script
In this day-long session participants will read and workshop their scripts, which they have written during the course, with Short+Sweet actors. They will physicalise the script with the actors and explore how their text works on stage, allowing them to test their play and discovering how it will work when performed.

Session 6: On stage
In the climax of the course participants scripts will be given moved public readings by the Short+Sweet actors to an invited audience, including family and friends. This is a chance for the writers to see how their work comes to life on stage – and more importantly – how the audience responds to it. They will then be able to carry out any further revisions on their play before entering it for consideration to the Short+Sweet Theatre Brisbane 2009.

Alex Broun is one of the world's leading experts in 10 minute plays. Alex has had no less than 75 ten minute plays produced across the globe in over 500 productions including Short+Sweet 2002-2011 and Shorter+Sweeter - The Best of Short+Sweet - 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. Internationally Alex has had short plays produced in Australia, Canada, Chile, Estonia, France, Hungary, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Singapore, Taiwan, the UK and 40 different states of the USA. Recently he had a play published in Germany and a collection of short plays was translated into Persian and published in Iran. His longer plays have been performed at the Sydney Festival and he has twice received script development funding from the AFC.

Over half of former participants in this course have gone on to have plays produced at Short+Sweet and other 10-minute theatre festivals around the world! Plays to come out of the Alex Broun Playwriting Workshop include: Perfect Stillness by Jane Miller (Winner People’s Choice Melbourne Short+Sweet 2006); Our last time together by Fiona Clarke (S+S Melbourne 2005 and S+S Sydney 2006); The Fitting Room by Alison Chambers (S+S Sydney 2006); Condiments by Alan Miller (S+S Sydney 2006), Rinse by Lisa Eismen (S+S Sydney 2006); Un-Australian by Darinka Kralj (S+S Melbourne 2007 – nominated for Best Comedy Writing and S+S Melbourne 2008); The Pick Up by Sean McIntyre (S+S Melbourne 2005 and S+S Sydney 2006); Death by 1000 cuts by Mika Tsoi (S+S Melbourne 2007 – nominated for Best Drama Writing); The Neils by Miles Blackford (S+S Melbourne 2007 and S+S Sydney 2008), Sleeping Leeches by Liza Dezfouli (S+S Melbourne 2007), Truth FM by Mark Andrew (S+S Melbourne 2005), Don’t Give Up Your Day Job by Sharni Page (S+S Melbourne 2005), A Little Blue by David Bulmer (Finalist S+S Sydney 2009); Permanently Engaged by Dan Clancy (S+S Melbourne 2008 and Finalist, S+S Sydney 2009); and many others.

Code: All
Cost: $200 members of the ACT Writers Centre, $150 concession members, $260 non-members (includes 12 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room. (The public readings will take place at a local venue to be confirmed).
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

Actors required!

ACTORS are required on Sunday 20 May from 10am to 6pm to workshop and read the plays written in the course. Plays from the course will then be entered for consideration in Short+Sweet Canberra 2012. The plays are being workshopped and read at QL2 Theatre, Gorman House, Braddon.

On the day you will workshop the plays with the writer and other actors then present the plays to an invited audience as a Script-In-Hand Moved Reading. (This is a Script Reading where you act out the actions of the play while keeping your script in hand.) It's a great fun day where you can interact with actors and writers while flexing the acting muscles.

If you are available on Sunday 20 May and would like to take part please email director@actwriters.org.au  with your:

• Name
• Age
• Male/Female
• Phone

PLEASE NOTE: Actors donating their time and talent to the readings do so on a completely voluntary basis. There is no payment for the readings but rest assured you are helping in the development of some great new Australian plays and playwrights. Hope to hear from you soon!

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Writing short stories for publication

with Ian McHugh

10am-5pm Saturday 16 June

Targeted at new to intermediate short story writers, this workshop aims to teach participants about structure and elements of short stories. Participants will take away insights into the basic elements of short stories, and rules of thumb on how to make them work, as well as practical experience in applying these ideas to generating stories. The workshop will emphasise learning through doing, and participants should finish the day with the beginnings of a new short story project.

The workshop will be divided into sessions on:

• Story elements
• Getting the details right
• Story generation
• The importance of critique

Each session will have built-in time for questions and discussion, and the content that is emphasised will be flexible in response to participant needs and interests.

Ian McHugh is a 2006 graduate of the Clarion West writers' workshop. His first success as a fiction writer was winning the short story contest at the first Conflux science-fiction convention in 2004. Since then he has sold stories to professional and semi-pro magazines, webzines and anthologies in Australia and internationally. His stories have won grand prize in the Writers of the Future contest and been shortlisted four times at Australia's Aurealis Awards (winning Best Fantasy Short Story in 2010). Links to read or hear most of his past publications free online can be found at ianmchugh.wordpress.com/stories

Code: 2, 3 & 4.
Cost: $100 members of the ACT Writers Centre, $90 concession members, $160 non-members (includes 12 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

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Creativity and feeding the muse

with Valerie Parv

10am-4pm Saturday 23 June

Learn how to go beyond writer’s block and become a more productive writer. The workshop will show how UFOs can help you push your creative boundaries so you become a literary lightning rod for ideas. Learn the fastest way to kill an idea, explore five simple steps to get you writing on demand, and discover techniques for dealing with tomorrowitis, interruptions and other muse menaces.

This is applicable to writers in all genres.

Valerie Parv, international best-selling author, has sold more than twenty-nine million copies of her books internationally, with translations in over twenty-six languages from Russian to Japanese and Icelandic. With a master of arts from Queensland University of Technology and a diploma in professional counselling, she conducts workshops on creativity and the writer’s craft. Her book, The Art of Romance Writing, was voted the most useful writing guide in a poll of members of Romance Writers of Australia. She was contributing editor of Heart and Craft, an insider’s guide to romance writing, and How Do I Love Thee? an anthology by Australia’s top-selling and award-winning authors (Allen & Unwin). Valerie is the first Australian author to receive a Pioneer of Romance Award recognising her contributions to the field of romance writing. The award was presented to Valerie by Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine, US. Valerie’s recent title With a Little Help (Harlequin Superromance) was given a 4 star review (RT Book Reviews, US, 2011) and in Australia (http://australianromancereaders.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/feature-book-with-a-little-help). Valerie will be the Established Writer in Residence for 2012 at the Katharine Susannah Pritchard Writers Centre in Western Australia. More information including a complete list of Valerie’s books are at www.valerieparv.com Follow Valerie on Twitter @valerieparv and her blog valerieparv.wordpress.com

Code: All.
Cost: $100 members of the ACT Writers Centre, $90 concession members, $160 non-members (includes 12 months of membership).
Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.
Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online by clicking here or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.