Get it out; get it published – a workshop for 14-24 year olds with Rachel Longhurst

1-5pm Saturday 5 July

Writing articles and short stories for magazines and journals is a great place for novice writers to start building their writing portfolios. The ACT Writers Centre and lip magazine are running another popular workshop for aspiring young writers who are interested in advice about how to get articles and short stories published. The workshop will cover: finding ideas and getting them down on paper; gaining the confidence to call yourself a writer; the craft of writing; how to beat writer’s block; the importance of editing; presenting a professional manuscript; finding the right markets; dealing with editors; and developing a personal portfolio.  Rachel Longhurst is the editor of lip, an alternative glossy mag for young women. Canberra based, Rachel is currently studying a Graduate Diploma of Professional Writing at the University of Canberra whilst working on a novel.  Venue: ACT Writers Centre. Cost: $40 members, $70 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.

 

The Art and Craft of Screen Adaptations with Karel Segers

12 July from 10-5pm

 

Many great screenplays originate from first-time screenwriters. They tell an original, idiosyncratic story that has matured for years, with touches of deep realism, flesh-and-blood characters and sparkling, acutely lively situations. The ‘original story’ of a first-time screenwriter is often a direct adaptation of observations from the real world. When it comes to screenwriting, writing successfully is adapting successfully. To write great poetry, novels and plays, your mastery of language needs to transcend the functional to the realm of magical. As a screenwriter, the magic is in the material and its structure, not in the text per se. The art of screen adaptation isn’t much of an art at all. It is a learnable skill.

This workshop helps you to:

 - recognise why some adaptations worked beautifully and others flopped

- identify the potential for a screen story in your own material (novel, short story, bio etc.)

- structure your material into a screenplay that works, based on the much touted but rarely understood ‘three act-structure’.

Also included in this workshop will be a 1 hour presentation from a Hollywood based Executive Producer with access to $15m to $50m of film financing money. He will talk about the key steps to pitching a film to a Hollywood producer and give an insight into how the Hollywood script purchasing world really works.

Venue: Silversun Pictures, 10 Cape St, Dickson.  Cost: $90 members of ACT Writers Centre, AWG and ACT Filmmakers Network, $72 concessions, $140 non-members. Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

The Hero's Journey: a scriptwriting workshop with Karel Segers

13 July from 10-5pm

 

George Lucas transformed mainstream filmmaking by applying Joseph Campbell's theory of the Hero with the Thousand Faces to the movies. Today, an increasing number of successful writers are loyal to the mythical structure of storytelling. It has become virtually impossible to build a career in screenwriting without a basic understanding of this popular theory. Using examples from Star Wars to The Lives of Others, this workshop shows how the twelve stages of the Hero's Journey are present in all great films of the past thirty years.  This workshop doesn't just present an academic analysis of the mythical elements in movies. It shows you how the Hero's Journey can enrich the traditional Three-Act Structure and empower the screenwriter using the tools that made storytellers great and their tales immortal.  Also included in this workshop will be a 1 hour presentation from a Hollywood based Executive Producer with access to $15m to $50m of film financing money. He will talk about the key steps to pitching a film to a Hollywood producer and give an insight into how the Hollywood script purchasing world really works. Venue: Silversun Pictures, 10 Cape St, Dickson. Cost: $90 members of ACT Writers Centre, AWG and ACT Filmmakers Network; $72 concessions, $140 non-members. Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

The trials and triumphs of self-publishing

6-7.30pm Thursday 17 July

 

David Walker (from Boris Books) and Robin Johnson (published through Sid Hartha Publishers) will provide time-saving and cost-saving tips for writers who are considering self-publishing or co-publishing. The talk will briefly cover issues such as the manuscript; copy editing and layout, including pictures; printing; distribution (who are you aiming at and how will you get to them?); promotion, launches and unexpected disasters. There will be time for questions and wine after the talk. David Walker is one of the six directors of Boris Books, a small Canberra publisher that specialises in niche markets and demand publishing. He also provides advice and layout services to potential self-publishers. Robin Johnson has just taken ownership of 3000 copies of Sustainable Gardens, and is now making sure it sells.  Cost: $5 members, $10 non-members, payable at the door. Venue: ACT Writers Centre, Gorman House. Limited seating and bookings essential on 6262 9191. Click here to book this workshop.

Narnia Children’s Writing Workshop with Lorese Vera
for ages 7 to 13 years
9am-5pm Friday 18 July (includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea)

See how CS Lewis created his marvellous characters and make up some wondrous creatures of your own.  Put your characters into a magical landscape just like Narnia. Illustrate your creations. Play the ‘So you think you know Narnia quiz’ for prizes.  Have tea and marmalade rolls just like the Beavers do for morning tea.  Lorese Vera (Dip Perf Arts, BA Hons, MA, Dip Ed), is a Teacher Consultant for Creative Writing who has developed an innovative method of teaching writing to children based on her background in Literacy, Creative Arts, English Literature, and Writing. This method ensures that no child fails to have a positive writing experience. She is also a writer, editor, and has worked as a journalist. Venue: The Hub, Civic Library, Civic Square, Canberra City (near the Canberra Theatre). Cost: $96 non-members, $80 members and children of members. Payment by cash, cheque or credit card at time of booking on 6262 9191. Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

Self Publishing workshop with Marg Wade

10 am -5pm Saturday 19 July

 

So you would like to self-publish but just don’t know where to start or what to do? This workshop will cover the practical areas of self-publishing from go to whoa. Marg will constructively lead you from the beginning stages of self-publishing right through to the printing, marketing and distribution. She will highlight how to avoid some of the pitfalls, give tips about what she has learned along the way and provide you with practical strategies to get you started.  Marg Wade published two very successful editions of Canberra’s Secrets. She is currently working on a photography book, Unexpected Canberra.  Venue: ACT Writers Centre.  Cost: $72 concessional members, $90 members, $140 non-members (includes 1 year membership).   Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

Create and promote your own e-book with Marcus Amann

10am-1pm and 2-5pm Saturday 26 July

 

Due to popular demand, this workshop is being repeated. It will cover what you need to do to successfully make and sell your own e-books. Topics covered will include:

 

The business of e-books (Why write an e-book?, What sells well and what doesn't, Setting yourself up for success)

How to Make your e-book (Pros and cons of using an e-book publisher, Editing & design, Royalties, Publishing rights)

Doing it yourself ( Which e-book format?   Protecting your work from thieves, Tips for doing it cheaply)

How to Deliver your e-book (Pros and cons of using an e-book publisher, Publisher web sites, E-commerce and shopping carts)

Doing it yourself  (Setting up your own web site, Sales copywriting, Options for merchant accounts and shopping carts)

How to Promote your e-book (Deciding on a single page or resource-rich web site, Blogs, Social bookmarking, Audio, Video, Search engines, Discussion lists, E-mail magazines, Affiliate programs)

 

Marcus Amann has been producing e-books since 1995 and is a long-time technical writer and editor for a Canberra-based software company. Marcus has also worked as a freelance writer and has taught internet marketing at the Canberra Institute of Technology. Feedback from the most recent workshop: "Excellent presentation and delivery."  "Immediate practical application."  "No nonsense - all good stuff."  Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.  Cost: $90 members, $72 concessions, $140 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

Writing using the five senses with Gillian Polack

2 - 5pm on five Saturdays: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 August

 

Using the five senses in your writing makes it instantly more evocative.   We will move from learning how to put words to the senses to how to write narratives that seamlessly incorporate them.  Initially, we will focus on learning how to switch on and off a particular sense and writing with the focus on that sense.  From there we will add additional factors so that the writer uses that sense to evoke movement, place and memory. The aim is NOT to produce an extraordinary number of adjectives in your writing.  It is to explore how using information derived from even one of the five senses can enrich your writing.  Venue: ACT Writers Centre.  Cost: $225 members & concessions, $180 member concession rate, $275 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.

 
 

Writing Picture Books with Margaret Wild

2-5pm on Tuesday 19 August

 

Margaret will discuss the process of creating a picture book text from the idea to the finished book. Margaret Wild is one of Australia's leading picture book writers, acclaimed throughout the world. She has written more than fifty books for children and won many awards for her books, including Fox, Chatterbox, Jenny Angel and Old Pig. Venue: ACT Writers Centre, Gorman House, Ainslie Ave, Braddon. Cost: $36 member conc, $45 members & non-member conc, $95 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.

 

 Experimental Prose with Susan Hampton

10am to 5pm Saturday 6 September

 
How can I rethink a story? Why is the essay becoming more like memoir? Who are the great experimenters in prose? This one-day workshop will give examples from writers whose formal and technical experiments have altered the way we write. We’ll look at montage and collage and other techniques which provide alternatives to lyric, narrative and argument. Can a thing be logical but non-linear? At the end of the workshop participants can expect to have several short pieces of new writing, ideas for innovation, and a reading list. The workshop is open to a range of levels from beginners to established writers.  Susan Hampton is the author of ‘The Kindly Ones’, a verse narrative about the Furies going on holidays (winner of the Judith Wright Award 2006). Her most recent publication is the essay Scale by Scale in ‘The Best Australian Essays 2007’, Black Inc.  Venue: ACT Writers Centre. Cost: $140 for non-members; $90 for members, $72 concession.   Click here to book this workshop.

 

 Experimenal Poetry with Susan Hampton

10am to 5pm Saturday 13 September

 
Why is some contemporary poetry so obscure? What are these poets trying to do? How do we create experiments for ourselves? This one-day workshop will look at examples of the genre from the French symbolists to Ern Malley. What do the Russian formalists mean by 'defamiliarisation?' We’ll practise free writing techniques and learn to give useful feedback to others. At the end of the workshop participants can expect to have several short pieces of new writing, ideas for technical innovation, and a reading list. The workshop is open to a range of levels from beginners to established writers. Venue: ACT Writers Centre. Cost: $140 for non-members; $90 for members, $72 conc.  Click here to book this workshop.

Super Sessions with Lesley McFadzean
Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 September

Publishers may be responsible for marketing published books but you, as the author, are responsible for marketing your manuscript to agents and publishers.  If you are an author with a completed manuscript, or even if you just have some ideas for a published book, Lesley McFadzean can help you find your market.  Have you thought about:

o   Where your manuscript fits in the market?
o   What market (Australian or overseas) is appropriate for your manuscript?
o   What makes a manuscript marketable anyway?
o   What agent or publisher is most likely to be interested in your
manuscript?
o   What you can do to make you and your manuscript stand out from the
crowd?
 
If you want to discuss these and other questions about your manuscript, book a forty-five minute one-on-one session with Lesley McFadzean, former literary agent and publisher. After booking, and before 15 September, please then email a synopsis, author bio and sample chapter to director@actwriters.org.au  Lesley McFadzean has worked in the publishing industry in Hong Kong and Australia for 25 years as an editor and publisher. Most recently, she was Manager of the Literature Board of the Australia Council for a period of three years, International Rights Manager for an educational publisher for four years and a Literary Agent, representing more than 120 established and emerging Australian authors. Since April 2006, she has worked on a freelance basis as a writer, publishing project manager and editorial mentor. Cost: $75.  Limited sessions available so book early. Payment at time of booking, on 6262 9191.

  

World building for adventure stories with Gillian Polack 

for students in years 5-7

10am - 12pm on six Saturday mornings; 11 and 25 October, 1, 15, 22 and 29 November

 

A series of morning workshops for late primary/early high school students.  Each class will look at one topic.  We will explore the topic and write stories using it.  1. Create a medieval town;  2. How to make your magic work;  3. Making sure your hero gets fed (food design and land design and markets); 4. This goes with that (arms and armour and fortifications and siege warfare– making sure your fighting works); 5. What your peasants know (and when they can leave the farm to fight dragons); 6. Travelling (from basic equipment to money to roadside cooking).   Venue: ACT Writers Centre.  Cost: $120  youth members and children of current adult members, $155 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

Writing Magic with Gillian Polack

10 - 5pm, Sunday 26 October

 

This workshop will introduce you to historic magic systems and how to use them to create a realistic fiction system. How the world and its powers were conceived and used in the past can be very handy for writers who need to devise an effective magic system in a hurry. We will look mainly at European magic (with a focus on the Middle Ages and Renaissance) but will explore some ancient byways. The focus will be on how the systems can work for you in your writing.  Venue: ACT Writers Centre workshop room.  Cost: $90 members & concessions, $72 member concession rate, $140 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.

 

 

Love and Sex in the Middle Ages with Gillian Polack

1.30 - 5.30pm on Saturday 22 November (Not suitable for children)

 

There are some words that people use when they think about love and sex in the Middle Ages: courtly love, chastity, hellfire.  The reality is a lot more complicated than these few words and far more interesting.  This session will open up new and interesting storylines for romance writers, historical fiction writers and maybe even speculative fiction writers. We will talk about what love might actually mean to someone in medieval France or England, what sexual practices were condoned and what sexual practices were condemned (and why).  Why was it easier to be Jewish than Christian?  We will look at romance and religion and what happens when the marriage between them turns foul.  If there’s time we might also examine medieval medicine and what it had to say about women's bodies, reproduction, orgasm and other matters of enduring interest.  Venue: ACT Writers Centre.  Cost: $60 members & concessions, $48 member concession rate, $110 non-members.  Click here to book this workshop.