Our Kaleidoscopic Memories
with Andra Putnis

This session will explore the power of memory as the starting point for powerful stories. We will cover three stepping stones along the way to great writing from memory.

• Unearthing personal memories (either your own or those of others) to find the elements needed to write powerful vignettes/scenes that sing – including setting, characters and emotional tone.

• Following memories and stitching them together to discover narrative arc and plot.

• Placing memories in the broader context of family, place, community and history to hone meaning, relevance and, above all, reach the heart of readers!

History in Place
with Lisa Fuller

Explore writing place through delving into your own personal connections to develop powerful settings and reframing the places you walk past or through every day. Leading on from last week’s topic, we will engage with the idea of texturising your writing world through the use of familiar spaces/places within your memories, but also in your day-to-day life. We will focus on the small details that make your world touchable.

 From there we will explore reframing familiar places in ways that make people look differently at a space. How to break out of your own patterns and teach yourself to see in a different way. We will discuss how use of place can impact the message you’re trying to convey to your reader.

 Finally, we will discuss the concepts of Country and place in broad strokes. Engaging respectfully with the longest continuous cultures on Earth, why there will never be a ‘simple’ answer, and where your ‘place’ might be in that equation.

Research to the Page
with Mirandi Riwoe

Participants will further develop their own research and writing process, and practice techniques for incorporating research into a work of fiction through authorial insights, discussion and a series of writing exercises.