This course consists of 8 x Tuesday evening sessions from 6:30pm – 8:30pm AEDT.
Session 1: Tuesday, 13 October
Opening up
In this introductory session, we recall the moments in our lives when creative flow has come easily, and identify the obstacles that now stand in the way.
Session 2: Tuesday, 20 October
Embodied writing
This week we look at ways of engaging our bodies in what is easy to think of as a sedentary process, and reconnect with storytelling’s roots: as a tradition that connected our bodies to the natural world around us.
Session 3: Tuesday, 27 October
Finding flow & making mistakes
By permitting ourselves to make mistakes, we often stumble on happy accidents & little surprises that egg us on. This week, we experiment with free-writing exercises to help free us from the fear of our inner critics.
Session 4: Tuesday, 3 November
Writing to constraints
What if you had to write an entire novel without using the letter e? What if you edited your poem so that every line could only hold four syllables each? Far from shutting down our imaginations, many writers find working to limitations free them up.
Session 5: Tuesday, 10 November
Stitching notes together
For many of us, we have to snatch writing time between family and work obligations. This can mean we’re always putting off writing until we have a large chunk of time which constantly eludes us. This week we will discuss how to use little slivers of time in pleasurable ways that can support a long-term writing practice.
Session 6: Tuesday, 17 November
Ekphrasis: Writing through attention
Looking closely at an artwork, image or object can disrupt our habitual ways of seeing and lead us toward unexpected language. This week, we use visual and sensory prompts to experiment with perspective, association and close observation, exploring how attention can push our writing in new directions.
Session 7: Tuesday, 24 November
Drilling deeper
We’ve played with ways to open ourselves up to new approaches to creating new work, this week, guided by a series of questions from your tutor, you will drill deeper into the themes and preoccupations that you want to bring to your own writing.
Session 8: Tuesday, 1 December
Cut & paste
In our final session, we draw on material generated throughout the course and experiment with cutting, rearranging and recombining fragments. Taking inspiration from the collage practices of writers and artists, such as David Bowie and Kathy Acker, we explore how new patterns and possibilities can emerge from work already begun.
All sessions are held in person at The Rose Read Bookshop, 132 – 134 Smith St, Summer Hill. The exact course content could be adjusted according to the experience and concerns of the group and availability of guest writers. The detail of the course is at the discretion of the Course Director and Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin.
