Faber Academy > Courses > Sydney > Start to Write
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Start to Write

w/ Vivian Pham

Have you always wanted to write fiction? Everyone needs to start somewhere and Start to Write is the course designed to get you across the basics, as you begin to generate ideas and get the very first words of your concept down on the page.

Saturday 22 November, 10am – 4pm AEDT

Allen & Unwin – Sydney

Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin – Sydney
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065

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Beginners

$195


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In this one-day program, you’ll get the hands-on teaching you need to start writing fiction from Vivian Pham, author of The Coconut Children.

Working with Vivian, alongside your fellow classmates, you will:

  • Discover the tools you need to start writing
  • Overcome common problems shared by emerging writers
  • Understand some of the key fundamentals of writing fiction
  • Meet other aspiring writers starting out in a welcoming, supportive classroom.

This course is designed to help you foster ideas, play with structure and techniques, and get your words going – while delivering practical advice on ‘where to next’. Interactivity is encouraged throughout, and there will be space for questions and answers during each session. At the end of the day, join Lauren for a complimentary drink and light refreshments, to hear about how to continue on with your writing.

Your course includes:

  • A complimentary copy of a recent A&U publication.
  • Tea and coffee and light refreshments.
  • On completion of the course, alumni discount of 15% on future Faber Writing Academy courses, including Writing a Novel.

Writers you'll be working with:

Vivian Pham

Vivian Pham is a Vietnamese novelist, essayist, and poet from southwestern Sydney. In high school she wrote a novel called The Coconut Children, which was published in March 2020 by Penguin Random House.  In 2021 she was named one of The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists and she won the Matt Richell Award…

Course outline

Morning – Part 1: Freedom (The Ecstasy of Influence)

  •         Ways of beginning
  •         Imitation and invention
  •         The Tiny Detail
  •         Premise and Genre
  •         Suspending disbelief
  •         Finding your question
  •         A rough first draft

Midday – Part 2: Form (Elements of Storytelling)

  •         Voice
  •         Drama
  •         Scene and summary
  •         Shading with tonal shifts
  •         How to show, when to tell
  •         Dialogue

Afternoon – Part 3: Generosity (Failing and Failing Better)

  •         Befriending your reader (or not)
  •         How to save your darlings
  •         Redrafting for economy, accuracy, and truth
  •         Common mistakes and how to learn from them
  •         What now?

How to Book

Includes 10% tax