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Writing Speculative Fiction

w/ Kaaron Warren and J.S. Breukelaar

Speculative fiction is a universe unto itself. How do you navigate this widely popular genre without losing your way? In this new, innovative course you will learn from two leading writers in the genre, as you discover the ins and outs of writing outside the realms of the ordinary.

2 May – 20 June 2023
Tuesdays 6.30 – 8.30pm (AEST)

$816 / $693.60 (alumni)


This is a past course.

Over eight intensive weeks, you will learn the foundational concepts of speculative fiction genres – including science fiction, horror and fantasy. The foundational lessons will lead into deeper cuts, covering all aspects of craft and structure as they pertain specifically to the speculative fiction writer.

What makes for effective world building? How do you craft characters that can move in these worlds? How do you put an entirely fictional setting on the page in a way that will convince readers that it is lived-in and real?

You will be provided with a diverse range of historical examples, as well as examples from contemporary international writing. Rich with successful texts from the canon, this course will get you reading widely, in ways that will strengthen your own writing.

This is a chance to enhance your understanding of the speculative fiction genre, while receiving rolling feedback on your writing throughout the course, with targeted writing exercises. The course is designed for you to get ready to launch into working on a full-length project, venturing with confidence out into the unknown.

This program will also include the rare opportunity to have a sample of your work copy-edited by our Editor-in-Residence. You will work towards providing a 3000 word piece, which will receive two rounds of revisions returned to you following the conclusion of the course.

Writers you'll be working with:

Kaaron Warren

Shirley Jackson award-winner Kaaron Warren published her first short story in 1993 and has had fiction in print every year since. She was recently given the Peter McNamara Lifetime Achievement Award and was Guest of Honour at World Fantasy 2018, Stokercon 2019 and Geysercon 2019.  She has also been Guest of Honour at Conflux in…

J.S. Breukelaar

J.S. Breukelaar is an Australian-American author living in Sydney. She is the author of three novels, most recently The Bridge, and two collections of short stories, in addition to essays, poems and fiction appearing in numerous publications and several Years Bests. Her work has won or been a finalist for multiple national and international awards,…

Course outline

Session 1: Tuesday 2 May

Introduction: Overview of genre, conventions, influences and approaches. Where do you fit in? Where do you push against the boundaries of speculative fiction? Students will get an opportunity to discuss stumbling blocks in their practice or ideas, and to set their intentions for the next seven weeks.

  • Course outline, goals, materials
  • Discussion of stumbling blocks in ideas and practice
  • Discussion of workshopping protocol

Session 2:  Tuesday 9 May

Crafting characters: Character is everything in speculative fiction. And we do mean everything. Students will learn how to put flesh on the bones of their great ideas and manage the relationships between their human characters and others to ensure believability in their writing.

  • Understanding your characters’ needs and desires
  • Making sure your secondary characters have impact
  • Point of view

Session 3:  Tuesday 16 May

Setting as character: World building at the intersection of place and time, at the crossroads of superstition and science, and at the juncture of fantasy and reality.

  • Establishing the logic of your world
  • When to stop researching and start writing
  • How to absorb description into story

Session 4:  Tuesday 23 May

Plotting your speculative tales: All systems (must) go (especially the magical ones). Students will consider why tension is lacking in some spec fic, and how to fix their own loose beginnings, flabby middles, and weak endings.

  • Choice and consequence
  • Creating killer scenes to grab the reader by the throat (and heart)
  • Balancing action with description: the devil is in the detail

Session 5:  Tuesday 30 May

Dialogue: Look who’s talking. Students will learn techniques and cheats to crack the dialogue code, and will consider how to manage the tower of babel that is dialogue in speculative fiction.

  • Review of dialogue essentials
  • Finding your characters’ individual voices
  • Dialogue as plot drivers

Session 6:  Tuesday 6 June

The next draft: students will learn outlining and organisation hacks and will discuss self-editing and practicing good habits to avoid having to do that extra draft.

  • When do you stop writing the first draft and move onto the next one
  • Self-editing
  • Polishing v. revision

Session 7: Tuesday 13 June

Guest tutor.

Session 8: Tuesday 20 June

Quick fixes and troubleshooting and when to let go. We will also talk about next steps, professionally,while looking at speculative fiction markets, including flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphics, animation.

In this final session, you will also meet our Editor-in-Residence who will walk you through submitting your work for a professional copy-edit.

The exact course content could be adjusted according to the experience and concerns of the group.

How to Book

This is a past course.