6 x Thursday evening sessions (6.30pm – 8.30pm)
Session 1: Thursday 5 May – YOU & YOUR CHARACTER
Session 1: In session 1 we’ll be introducing ourselves and our stories, exploring connections between the two. What do you want to write and why do you want to write it? What issues or themes drive your story? Who is your character/characters? Who supports them or thwarts them? How can we give them agency, and why is it important?
Session 2: Thursday 12 May – THE STATE OF YA w/ guest Bec Kavanagh
This week we get into the nitty gritty of contemporary Australian YA and coming of age narratives. We look at trends, tropes, audience, rules (are there rules?) and rulebreakers. We look at the need for diversity and Own Voices in YA and consider ethical ways to write the other. With guest speaker Bec Kavanagh.
Session 3: Thursday 19 May – HAPPENINGS
In session 3 we’re talking about what actually happens in our stories – we’ll explore plot, outlining, scenes and story beats, and consider how the emotional story functions with external action. We’ll consider form and structure and work towards creating a workable outline.
Session 4: Thursday 26 May – PLACE & SPACE w/ guest Penni Russon
No matter your genre, you need to spend some time to understand the limits and possibilities of your characters’ inner and outer worlds. In adolescence all worlds pulse with both enchantment and risk. This week we look at setting and world-building. Where in space and time is your story set? How will place inform narrative? With guest speaker Penni Russon.
Session 5: Thursday 2 June – THE BACK AND FORTH
In this session we’ll share and workshop pain points in our works in progress. We’ll look at the internal logic of our story – Is it there? What’s missing? What are the questions that arise organically and how can we best answer them? We’ll consider all the tools the writer can employ, and explore ways we can make a scene or passage or moment do what we want it to do.
Session 6: Thursday 9 June– HOW TO KEEP GOING
In our last class we’ll make a plan that goes beyond the course. We will think about the best ways forward. What stands between us and our finished manuscript? What tips or tricks or routines might serve us? What does publication actually look like – and what opportunities are out there.
The content listed is comprehensive but is a guide only. 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.
