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Selina Shapland

Category Archives: Editing

Contest, Critique & Editing

09 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by selina in characters, Creative Writing, Editing

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Brisbane Writers Workshop, Lauren Daniels

Contest Critique Edit.png

I’m proud to tell you that my manuscript, The Living Death of Toddy James, was ranked 19 out of 127 submissions in the apprentice level of the 2018 Ink & Insights contest. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a fantastic result.

The 2018 Ink & Insight Contest was the first major critique contest I have entered and even though I was nervous, I stepped out of my comfort zone and put my words out there for constructive feedback from people I do not know.

There were four judges. Three of the judges were excellent, giving me constructive feedback to help me to develop my story structure and my writing while helping me to feel that I am doing a good job at learning and applying what I have learned about the art and craft of novel writing.

The fourth judge wrote comments that came across as if she had twenty plus years of editing experience, providing me with a particularly harsh set of comments. It wasn’t that she had given me difficult feedback so much as it was the blunt delivery of her words on the page that stung.

After reading her critique, I checked out her CV and saw that she is a super-keen newby editor with only one year of experience. That irritated me. And I admit my ego got its back up and I thought, “How dare she judge my work so harshly?” But then I took a deep breath and did my best to see the intent behind her harsh words and to reconcile my feelings. Maybe she was just keen to share what she knew?

Processing the feedback took a while and in the end, I’ve come to realise that all feedback is valuable to the writer, even brutally delivered feedback has hidden wisdom for me to consider.

So overall I am grateful for each judge and the guidance they gave me. But if I’m truly honest, my ego is still a wee bit miffed. I’m just being honest about how it made me feel and the struggles that I am sure every creative writer (and artist) goes through when critiqued.

I think as a creative person you have develop a thick skin for feedback no matter whether you are writing or creating art. Even when I was in art school all those years ago, I had to come to terms with other artists critiquing my work and toughen up as I was galvanised by the process of receiving feedback that was helpful but maybe difficult to hear.

So, since receiving my contest results and struggling to reconcile four different perspectives, I realised I needed the guidance of one editor. I needed to work with someone I trust completely to steer me in the direction of improving my manuscript for publication. That’s when I submitted my 80,000 word manuscript to Lauren Daniels for a professional structural edit and a taste of line editing.

Within a couple of weeks I received my manuscript with the first three chapters line edited and an overall professional structural edit. It was excellent, informative, and each comment was delivered with care for my growth as an author.

Below is an example of my story and the comments and line edit from Lauren. It looks overwhelming, but when I started going through the process of considering each and every comment and deletion, I found the changes made my prose come to life on the page.

LED editing sample for blog

Not once in all the comments and feedback provided to me by Lauren Daniels have I felt down or depressed or like I wasn’t moving forward with my writing skills.

Lauren Daniels is simply a fantastic editor who has twenty years of experience behind her and the depth of compassion needed to nurture authors to reach their potential.

Since receiving the structural edit, I have been able to pinpoint areas that need to be worked on my manuscript.

Each time I open my manuscript on Scrivener, I have cut out un-necessary ‘stage directions’, cleaned up dialogue so it is relevant and no longer a rambling mess, removed rhetorical questions and put an outline together to ensure my plot action and character arcs are adhering to the rising action/climax story structure format.

Below is a slightly blurred visual of my manuscript synopsis/outline for The Living Death of Toddy James. I’ve added a section to capture an important observation by Lauren about some of my female characters and how they relate to each other. I’ve blurred it because I don’t want to give away too many secrets of my story!

TLDTJ Outlining process on Scrivener 3

After wading through emotional confusion, I have allowed myself space to contemplate and compost my story. Processing emotions takes time and I think it’s good to give myself space to do that.

Now I am finding my editing feet and taking consistent steps toward polishing my novel for the next round of feedback and development.

I’ll have an outline with the plot points sorted in a structure that works and I will have a tight cast of characters to carry the story.

I have learned once again that not every reader is from my ‘tribe’ and that’s okay. I’ve also learned that composting feedback and mulling things over is also an important phase of the creative writing process.

It’s exciting to share my ups and downs with you as I go from the dream of writing and publishing a story, to writing the story, editing the story and to one-day publishing it for readers to read and review.

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Through Fear and into Creativity

22 Monday Oct 2018

Posted by selina in Author/Book Review, Courses, Creative Writing, creativity, Editing

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Since returning from the UK, I have been taking a little break from writing new stories and have been working on polishing up my manuscript, The Living Death of Toddy James.

I received some good feedback from the Ink & Insights 2018 Critique my Novel contest and decided it was time to submit my manuscript to an editor who can help me take it from the rough and step it closer to publication standard.

But as I have taken this step forward in my creative life, I have also had to battle internal fears. Fears that I am still not good enough to publish. It sounds silly given the spectrum of published works in the world since self-publishing became so accessible, but I still have an inner voice that speaks volumes about where it thinks I am at.

This inner voice drove me to pick up the book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I listened to it on audio first, then went out a got myself a paperback copy so that I could refer to things that inspired me and provided me with ‘a-ha’ moments. big-magic-elizabeth-gilbert-book-review

This lead to me creating a skillshare course called: Through Fear to Creativity, where I explore some of the methods I have used get past the fears that have blocked me when it comes to creative writing and, at times, my artwork.

Fear to Creativity

I then made a short YouTube video where I speak directly about how Big Magic has helped me move through a perfectionism blockage and I hope, if you watch it, that my insights help you to.

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Then I thought I’d do a book review on Weekend Notes and I called it: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear – Book Review.

So, in a strange way I have been quite productive … dealing with fear and building courage to stand up and do what is in my heart to do.

But I have to be honest, writing a novel is a big project. It’s like a marathon level of focus, day after day. It took me over a year to write the first draft of The Living Death of Toddy James – most of it tapped into my Scrivener file during NaNoWriMo 2017. When I finished that draft, I was exhausted. I’d finally got the basic story out and I liked it.

Then anxiety crept in and I fiddled and fiddled with the manuscript filling in plot holes and other such things. Then I made excuses as to why I couldn’t possibly put the manuscript into an editor.

Then I went to the UK and found (to my surprise) that the level of my fiction writing was on par with the other students in the Fantasy Fiction course. I was stoked.

So, when I hit Australian soil again, I promised myself that I’d be brave and submit my story to an editor with a lot of years of experience and a good track record of helping authors actually bring their stories to publication.

I want my story to be the best fiction that I can make it. Not perfect. I can’t do perfect. I can’t please everyone. But I’d love to know that someone somewhere enjoyed reading what I wrote.

So I guess the next phase is about to begin. And to keep my mind from going totally crazy over what work is ahead of me with my manuscript, I’ve focused on creating book reviews, a YouTube video and a skillshare course.

Hopefully as time goes by I will finally figure out how to move my photos of the UK to some kind of show and tell thing-y, then I’ll be able to share more of what I experienced. But to tell the truth, I’ve kind of enjoyed allowing the travel dust to settle. Who knows when I’ll get around to sharing my UK photos and mini-musings.

In the meantime, Happy Creating!

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Writing – Paranormal and Fantasy Fiction

26 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by selina in characters, Creative Writing, creativity, Dragons, Editing, fiction, Fiction Writing Courses, Paranormal

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David Farland, Fantasy Fiction Writing, Paranormal romance, Writing

soul seeker 1A couple of weeks ago a new character came into my imagination. I knew what she looked like and I had a good sense of who she was. It was like being visited by a the soul of a real person.

I grabbed my iPad, opened a new Scrivener project and jotted down everything I’d seen, heard, smelled and tasted in that first meeting. It got me excited because I loved this character immediately and I wanted to know more, to learn more and experience more of her paranormal/normal life. I wanted to learn more about the conflicts she has over her abilities and how her paranormal abilities complicate her career, her love life, her sense of self.

On and off since the first time she showed up, I’ve had visits from her and each time I learn a little more about who she is as a ‘real person’ in my imagination.

Then last night an antagonist walked out of the mist of my imagination and I saw exactly what he was wearing, the gate of his stride, the tilt of his fine boned face.

So once again, I opened my scrivener file and jotted what I’d experienced down. I don’t have his name yet but I’ve got the essence of who he is and the darkness that emanates from him in a seductive manner. And I know he is the opposing force to my female protagonist.

I love it when this type of thing happens. For me this is part of magic of writing fiction. I’m always learning and growing as a writer and story teller, and when a character comes forward and wants to be put down on the page, I get excited. It’s almost as if the character is whispering in my inner ear and I am writing their story from their perspective.

So, now I am a bit over three weeks away from my trip to the UK and I now have two stories growing inside my mind. After a period of feeling creatively fallow, these ideas are a delight.

One of my stories is a paranormal romance, which is probably my absolute favourite genre to write, and if this story goes the way I am plotting it, then it will be my third paranormal story with romance beats. I’m excited to write this story.

The second story is my fantasy novel which features dragons and a few humans that can use magic. I’m enjoying learning how to put an epic fantasy story together. I’m not yet sure how this story will go. Sometimes I feel frustrated that I don’t have all the puzzle pieces and other times I feel inspired by the ideas I have. Most of the time I am considering: How can I take this idea beyond cliche?

So far I have discovered writing a fantasy world is an in-depth adventure in itself. There is so much for me to think about, to brainstorm and to create. My thinking includes:

  • Characters – who is my protagonist, my antagonist and other roles
  • Conflicts – the major conflict and smaller conflicts for all characters and how they will play out
  • World building – there is so much involved in this part, sometimes I feel overwhelmed
  • Plotting how it will all pan out
  • Themes I want to touch on
  • Treatment – do I want to write this story from first person point of view or third person point of view?

So I am going to really enjoy my Fantasy Fiction writing course with David Farland in Oxford, and I am very much looking forward to learning about all the layers and nuances I need to consider to bring my ideas to life and create a believable fantasy fiction world that readers will want to experience via my characters.

When I return from the UK, I hope to finish writing these stories and to work on editing Tuppence Weatherstorm and The Living Death of Toddy James so that I can move them toward publication. It would be good move my writing to the next level, even if being published is a scary step.

 

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Phases of Writing my Novel – A Discovery

11 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by selina in characters, Creative Writing, creativity, Editing, fiction, Paranormal, Story, Wattpad

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creative writing, editing tips, Novel writing phases

IMG_1294

I’ve learned there are many phases of writing my novel. Some phases are challenging as I struggle to birth the words and scenes that will make my story come to life. And some phases are filled with excitement and joy as my creativity soars and the words spill onto the page without effort.

In this post I’m going to tell you about some of the phases I’ve been through so far as I have been writing my novel, Tuppence Weatherstorm.

Back in early 2016 I was sitting on the train on the way out of the city and gazing out the window. It was a hot and humid day. The sky was mottled gun metal grey and overcast.  The train pulled out of Fortitude Valley and my eyes came upon thee old brick buildings with pointed roofs. The brick work reminded me of a church I’d once seen and then my creative mind was off and racing.

The first character, not the main character, appeared inside my imagination. I opened my iPad and started to type what I saw. I grinned as he formed on the page and the setting grew around him. I had no idea where the scene was going but I knew he had appeared for a reason. And I knew it was the start of a story, so I decided to go for it.

What did I have to lose? Nothing. By giving my ideas space to breathe, I had everything to gain, so I plunged in and wrote as much as I could when I could.

This marked the beginning of the first draft phase of writing my novel.

It took me five months of writing, developing my characters, developing the plot, thinking about internal and external conflicts and considering the treatment I’d use to tell my story. For those who are not familiar with the term ‘treatment’, it means whether I’d write it in first person or third person close perspective.

At the time I was also experiencing a high level of anxiety and creative writing gave me a way to express all the things I couldn’t in my real life on the page.

This was also the ‘no self-censorship’ phase of my writing.

I gave myself permission to write as freely as my imagination would allow. I chased ideas down rabbit holes, filled my manuscript with cliches and wrote it on Wattpad.  This was a great fun phase as I received encouragement from the people who read my first draft as I wrote it and shared it with them. Their kind words and support meant the world to me and it still does. I feel blessed to have their input into my novel.

Once I’d finished my first draft of my novel, I had about 80,000 words and no idea on how to proceed.  I’d never got this far with a story before. So I contacted an editor and asked her to take a look at the manuscript and paid her for her time.

This was the editing report phase of writing my novel. 

It was a time of vulnerability for me which was probably heightened by the extreme levels of anxiety I was experiencing in my personal life at the time. But I sat on my hands and waited for my feedback.

I received the feedback and it was great. I received lots of comments, all geared toward helping me to write a stronger story.  The editing review looked at holes in character, plot structure, conflicts, treatment and theme. It gave me added insight into cutting cliches. Cutting overwriting. Cutting tangents.

I also learned that I was trying to write two stories at the same time. This meant that I was consciously writing a paranormal story but my subconscious was dealing with the theme of anxiety.

I hadn’t seen that in the manuscript and was grateful for that insight as it helped me to consider if anxiety was really the theme I wanted to focus on in the story.

It took me about a two months, nearly three of digesting the comments in the editing report before I was ready to start rewriting. The editing report was one of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve had in the process of writing my novel. I used their feedback to help move forward with rewriting. I took one comment at a time and tried to focus on what they had said and see how I could create a stronger story by using that knowledge.

The editing report comments were gold. Pure gold.

I still return to my editor’s comments because they help me to stay on track and focus so I no longer write tangents into my story.

This marked another phase of writing my novel. The second rewrite. 

It was time to do a thorough rewrite. I had to learn to write stronger verbs. I had to start cutting adverbs by 90%. I had to replace cliches with my original prose and come to terms with cutting all the tangents that did not move the plot forward.

I had to focus and tighten and learn to cut out repetition while shaping the plot around the changes. It was a challenging phase and at times I wondered if I’d ever get through it. This phase was akin to going up a grade and learning at a higher level.

Challenging is good.

But I admit, there were times when my anxiety grew into a monstrous entity in its own right. I had to see my psychologist about it and discuss the way my ‘monkey mind’ attempted to sabotage my creative writing. And that was very helpful.

This phase of rewriting took me about three months of focus. When I finally finished the last chapter, I was so happy. I’d made it. I’d not only written and finished the first draft – the bones of my story, but I’d done it a second time and now it had some muscle.

At this point I entered into my current phase of writing my novel… another rewrite! 

Basically, as soon as I finished my second draft, I circled back to the beginning of my story and started reading and writing again. This time I looked at how I could bring out the secondary characters and write the scenes in such a way as to bring out the paranormal themes.

This is the phase I’m in right now.

So, during the week, I focus on rewriting a chapter at a time. Usually this is on the train on the way to work or going home.  (I travel for an hour and 15 minutes each way and use my time to progress my novel or to read and learn).

Once I’ve added missing detail, brought out the senses and developed character circuitry and peeled back another layer of conflict, I move onto the next chapter.  At the end of the week I go through all the recent rewrites on my home computer.

I open Scrivener and use the speech tool to listen to what I’ve written. I found using the audio function helps me to pick up sentences that don’t sound right. I instantly pick up incorrect words and missing words too. It also helps me to hear the cadence and to correct it as I go.

So far I am half way through the third rewrite.  Once this phase of writing my novel is complete, my writing buddy in Melbourne will read the story for the first time and provide me with valuable feedback. He’s my next beta reader and I’ll be integrating his insights when I receive them.  So that’ll commence rewriting phase four.

Going forward, I know there are many more phases of writing my novel yet to come. So, to help me prepare, I have spent time brainstorming a list of editing topics that I will concentrate on as I keep combing through my story and polishing it.

Here are just a few of the editing topics I will be focusing on as I move forward with Tuppence Weatherstorm:

  1. Have I captured all the senses in my story?  Do I favour one or two of the senses over the others? If so, I need to write in the missing senses to help bring out the ‘show’ aspect of the story.When I say senses, I’m talking about: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch.
  2. Have I caught all the repetition in every scene?  What else can I cut or rewrite to build tension and suspense in the story and make it flow better?
  3. Are all of my character’s voices individual?  If not, I will need to go back and do more character work, maybe interview my characters until their voices surface and then write that into the manuscript.
  4. Do I have any words that repeat that I need to vary?  I already know that I like to use the word ‘scream’ a lot. I think that’ll be one for the search and rewrite list.
  5. Do I have ‘tell’ words rather than ‘show’ words in my prose?  I’ll be searching for the word ‘felt’ and doing my best to rewrite the sentence so I show what is happening to my character in the situation.

There are so many more editing topics on my list but I won’t put them up here until I’ve been through them. Some I can’t put up here as I’ve learned them through private courses and the method belongs to the teacher.  But I’ll give you what I can once I know it works.

So far, I’ve been writing Tuppence Weatherstorm for a year and three months. I think that’s pretty fast for me, even though at times it feels like an eternity.

People ask me how long does it take to write and publish a book?  

And I have to say, “I don’t know.”

Right now I’m doing the work. I haven’t got to the stage of publishing my novel yet. And I think every writer is different. Every story is unique and even though there may be deadlines, a story unfolds in its own time. At least that’s how I look at it right now.

What I do know is that once I’ve exhausted all of my editing topics on my list it will be time to submit my manuscript to my editor again. That will be another phase in the birthing of my story as I discover what else needs attention and continue the process of crafting and polishing.

When my story is ready for publication I know it will be the best I could do with the knowledge, experience and guidance I had at the time.

And that’s all I can hope for.

Happy writing and reading!

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Brisbane Fiction Writing Courses

16 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by selina in Courses, Creative Writing, Editing, fiction, Fiction Writing Courses, Story

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Brisbane Writers Workshop, creative writing, David Farland, Lauren Daniels, Writing a novel

Creative Writing Courses Brisbane 2016

There are two excellent quality creative/novel writing courses coming up in Brisbane in August and September, 2016.  I’m pretty excited and wanted to recommend them, just in case you have a book you’ve always wanted to write or know of someone who might like to enroll.

I’ve been personally taught by Lauren Daniels from Brisbane Writers Workshop and David Farland from My Story Doctor and I highly recommend both of them as teachers who can help you take your story ideas and bring them into a novel manuscript and assist you with taking steps toward publication.

I can’t recommend either of them highly enough.

Fiction blitz-2

3 Editors Set To Smash It: Fiction Blitz: 28 August

Who is running the course: Brisbane Writers Workshop and professional Editor, Lauren Daniels

Lauren Daniels is a professional writer and editor who has been working in the publishing industry since the ‘90s.  Most recently, her manuscript for her novel, ‘The Serpent’s Wake: A Fairy Tale for the Bitten’, was shortlisted with The Half the World Global Literati Award.

Lauren is the Senior Consulting Editor for Interactive Publications and the director of the Brisbane Writers’ Workshop.  She’s also edited over 60 fiction and non-fiction titles, many of which have attracted awards and recognition.

More details about her upcoming Brisbane Writers Workshop course can be found below:

When: Sunday 28th August 2016

Length of course: One day course

Cost: $165 per person

Venue: Arana Hills, QLD

What the course covers:

  • What the big publishers seek in a hook
  • Unpacking lingering questions about style and literary devices
  • Examining rhetorical devices
  • Characters: Quick—Make Them Stick!
  • Keep It Real: No Melodrama or Cliché, thanks
  • Themes that are not Love, Hate, Death or Illness
  • What Editors do.

This course will be run by three professional editors – Lauren Daniels, Josh Brockbank and Geneve Flynn.

Josh Brockbank is a freelance manuscript assessor with a track record in novels and memoir.  He has a BA in Journalism and has worked as a journalist for The Westender and Brisbane Arts Guide.  He’s passionate about writing and teaching too, and loves Crime Fiction, Realism and Magical Realism.

Geneve Flynn is a freelance editor with a love of speculative fiction.  She loves helping writers craft characters and stories that resonate with their readers.  And, very exciting, she’s been taught by Fiona McIntosh (who is one of my favourite Australian authors).

Max number of Attendees: 10

More info and website are listed in this review: http://www.weekendnotes.com/fiction-blitz-brisbane/

 

DF-profile-imageWriting Million Dollar Outlines with David Farland

Writing Stories that Sell  

Who is running the course: David Farland will be running this course.

About David Farland:  He’s an award-winning, New York Times bestselling writer in Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres, a professional Editor and author the Runelords series.  He’s also a judge for the Writers of the Future competition, and he’s been a green light analyst for Hollywood movies as well as a story consultant in the games industry.

And now, he’s coming to Australia (from the US) specifically to teach us how to write stories that sell through developing outlines aimed at a wide audience.  He’ll be teaching in Brisbane – Writing Million Dollar Outlines, and then he’ll be teaching in Sydney – Writing Enchanting Prose.

More details about his Brisbane course are below:

When: Monday 19th to Thursday 22nd September 2016

Length of course:  Four day course – 9am to 5pm

Cost: $599 USD per person

Venue: Virginia, QLD

What the course covers:

  • What makes a bestselling story
  • Audience analysis with a focus on how to write to a wider audience so your stories will capture more readers
  • What is a story and why people read them
  • Elements of story
  • Brainstorming settings
  • How to build characters and the roles they play
  • Themes
  • Plotting and plot devices
  • And heaps more – too much for me to mention here.

This course will be run exclusively by David Farland and it doesn’t matter what genre you would like to write in, he can help.

Max No of Attendees: 16

More info and website are listed in this review: http://www.weekendnotes.com/writing-million-dollar-outlines-david-farland/

I hope these course recommendations help you bring your creative dreams to fruition.

Happy creative writing!

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Lauren Daniels notes from the Writers Group Convention 2016 Presentation

08 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by selina in Creative Writing, Editing, fiction, Story

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Brisbane Writers Workshop, creative writing, Editors, fiction, Marketing, Synopsis

Lauren Daniels of the Brisbane Writers Workshop gave an excellent talk at the Writers Group Convention 2016 on the following topics:

  • The Marketing Side: 3 Elements of Your Publishing Pitch
  • 7 Tips: Strong Synopsis
  • Unpacking the Editor: What You Can Expect

I recommend checking out this blog post (link below) from the Writers Group Convention 2016 to find out more.

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Lauren Daniels, BA MFA Creative Writing

***

Thanks to Lauren Daniels of the Brisbane Writers Workshop for her excellent talk at the Writers Group Convention 2016. The Marketing Side: 3 Elements of Your Publishing Pitch Bio, marketing platfor…

Source: Lauren Daniels notes from Sunday 31st August 2016

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Fiction Blitz with Brisbane Writers’ Workshop

25 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by selina in Creative Writing, Editing, Fiction Writing Courses, Story

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Brisbane Writers Workshop, characters, creative writing, enneagram, fiction, Lauren Daniels, Writing Courses, writing novels

old_typewriter_184617

Image from Brisbane Writers’ Workshop

On Sunday 28th August 2016, I’ll be heading off to a Fiction Blitz workshop with Brisbane Writers’ Workshop.

I’m pretty excited because every time I attend a course run by Lauren Daniels and Josh Brockbank, I come away with a sense of creative delight, new ways of approaching story and practical tools that I can apply immediately to whatever I am working on.

Over the years, as I have continued to study how to write stories that pull a reader deeper and deeper into the life and conflicts of my characters, I have picked up numerous practical tips from the Brisbane Writers’ Workshop.   I’ve found that they make you feel welcome and your stories are valid and worthwhile no matter what you’re creative writing passion.

If I’ve not understood an aspect of the world of writing fiction, I found I could safely ask my questions of Lauren and Josh, and they were more than happy to help me develop my understanding.  They give lots of relevant examples and help writers pick up skills to apply to their creative writing projects.

Since attending one day courses with Brisbane Writers’ Workshop, I’ve learned so much, it’s hard to list out.  But here’s a few of the things I’ve pick up along the way:

  • The basics of writing a novel with rising action and tension.
  • How to unleash my own creative voice through simple writing prompts.
  • How to bring characters to life on the page by exploring their flaws and exploiting them, then writing those flaws into scenes where the characters are faced with the very thing they don’t want to admit about themselves.
  • How to use the enneagram to create complex character behavioural traits that live on in the minds of readers long after the last page has been read.
  • How to take an archetype and go beyond writing cliche characters.  Actually, this was one of the most interesting writing exercises I’ve done in a while and it sparked my imagination in new ways.  I’ve thought a great deal about ways I could use archetypes to write fulfilling characters in my own stories since doing this exercise.
  • And, I’ve learned about characterisation, voice, point of view, theme, narration, character roles, and heaps more.

Lauren Daniel and Josh Brockbank have introduced me to new ways of thinking about creative writing and helped me to grow into my own creative writing style.  Thanks so much for their ongoing support and dedication to creative writers.

So, yeah, I’m really looking forward to attending the next course in August because I always come away from the Brisbane Writers’ Workshop with a lively sense of excitement and creative drive that filters into my stories as I actively apply what I’ve learned from the course.

This next course, Fiction Blitz is going to focus on how to write hooks and style, and literary devices. And we’re going to examine the subtlety of rhetorical devices which is a relief because I really need to learn about that!  Especially as I’m close to finishing a novel and starting on the editing phase.

Anyway, if you’re interested in attending a Brisbane Writers’ Workshop or want to find out more, I suggest you check out their website.

Happy writing.  May your characters live long in the minds of your readers!

 

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