Brisbane Art of Writing Retreat.
February 9-12, 2023.
The Essentials of Writing.
All sessions conducted at West Village.
Welcome drinks, finger food, and opening aperitivo.
Daily workshops, all tuition, zoom lectures, handouts, and folders.
Hearty morning tea and coffee, sandwiches, and cakes served daily.
3 Days + 1 Night Workshop.
COST: $1,300
Speakers and guest lecturers:
Lisa Clifford
Laurel Cohn
Literary agent Alex Adsett
Bernadette Foley (by Zoom)
Tabitha Bird, top-selling author
Please note this program does not include accommodation or travel transfers
Thursday, February 9th
1800
Welcome Aperitvo at West End Village
Meet your fellow writers over wine and aperitif yummies. Introduction to Lisa Clifford, you, your work and the days ahead.
Friday, February 10th
9:30 – 11:00
Turn the Page THE ESSENTIALS OF STORY and HOW TO MAKE YOUR READERS CARE.
Lisa Clifford.
We all adore stories. It's human nature to love a good yarn. Your story might be a novel, a memoir, or a plotline that’s stalled. Perhaps you need time to dream about the seed of an idea, or there's a blog you want to improve: this class is about refining your storytelling skills. Designed to bring your writing to life, we'll nail down the essentials of story.
11:00 – 11:30
Morning break, coffee and tea provided.
11:30-1300
(12:30 Sydney time)
How to make your characters sing from the page with guest tutor, Bernadette Foley from Broadcast Books.
This is the fun part! Character foundation looks at the meat and bones of your character. How and why they are who they are. Understanding your protagonist is imperative. Any tiny reaction or response that is OOC (Out of Character) undermines your entire story. Whether you are nutting out a new character, cultivating an existing one or editing your final manuscript this class is the lynchpin to a good book because character is key.
13:00-14:00
Lunch break
14:00-15:30
Sense of Place in-person with Lisa Clifford
Learn how to add authenticity to your settings and characters, create atmospheres and articulate descriptions that show, not just tell, your reader’s location through its sounds, touch, smells and tastes.
Saturday, February 11th
09:30-1100
The Art of Memoir Lisa Clifford.
Learn how to collect, collate and recount your own story. Using examples from Lisa’s best-selling memoir The Promise, explore how to focus on the story without digressing. What have you overcome? How has your life changed you? Every memoir has a distinct arc. What’s yours? What to leave in or cut? How to transform fragments of memories into great chapters.
11:00 – 11:30
Morning break
Coffee, tea, sandwiches and cake provided.
11:30-1300
Lisa Clifford Setting the Scene, Point of View, Dialogue, Themes, Suspense.
Group discussion and writing exercises.
What’s blocking your writing? And how do we fix that?
13:00-14:00
Lunch break
14:00-15:30
Tabitha Bird Guest writer and lecturer:
Play with Purpose.
Penguin Random House magical realism novelist Tabitha takes us through how writing is not only about creating stories, but also about using your unique sense of wonder and personal history to give your work an emotional punch. In this workshop, we’ll explore the power of our own stories to create deeply meaningful fiction that inspires others to use their imagination. Tabitha Bird will walk participants through a series of out-of-the-box exercises designed to ignite your imagination, embrace the importance of play in the practice of writing and move past any feelings of being ‘stuck’ in your work. You are invited to explore joyous, hands-on activities using all your senses to create story. In the process, we’ll unearth the emotional truth in your own lived experiences to add emotional resonance to your fictional world.
Sunday, February 12th
09:00-10:30
Laurel Cohn, Story Structure
A story is like a creature. Whether it resembles a human with two arms, two legs and one head, or has a multitude of limbs and unusual features, it needs to be able to stand on its own and deliver its creator's intent. This session explores foundational principles of story structure and why they matter. Laurel also introduces tools and strategies for writers to check their story has the key elements required to carry a compelling story.
10:30- 11:00
Morning break
Coffee and tea, sandwiches and cake provided
11:00-12:30
The Art of Balancing Backstory:
Laurel Cohn shows us how to resist the temptation of using a slab of backstory rather than artfully placing our character's history throughout our story. The how, when, where and why to including past in our text.
12:30-13:30
Lunch break
13:30 – 15:00
Guest Literary Agent, Alex Adsett
Discussion and Q and A
As a literary agent, Alex is always seeking amazing manuscripts, with a focus on fiction and narrative non-fiction, especially SFF, crime and romance, for all ages from picture books to adults. She is proud to represent an outstanding stable of authors. Let’s chat with Alex about what she’d like to see in your manuscript and what are the major problems she sees in submissions.