Mechanics of Story Workshops
Bringing a Story to Life: Description and Setting
Description is one of the fundamental elements in storytelling and has multiple functions. We use it to ground and set a story in place and time, build character, mood, tension and suspense, shift pace, add plausibility, provide metaphors and deepen thematic exploration.
In this workshop we’ll be asking ourselves. What more a scene is trying to tell us? How does description can act as metaphor, an expression of a universal truth, a human emotion, a philosophical idea? And how can we use description to transport our readers into the world of the story.
Learning Outcomes
Through a combination of discussion, readings and exercises we will:
explore ways to create a convincing setting that enriches our stories.
learn how to use description to transport our readers in the world of the story.
understand the range of functions descriptions has and how to use them effectively.
Famous First Words: Getting Started on Your Story
Where do you start your story? And how? Openings need to be intriguing, they need to seduce us, startle us, make our spirits lift with anticipation or make us sigh with the beauty of their description. In short, they need to draw us into the story, in whatever way they can, hooking the reader and making sure they keep turning the pages.
In this workshop we’ll explore the various functions of openings, examine some of the greatest opening lines, and explore a range of tools for writing a compelling opening as well as a number of different approaches to openings depending on the genre and style of a project. And crucially we also look at how to take the seeds of an idea, choose where to start and begin grounding it in narrative.
Learning Outcomes
Through discussion, readings and writing exercises we will:
Learn the tools needed to write a compelling opening
Learn how to choose an effective place to begin a story
Learn how to take an abstract idea and ground it in narrative
Telling Talk: The Art of Writing Dialogue
Whether you're writing a screen or stage play, a novel, memoir or short story, dialogue is a powerful tool for revealing character, imparting information and advancing plot. It’s not just what your character says, it’s how they say it, their words, the tone, the gestures and the context in which they’re talking. Effective dialogue helps to bring a story to life, shifting the emphasis from telling to action, and in so doing, building pace, intensifying conflict and communicating themes.
In this workshop we will explore everything from grammar to working with the unspoken, to grounding dialogue in setting, in order to create unique characters and credible stories.
Learning Outcomes
Through discussions, readings and writing exercises we will:
learn techniques for improving your dialogue skills
learn when and where to use dialogue in your writing
Learn the correct grammar and layout for dialogue
Learn how to create unique dialogue for each character
Creating Credible Characters
Whether we are writing a screen or stage play, a novel, memoir or short story, characterisation is an important element that infuses much of the narrative and drives the plot. But how do we create credible three-dimensional characters that emotionally engage our readers?
In this one-day workshop we explore a range of technical tools for creating nuanced credible characters, dig into the role of conflict in story development, as well as the motivations that drive character behaviour, and the factors that enable the character to change and develop through the course of a story.
Learning Outcomes
Through discussions, readings and writing exercises we will:
Learn how to develop a credible and complex character
Learn how to use dialogue and description to enhance character
Learn how a character’s desires and fears drive the plot direction
Learn about the character arc
Working with Point of View, Perspective and Voice
First person, second, third, close-up, distant, witness . . . whether we’re writing fiction or narrative non-fiction, every story requires us to make choices regarding point of view, perspective and voice. Together, these three elements make up the lens through which a story is told.
· Whose eyes do we want to tell our story through?
· How much do our characters know?
· Are they telling the truth?
· What unique perspective does each character bring to a story.
Learning Outcomes
Through discussion, readings and writing exercises we will:
Explore a range of points of view
Learn how different perspectives change the emphasis of a story
Learn how to create an unreliable narrator
Experiment with developing a compelling and characterful narrative voice.
Writing Action: The Art of Showing Not Telling
Whether you're writing fiction or narrative non-fiction, action is a fundamental element of story, moving the plot forward, creating pace and revealing character. We often think of action as only the big events – a birth, a wedding, a murder, a car chase . . . but action also plays an important role in helping more static scenes flow easily, such as ones which involve contemplation or conversation.
In this workshop you’ll learn how to bring to life the big dramas as well as the simple moments in your stories in order to engage your readers and create compelling stories.
Learning Outcomes
Through discussions, readings and writing exercises we will:
Learn how to write compelling scenes
Learn techniques for showing not telling
Learn how to vary pace to build tension
Time Travel: The Art of the Flashback
Whether you’re writing fiction or creative non-fiction, working with short stories, full length novels or screen plays, flashbacks are a commonly used technical device. They provide crucial backstory about the plot and characters, as well as ease the monotony of a linear story structure.
A flashback can be written as a full scene, a partial scene or simply as a quick summary of a memory. It can be a hint of something to add texture and help build a nuanced character or it can be a major thread in a story. However, they’re used flashbacks are an important device to enrich our plots and deepen our characters.
Learning Outcomes
Through discussions, readings and writing exercises we will:
Learn what flashbacks add to a story and when they are needed.
Learn techniques to seamlessly weave flashbacks into your stories
Learn how to use flashbacks to create more complex characters
The Art of the Short Story
Short stories are hugely diverse in genre, style and structure and can be anything from a few words to just short of a novella. While the short story shares some techniques with longer forms, it is an art form of its own.
In this workshops we will explore a range of story structures, forms and styles, work with conflict and contrast to build tension, and experiment with epiphany and turning points as catalysts for story.
Learning Outcomes
Through readings, discussion and exercises, we will
Learn a range of short story techniques and how to employ them in your own stories
Learn a range of short story structures and styles
Learn how to use turning points and epiphany as catalysts for your story.
The Art of the Novel
Ten month course
Writing a novel is an immensely rewarding experience but it’s also a long and often lonely process and many people give up along the way. This online or face-to-face course will get you started on that novel you’ve always wanted to write or help kickstart a novel you’re bogged down with.
Limited to a maximum of ten participants, this interactive course is designed to give you support and encouragement, regular deadlines, constructive feedback and an understanding of the craft of writing a novel of any genre. You’ll engage with a community of writers all working to the same goal.
You’ll receive help formulating your idea, explore ways to hook your reader from the beginning, learn how to develop credible characters, work with point of view, write action, create an authentic setting, build tension, work with backstory and use turning points to move the plot forward.
Learning Outcomes
Learn a range of genre conventions
Develop the techniques and tools needed to create a novel
Gain an understanding of the publishing industry and pathways to publishing.
Learn revision/editing skills – developmental and copyediting
Learn how to give and receive constructive feedback
Establish a regular and sustainable writing practice
The Art of the Memoir
Ten month course
Life Writing is more than putting facts onto paper. It involves delving into the past, making meaning from it, and bringing it to life for the reader. The overarching frame of our lives from birth to death is too broad a canvas from which to create meaning, so through story we create smaller frames that make sense of our lesser transitions and turning points, thereby helping us to see the cause and effect at play in our lives and to uncover our purpose.
Limited to a maximum of ten participants, this interactive course is designed to give you support and encouragement, regular deadlines, constructive feedback and an understanding of the craft of writing a novel of any genre. You’ll engage with a community of writers all working to the same goal.
This course is designed to enable you to identify and explore some of the stories that form your identity, as well as cause and effect threads and transitional points in your life, so that you can see the patterns, understand their purpose and document your life in creative ways.
Learning Outcomes
Apply creative writing tools, such as voice, structure, character and tension, to life writing
Recognise personal themes and narratives that shape your stories
Deepen your understanding of memory, perspective and narrative truth
Gain an understanding of the publishing industry and pathways to publishing
Revise work using practical editing tools and feedback strategies
Establish a regular and sustainable writing practice
Each workshop is designed to be accessible to all levels of experience.
Each workshop can be run over two hours, a half day or a full day.
The Art of the Novel and The Art of Memoir courses are run over a ten month period.
You can find upcoming workshops on the Events page.
If you would like me to run one or more of the workshops for your writing group, festival or other event, get in touch.