Fiction Mining: Where to find the inspiration to start writing
with Carrie Tiffany
24 October - 1 December 2012
East Melbourne Library
122 George Street
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Allen & Unwin
406 Albert St
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Course fee: $975 (inc. GST)
Maximum of 15 students
Are you contemplating writing a novel? Are you underway on a novel that has struck rock? Writing is much easier when you are 'uncovering' the story rather than inventing it. This course will explore where ideas come from, and how they can be identified and given life on the page.
Writing exercises that stimulate memory will help participants to recognise their unique concerns and experiences. Lectures and discussions on voice, character, point of view, place and plot will support the leap into fiction.
The course will encourage both emerging and more experienced writers to be alert to the patterns in their daily lives, and to create story from the materials around them – family histories, found dialogue, diaries, dreams, letters, lists, recipes and pictures.
Practical writing exercises, demonstrations, lectures and discussions will be used to inspire and encourage you to write and to stay with the project until you have a finished work.
About the Course Directors
Carrie Tiffany was born in West Yorkshire and grew up in Western Australia. She spent her early twenties working as a park ranger in the Northern Territory and now lives in Melbourne where she works as an agricultural journalist. Her first novel, Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living, was published in the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. In 2006 it was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Guardian First Book Award, and was the winner of the Western Australian Premier's Fiction Prize. Her second novel, Mateship with Birds, will be published in February 2012. Carrie has a MA in Creative Writing from RMIT and has taught at the University of Melbourne and RMIT. Her essays and short stories have appeared in The Times, The Age, Australian Book Review, Overland, Penguin Summer Stories, HEAT and The Griffith Review.
Please note in the event of unforeseen circumstances, courses - including tutors and venues - may be subject to cancellation or change.
Course Program
The course consists of:
6 x evening sessions |
6.30-8.30pm Wednesdays |
1 x full-day session |
10am - 4pm Saturday |
The following content is a guide only and may be adjusted according to the experience and interests of participants, and the availability of guest writers. The detail of the course content is at the discretion of the Course Directors and Faber Academy at Allen & Unwin.
Session 1 : Wednesday 24 October
Why do you want to write and what do you want to write about?
Session 2 : Wednesday 31 October
Gathering your Materials
Session 3 : Wednesday 7 November
Building your Characters
Session 4 : Wednesday 14 November
Scratching Out a Plot
Session 5 : Wednesday 21 November
Voice and Point of View
Session 6 : Wednesday 28 November
Getting Place on the Page
Session 7 : Saturday 1 December (Allen & Unwin office)
Writing Dialogue
Editing Your Own Work
How to Make a Booking
Applicants are requested to submit a paragraph detailing their writing experience and a one page outline of their intended work, together with an application form. This information is used to tailor course content only and participants are free to change their intended work prior to course commencement.
To secure your booking, please forward your application by e-mail to faberacademy@allenandunwin.com or post to Faber Academy, PO Box 8500, St Leonards, NSW, 1590.
For further information, please contact Edwina Johnson on (02) 8425 0171 or Isabella Penna on (02) 8425 0100 or email faberacademy@allenandunwin.com.
Download the application form (PDF)
Please note that, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, venues may be changed or courses may be subject to cancellation.
