Student testimonials | Student in the spotlight
Student testimonials
Writing a Novel (Sydney 2011)
The Faber Academy Novel Writing course gave me a much needed framework and deadlines to work seriously on my novel with the benefit of proper feedback from experienced novelists. Listening to the guest authors reveal their writing processes and offer practical advice to new writers was priceless. Almost as importantly, the weekly meetings and day workshops with other attendees, all grappling with their own books, dispersed a little of the loneliness of writing and became a kind of mutual therapy that I think we all missed very much when the course ended.
Joanne Riccioni
This is a great writing course. Inspiring and practical and full of wisdom and fun. It was a privilege to learn from great teachers and share with wonderful fellow writers.
Liz Jurman
I think I can speak for everyone in saying that this course has really been more than a course. In 6 unforgettable months, James and Kathryn have carefully delivered to us the essential tools required to fully articulate those nagging ideas circling in our souls. They have enabled us to plan and move forward with manuscripts that now have a hope of coming to life. It is not only this gift but the way in which they achieved this that has made it so significant ... honest and encouraging, there has been humour and pain in equal measure ... and patient accommodation of individual struggles both professional and personal It's been epic, it's been dramatic, it's been confronting, it's been great. Tuesday nights have never been so rewarding nor any Saturday so inspiring. Thank you.
Lyn McDonald
Like every other aspect of the course, and putting aside the brilliance of James and Kathryn, the organisation and delivery over the past six months has been flawless. Faber Academy empowers you to write and think like a writer. The question for me is no longer if I will finish my book, but when.
Luke Sullivan
I benefited from having somewhere I needed to show up every Tuesday night! The simple act of attending class held me more accountable to the writing process than I tend to hold myself. James shared valuable insights into his writing process and provided support and encouragement unstintingly.
Sally Gibbons
I found Kathryn to be funny, wise, professional and highly skilled at teaching the craft. I think she is a gifted teacher. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this course to a friend. It was much better than any university course I've done.
Barbara Hatten
The organization was very professional but also very friendly and relaxed and I appreciated that.
Jacqueline Stack
Transworld acquires Faber Academy alumnus:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/transworld-acquires-faber-academy-alumnus.html
S J Watson’s novel picked up by literary agent through Faber Course
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/09/13/3316597.htm
Student in the Spotlight: Jane Riley
What's your writing background?
While my professional background has always involved writing in some form – from media releases to magazine articles, I've always dabbled in creative writing ever since I was young. I have a drawer full of what I call my 'scratchings' and some completed novels – for me writing fiction is compulsive!
What attracted you to the Writing a Novel course?
For several years, I toyed with doing a Masters in Creative Writing but family and work commitments stopped me from applying. This course seemed perfect in terms of what it was offering and its length. I was keen to learn the craft properly and be around other like-minded writers.
Tell us about the piece of writing you've been working on.
[It] is a semi-literary novel about an 80-year-old butterfly collector, Jack Carpenter, who can't stop grieving for his wife and 26-year-old Eloise Burgess who is searching for a more fulfilled and happy life. When circumstances bring them together, they form an unlikely friendship that impacts them in ways they could never have imagined. It is in a similar vein to Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti (but without the love story) and Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomon.
Did your direction/ideas/plans change much during the course?
No they didn't. In fact, the course spurred me on to keep going and gave me the inspiration and enthusiasm to continue with what I wanted to write.
What was the single best piece of advice you received during the course?
That's a hard one as there were so many – from the technical aspects of writing your work at both a macro and micro level to the final editing. If I had to pick one, it would be one that's been said before but I can vouch for it as being a really good one and that is to just keep on writing and push away self-doubt. It's amazing the sense of achievement you get at seeing the page numbers rise and then suddenly you've written a first draft!
Describe your ultimate dream writing workshop.
I'd love to say that my ultimate dream writing workshop would be held in Italy but fear the location might be too distracting! I'd love to have writers whose work I admire and enjoy teach such as Kate Granville, Lionel Shriver, Julian Barnes, Roddy Doyle, Tim Winton to name a few. Attendees would be a couple of writer friends and my Faber Academy writing group.
Jane is a freelance magazine writer and editor who has worked in public relations, television and publishing. She was born in Auckland, lives in Sydney and writes anywhere.
