The Creative Arts Course Summer School of Australia

In a friendly and encouraging atmosphere you will learn how to get started with your writing as well as learn the craft of writing such as characterization, plot, theme, structure, scenes and narrative, point of view, dialogue and description.
You will also learn to edit your work and prepare the manuscript for publication.
There will be readings, writing exercises and discussion. Although classes will deal primarily with writing short stories of short pieces of prose, longer pieces, including novels, feature film scripts, short film scripts and poetry will be discussed.

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LIFE STORIES is like no other writing course you will ever attend and for many it becomes a spiritual journey, a profound discovery of self. You will learn how to record your life with passion and honesty, and by the time Camp Creative is over, you will have an awareness of yourself in relation to others that you could not have imagined when you began. You will share your stories with the group, and as you do, you will realise that everyone’s journey is the same, only the details differ. You will be encouraged to discard ‘should’ and embrace ‘what if’, to go beyond the conventions, so that your life story is innovatively told and lively in its presentation. Many students say they have tried to write their stories many times, but failed. This course will explain why some attempts don’t succeed and will show you how to touch others profoundly through your writing. It is an intense and challenging course that is sometimes confronting. It is also empowering, sometimes hilarious, and always uplifting. I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Course is full

Writing nature poetry - renewing the tradition. In one of the most beautiful parts of Australia, the group will work creatively with language and the direct experience of natural environments. We will encourage each other to find individual styles and approaches and attempt to renew the tradition of the nature poem through positive critique and feedback. Short discussions on past forms of nature poetry and member's favourite examples will lead to writing in various styles, from haiku to forms of eco-poetry and close with a group reading. The
workshop will be fun with an encouraging atmosphere which will guarantee fascinating results for all.

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Are you interested in people? Would you like to be able capture their essence in words, whether for journalism, a novel, family history or memoir?

In this course, you can learn how to:
• write profiles of people, whether family, friends, interview subjects or book characters
• observe and interview people, and capture the results in words
• develop character descriptions, profiles and essential traits
• locate people in their environment and their life experiences

The course will help you to write profiles of people (whether real or imagined) in a lively and interesting way – useful, even essential, for both factual and fiction writing. Learn what research you need to do, what questions to ask, and how to use the answers to create a telling story.

The course will work closely with the PEOPLE PORTRAITS IN PICTURES course to create a suite of pictures and stories of people. The combined results will create a "Week in the Life of Bellingen" study of people in their environment.

We’ll be out-and-about, talking to locals and visitors, working with their stories and using these experiences to highlight the key features of effective and interesting writing about people. This is a practical program and you’ll be encouraged to write and finish something - but the emphasis is on inspiring you, rather than scaring you witless. All you need to bring is enthusiasm and a willingness to send your inner critic out for a long lunch while you have some fun and try out new skills.

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