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ESSENTIAL INFO
If you purchase a ticket for this course, all the information on this page will be emailed to you with your ticket.
👥 Suitable for: Ages 16 and up
📍 Venue: Bellingen High School (mobility aid accessible)
📈 Level: Suitable for all skill levels
⏰ Schedule: Mon–Fri, 9am – 12pm (5 Half-Days)
⚠️ Extra info: This course involves walking excursions into Bellingen, an approximate 15 minute walk.
Required skills & experience
This course is for writers who are taking the first steps in your craft. You might be a complete novice, or you may have been writing stories for some time and are ready to take the next steps.
In either case, all that is expected of you is a willingness to write to creative prompts; spend a short time outside of class hours to further flesh-out your work ahead of the next day's class; and to share your writing with others.
Supplies that you need to bring to class
Pens
Notebook
Learning outcomes
A Portfolio of New Material: Several drafted scenes, fleshed-out character profiles, and sensory setting descriptions generated from our targeted in-class exercises and field trips.
Core Narrative Mechanics: A practical understanding of how to build a story, with hands-on experience navigating point-of-view (POV), pacing, tense, and tone.
Editorial Confidence: The ability to look at your own work objectively. You will learn the difference between structural editing and fine-tooth line editing, as well as the invaluable skill of giving and receiving constructive feedback in a workshop setting.
A Printed "Writer's Toolkit" Booklet: To ensure you can continue honing your craft long after Camp Creative ends, you will receive a take-home booklet featuring writing prompts, structural guides, and editing checklists.
COURSE PLAN
Note: Students are encouraged to spend a short time outside of class hours each afternoon fleshing out their daily work to share the next day.
DAY ONE - Foundations and First Steps
Introductions: The course will begin with the Camp Creative safety induction, before moving into simple ice-breakers: Where are you from? What led you to writing? Who are your favourite authors?
Genre Discussions: An open conversation about the bedrock of storytelling, exploring different genres and finding what inspires you.
The Initial Momentum: Our first targeted in-class writing prompt to loosen up and get pen to paper.
Sharing & "Homework": An introduction to creating a safe space for sharing our writing, and setting intentions for brief, out-of-hours writing.
DAY TWO - Character Creation and Narrative Voice
Building Characters: Discussing the mechanics of complex character creation and how to hone your unique narrative voice.
Field Trip: Hitting the Bellingen streets! We will use the town as a real-world laboratory to observe people, behaviours, and spark authentic character ideas.
Drafting: Returning to the classroom to write a character-driven scene based on your field trip observations, followed by group sharing.
DAY THREE - Setting the Scene and Story Arcs
World-Building & Arcs: Exploring how to craft immersive settings and map out compelling story arcs and pacing.
Field Trip: A second outdoor creative exercise, finding a quiet spot in town to focus on sensory details and ground your narrative in a physical space.
Connecting the Dots: In-class writing time dedicated to placing your characters from Day 2 into your newly developed setting to kickstart a larger narrative.
DAY FOUR - Story Structure and Workshopping
The Mechanics: A deep dive into story structure, focusing heavily on tense, point-of-view (POV), pacing and tone.
POV Exercise: A targeted writing prompt challenging you to rewrite a scene from a completely different perspective or tense.
The Rewards of Workshopping: Learning how to give and receive constructive feedback. We will share the scenes we have been fleshing out overnight in a group environment.
DAY FIVE - Editing and the Writer's Toolkit
The Fine-Tooth Comb: Tackling the realities of the editing process. We will discuss the crucial differences between structural editing (the big picture) and line editing (the finer details).
Revision: Time dedicated to actively editing and refining the drafts you've built throughout the week.
Final Sharing & The Toolkit: A final round of sharing our polished work. Participants will gather up their notes and exercises to compile a practical "writer's toolkit" to continue evolving their craft long after Camp Creative ends.
COURSE TUTOR
Adam Norris
Adam is the Artistic Director of the Bellingen Readers & Writers Festival, compiling the full festival program every year since 2020. He is also an international judge for NYC Midnight; a series of regular short-story competitions across every genre with thousands of submissions from across the globe.
His own fiction has been published internationally, including his International Nature of Cities-shortlisted story, 'The Coastal Age', while his novella 'One Black Stone' was published in Australia by Pan Macmillan.
He has previously taught Creative Writing classes at the WEA Community College, Wollongong.
