How to find your way out of the writing forest whether you're a plotter, a pantser or a plantser, so you can flourish and publish.

You've embarked on a writing project. Or you're about to. Or you will do, just as soon as you finish cleaning the kitchen/listening to that amazing new podcast/downloading every how-to book you can find.

The truth is, you're a little lost, or a little stuck. Apparently there's a forest here but all you can see is leaves and branches. Should you plot everything out? Make some more spreadsheets? Character interviews? Or just write wildly by the seat of your pants and trust it will all work out?

In this three hour workshop acclaimed author Dr Kathryn Heyman will help you find a way of navigating what slows a plot down, be it characterisation, you, the writer, or the overall story. Kathryn will share her experiences and the strategies, exercises and solutions she’s used in her own work and to help hundreds of writers overcome obstacles in your manuscript, and life, in order to flourish and get to The End.

Participants will:

• learn how to recognise the importance of your character's internal obstacles to propel the story and plot
• learn what questions you need to ask of your project in order to know where you're going, and how to get there
• discover exercises to implement to overcome internal and external obstacles
• honour character/setting conflict in your writing, allowing it to transform your story
• develop strategies and techniques for getting into creative flow, whether it's your first word or final edit

Suitable for emerging writers, or anyone just feeling a little stuck on their current project. 

—Online events are easy to access! You will need an internet connection and (ideally) a device with a camera – computers/laptops or even phones can be used to dial in. You will be sent a link to join a few days before the event. The link will take you to a private digital meeting where you can join the session. You can test the link at any time to ensure you can log in. Please respect the other participants in your event and mute your microphone at all times while the presenter is presenting. Background noise in houses such as TVs, pets and children can affect the sound quality.

About Dr Kathryn Heyman

Dr Kathryn Heyman is the author of six novels and the acclaimed memoir Fury. Her previous work has won the Wingate, Southern Arts Award, Arts Council of England Writing Award and the Hallam Prize in the UK and been listed for awards including the Scottish Writer of the Year, the Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize for Fiction), the Edinburgh Fringe Critic's Awards, the Kibble Prize and the West Australian Premier’s Literary Awards. Kathryn won the CAL Author Fellowship for Fury, which was shortlisted for the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and has been optioned for screen. She is the director of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program.

Members $88 / Non-members $140

This workshop will be delivered via Zoom. Instructions will be emailed to you, please check your spam/junk folders.

—Writers SA members must be logged in to receive the member discount. If you are a member of another state based writers centre, please contact [email protected] at least five working days before the event to get a code for the member price. Our staff don’t work full time and we don’t want you to miss out!