A 5-month program for writers working towards completing their first full length manuscript

February–June 2018

Are you looking for structured support and a strong peer network to help you finish your book? Writers SA's First Draft program provides fortnightly writing group meetings, a tailored workshop series, professional feedback and consultations, and peer-group support to keep you on track to complete your first draft by halfway through the year.

This program is suitable for anyone working on a long-form writing project, including fiction and narrative nonfiction in any genre, including poetry.

with Sandy Vaile

Where did your character come from and what made them the person they are in your book? What events led to the situation they're in right now? Compelling backstories are important to create three-dimensional characters and worlds, yet often it's easy to fall into the trap of information dumps or boring exposition.

This workshop will give you the tools to develop a rich backstory, determine which parts are relevant to the reader, and how to release it in a way that drives a compelling main story.

with Jennifer Mills

Do you have an idea for a novel, but don’t know where to begin? Started to write, and stalled because you can’t see how to proceed?

This full day workshop with one of Australia’s finest fiction writers will help you learn the practical skills you need in the early stages of a book: approaching that daunting first draft, developing voice and character, understanding structure and planning, and making your writing practice sustainable.

with Trish Morey and Clare Connelly

Category romance novels are a form of commercial fiction that includes many sub-genres of romance, and they're usually about 200 pages long. They're an immensely popular type of book, and they're certainly not going anywhere.

Telling a love story that packs an emotional punch in only 50,000 words is an art form, and can be a financially successful one. What are the rules/tools of writing really great category romances, and how do you go about getting published, traditionally or indie? What are the different lines, and their requirements, and how should you start working out which you’re best suited to write?

For anyone who’s flirted with the idea of writing for this satisfying form of storytelling, this one-day course will answer all your questions and arm you with the tools you’ll need to give it a go! With insights into publishing trends and the realities of this kind of career, come along and meet two authors who are passionate about category romance!

Do you struggle to find time to write? Are you too distracted by the Book of Face or binge-watching TV series? Do you ever think to yourself, ‘If only I just had a solid day to write, I’d get so much done’? Then TWELVE, the literary lock-in, is for you. 

"TWELVE" means no excuses, no limits, no distractions. Crank your writing projects up to boiling point with twelve hours of uninterrupted writing. You’ll be surprised how much you can get done.

Whether you’re starting a novel, finishing a work-in-progress, or just looking for time to focus, TWELVE is the way to do it.

with Victoria Purman

More than simply a conversation between characters, dialogue is a powerful tool that reveals story, character, and history, and sets the tone for your book. But how do you translate spoken dialogue to the page? And how do you make characters sound like real people, and not cardboard cut-outs?