The Writer's Toolkit

Stuff you need to know
Three full day craft workshops over two weekends with Tony Maniaty for non-fiction, Ariella Van Luyn for Fiction and Linda Nix for Editing.
The Writer's Toolkit focusses on a complete preparation for writers, from crafting great work to understanding the whole editing process and learning how to successfully self edit.
About the workshops...
Non-Fiction with Tony Maniaty
2nd of March

Non-fiction immersion writing covers life stories (autobiography), personal memoir, travel writing, sometimes highly-engaged journalism. It’s where you, the narrator, are the story, or you’re a significant character within the story. The ‘self’ transposed to other worlds (often beyond the writer’s comfort zone) is central to whatever unfolds on the page.
The possible subjects are endless — but they all require up-close and personal writing, a strong voice inside the narrative rather than detached and ‘observational’ writing from the outside looking in. To become a good immersion writer, you need to be prepared to talk and write openly about yourself – your thoughts, feelings, emotions, reactions, doubts, your anger and compassion, your strengths and weaknesses. This can seem daunting at first, but immersion writing is a journey of both learning and experience, like life itself. 
For many, it's an ongoing lesson in discovering who you really are.
This workshop has four primary objectives:
1.     A solid understanding of immersion memoir writing and how it differs from more conventional non-fiction forms.
2.     A look at practical skills specific to immersion memoir writing, drawn from published examples and workshop exercises.
3.     Considering the personal and moral implications of ‘letting it bleed fully’ in the spotlight of a globalized social/media world.
4.     Routes to getting your immersion writing published, models for written proposals, locating the ‘best texts’ of the genre.
Fiction with Ariella Van Lyun
3rd of March

Fiction allows writers to imagine, invent and manipulate realities. Fictional language is richly symbolic and emotive. This workshop gives writers the opportunity to play with the basic tools of fictional stories.
  • scene-setting, chracterisation, voice, narrative, dialogue, and theme.
  • Participants also learn skills to read like a writer so they can be inspired by their favourite authors.
This workshop is suited for those starting out writing fiction, or who would like to refresh their skills. The workshop involves writing exercises so please bring along something to write with, such as a notebook and pen, laptop or iPad. If you have a favourite novel or short story, please bring along to read out a section and discuss with the group.  
Improve your writing through editing with Linda Nix
9th of March

This full day workshop will cover:
  • Different levels of editing: what they are (manuscript assessment, structural editing, copy or line editing, proofreading) and when they are needed
  • Editing your own work: what you can do yourself vs when to seek help from others
  • Sources of editorial feedback: professional editors, mentors, writers’ groups
  • Engaging a professional editor: how to find one, preparing a brief, budgets, and working with the editor
  • Editing tools & tips for writers – eg stylesheets
Participants should bring a short piece of unpublished writing with them eg. a short story or chapter of around 2000–3000 words.
When: 2nd, 3rd and 9th of March
             10am-4pm
Where: The Wicklow Hotel
               87 Marsh St
               Armidale
Tickets:
Full package: $210 for NEWC Members, $240 for non-members
Two sessions: $140 for NEWC members, $170 for non-members
Individual workshops: $80 for NEWC members, $95 for non-members
Bookings have now closed for the full package. Bookings for two workshops are still open, but lunch won't be provided. You can still book for Editing with Linda Nix, until 11:59pm on the 5th of March.
Click HERE to book TWO sessions
Click HERE to book for Editing with Linda Nix
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 Tony is a lifetime communicator, working in fiction, non-fiction, journalism, and screenwriting. Based in Sydney, he worked for many years as a foreign correspondent and as Executive Producer of the ABC’s ‘7.30 Report’, and has published four books with Penguin. His novel ‘Smyrna’ was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, and his memoir of reporting the conflict in East Timor, ‘Shooting Balibo’, was described as ‘a brave and complex achievement’ by David Malouf, and by Helen Garner as ‘a real coup’. Tony was Associate Professor of Creative Practices at UTS, and is currently working on a novel based on refugee stories, ‘The House Before the World’.
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Dr Linda Nix is a professional editor and member of the Institute of Professional Editors. She is also an IPEd accredited editor and the current Chair of the IPEd Accreditation Board and of the Standing Committee on Professional Development, as well as being on the Board of NEWC. In over 20 years in the publishing industry, Linda has edited all kinds of texts, including fiction and nonfiction books for publication. Her freelance business, Golden Orb Creative, provides a full range of editing services, as well as other publishing-related services such as book design. Linda is also publisher and editor at Lacuna Publishing. 
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Ariella Van Luyn is the author of a novel, Treading Air, and several short stories published in Australia and overseas. She works as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of New England.

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