{"id":53,"date":"2011-09-13T13:09:14","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T03:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwebb.name\/?p=53"},"modified":"2014-08-16T15:15:10","modified_gmt":"2014-08-16T05:15:10","slug":"writing-imaginary-worlds-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwebb.name\/?p=53","title":{"rendered":"Writing Imaginary Worlds workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Went to the\u00a0Writing Imaginary Worlds<\/em>\u00a0workshop with\u00a0Richard Harland<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday 3rd September 2011, hosted by the\u00a0NSW Writer’s Centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was my first writing course of any sort, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Ten people came together to listen to Richard speak on the realities of writing in the speculative fiction genre in Australia. I found it really interesting – not just in hearing from Richard, but also being in a room with 9 other early stage speculative fiction authors.<\/p>\n

It took me quite a while to steel my nerve enough to go along to a writing course. I was as much worried about interacting with the other writers (all of whom I was convinced would have oodles more credibility than I did) as I was about whether I was prepared enough to get a lot out of the session.<\/p>\n

I’m pleased to say that my fellow writers were as pleasant a bunch of people that I could have hoped to meet. While my writing output was towards the low end (some people had done a very impressive amount of work) I didn’t really feel out of place after my initial butterflies subsided. Indeed I learnt a lot just listening to some of the other stories and experiences of the others. I’ve even made two email pals out of the process (you know who you are K and P).<\/p>\n

The content of the workshop itself was very much aligned with Richard’s\u00a0writing tips website<\/a>, but it was interspersed with practical exercises which were very thought provoking.<\/p>\n

Richard very generously stayed back to spend time with each of the students. I went through the basic plot of Unaligned<\/a> with him, which was very useful. First time I’d tried to explain the plot to anyone. I found his feedback very helpful and have made some changes as a result.<\/p>\n

Marks Tips for Surviving a Workshop<\/strong><\/p>\n