Blog Archives

APRIL'S VALUABLE WORKSHOPS

3/29/2018

Are you booked for this vital workshop?

DEVELOPING BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS - April 7th & 8th

Developing strong, believable characters that your reader either loves or hates ... depending on your intention, is vital.

Many writers make the mistake of having characters who are not developed well enough and too similar to each other. Humans are not the same; we are all multidimensional beings. You must know your character as well as you know yourself.

Nothing turns your reader off like flat and unbelievable characters.

This workshop examines the great characters in books and explores what makes them that way. We will also examine the many personality types we meet and show you how to portray them effectively.

For crime and mystery writers, the character workshop includes an examination of criminal types and what drives them to commit crimes.

2 DAY INTENSIVE WORKSHOP
You can book for one day or two.

Dates: Saturday, April 7th and Sunday April 8th

Time: 10am to 3pm

Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.

Cost: $120
http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/developing-characters.html

OTHER APRIL WORKSHOPS:

STRENGTHENING YOUR WRITING - 2 x 3 hour workshops -
The use of word pictures, metaphors and similes, show not tell, and the ability to create rising tension are all important tools.

How to use these tools and many others to create and improve your masterpiece is covered in this workshop.

We will look at their use in popular fiction and do exercises on improving our ability to use them.
Dates: Wednesday, April11th

   Wednesday April 18th

Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm

Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.

Cost: $80
http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/strengthening-your-writing.html

WRITING CRIME FICTION - Saturday April 14th - Tutor Dr Ron Day

Many of us enjoy a crime novel and writing one can be just as much fun.

This genre requires the creation of colourful characters, the development of a twisting and turning storyline, the laying down of false clues and a final scene with a real twist.

We will examine characters in popular crime novels and explore why they are so well loved. We will look at the personality of criminals and what drives them to commit crimes.

Building tension and planting false clues is vital in this genre. We will look at effective ways to do that.

Date: Saturday April 14th

Time: 10am to 3pm

Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.

Cost: $60

WRITING FOR THE EDUCATIONAL MARKET - April 25th - Tutor Dr Ron Day

Writing for the educational market requires special knowledge and skills. In particular you need to be able to express complex ideas in simple language.

This course will help you develop skills to produce learning materials for any age, no matter whether you are planning to develop instructional design materials, text books, learning guides, teaching notes or academic papers and theses.

Dates: Wednesday, April 25th

Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm

Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.

Cost: $40

DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION - April 28th

Want to know the secret of Muza Ulasowski's amazing illustrations, created using a digital art program?

In this workshop she will take us step-by-step through the process and show us how to use the digital program she uses, Artrage.

Muza has mastered the use of the art program using her Wacom drawing tablet and will share with you how she builds her drawings using the tools and layers and adding the minute detail that makes her art exceptional.

As she works, she will explain each step while you watch her creating her masterpiece on the screen behind her.

You can bring your laptop and Wacom tablet, if you have one, or a touch-screen laptop, tablet or iPad to join in. Artrage is available for iPads or phones and can be used with a stylus or finger on all touch screen devices.
Dates: Saturday April 28th

Time: 10am to 3pm

Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.

Cost: $95.Don't miss the exciting new workshops by guest presenters: Picture Books with Aleesah Darlison on May 12th.
Go to the website for more details on the program up to June: http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/workshops.html

Can't make it on weekends? Now you can join us for Wednesday Workshops - we are now running 2 hour workshops on a Wednesday, day and night sessions, to make it easier for some of our attendees who are busy weekends. The Saturday workshops will continue and you will find new subjects in those.

Go to the Workshop page and follow the link under each one to find more details. http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/workshops.html

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Take your drawing skills to a new exciting level

3/13/2018

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Want to know the secret of Muza Ulasowski's amazing illustrations created using a digital art program?

In this workshop she will take us step-by-step through the process and show us how to use the digital program she uses, Artrage.

Muza has mastered the use of digital illustration using her Wacom drawing tablet and will share with you how she builds her drawings using the tools and layers and adding the minute detail that makes her art exceptional.

As she works, she will explain each step while you watch her creating her masterpiece on the screen behind her.

You can bring your laptop and Wacom tablet, if you have one, or a touch-screen laptop, tablet or iPad to join in. Artrage is available for iPads or phones and can be used with a stylus or finger on all touch screen devices.

Dates: Saturday April 28th

Time: 10am to 3pm

Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.

Find out more at:

http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/digital-illustration.html

Check out our other workshops:
http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/workshops.html

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LAST CHANCE!

3/9/2018

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Our scriptwriting presenter, Ben Marshall has moved to Tasmania, but he is still willing to come back to do our workshop next weekend. But we must let him know Monday if we have enough people to make it worthwhile.

If you want to get your book on the big screen this is one not to miss. Ben has spent 20 years as a TV scriptwriter so knows the industry backwards. As well as showing us how to turn our story into a script, he will also tell us how to pitch our story to TV and Movie producers.

Make his trip back to Queensland worthwhile. Book now!

Go to http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/scriptwriting.html to hear a video interview with Ben, get more details and make your booking.

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7 reasons why mastering point of view is essential

3/5/2018

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Many writers are confused about point of view when they start writing.

When we talk about point of view, we basically mean the perspective from which the story is told. Who are we listening to when we read the story? Whose head are we in? Whose eyes are we watching the story through?

Point of view isn’t merely another writing craft technique. Point of view is the foundation upon which great fiction rests.

Marcy Kennedy gives us 7 reasons why mastering point of view is essential:

Reason #1 – Well-executed point of view allows the reader to experience (and participate in) a situation that they could never have been part of, or might never want to be part of, in real life. Consistent and skilled use of POV not only allows us to live vicariously, but also gives us the opportunity to examine ourselves and think about whether we would have made the same choices as the characters. In other words, we become participants in two senses of the word. It engages our emotions and our minds.

Reason #2 – Well-executed point of view builds subtext, as we’re able to contrast what’s happening around the character with what they think about it. We can sort through the difference between reality and perception, the difference between the objective and subjective.

Reason #3 – Well-executed point of view sets each character apart, as we see how they uniquely interpret the world around them. Put another way, point of view is the tool we use to create three-dimensional characters. When we don’t understand point of view and when we don’t execute it correctly, we’re very likely to end up with flat, uninteresting characters. Beyond this, as novelists and short story writers, we have an advantage in that we can give our audience that filtered perspective. They can’t receive that from television or movies or plays.

Reason #4 – Well-executed point of view controls the flow of information to either create suspense or forward the plot. As authors, how we choose to handle POV determines what we must and can’t show to the reader. As readers, it creates the page-turning excitement as we discover things along with the POV character.

Reason #5 – Well-executed point of view encourages showing rather than telling. “Showing” in fiction rather than “telling” is one of the most common pieces of writing advice and also one that a majority of writers struggle to execute. Understanding and writing from a close point of view makes this concept easier because we’re experiencing the story through the eyes of a particular character.

Reason #6 – Well-executed point of view helps us decide what description belongs in the story. Many writers buy into the fallacy that description slows a story down. Description doesn’t slow a story down—bad description or description placed where it doesn’t belong slows a story down. When we write with a clear point of view, we’ll know what details are important to include and when is the appropriate time to include them.

Reason #7 – Well-executed point of view shows us when to include backstory and when to explain details about our world and setting or about the way something works. How much or how little to explain these elements to readers becomes a stumbling block for many writers. When we have a clear POV, we’ll know to include it only when the POV character would naturally be thinking about it or noticing it.

In Saturday's workshop, we will simplify the choice by explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each one and showing you how they work.

We'll do exercises on writing a scene from each point of view to help you understand the difference. You can work on a scene from your story or on an exercise we give you.
Dates: Saturday March 10th

Time: 10am to 3pm
Where: Gondor Writers’ Centre, 19 Caloundra St, Landsborough.
http://www.gondorwriterscentre.com/point-of-view.html

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APRIL'S VALUABLE WORKSHOPS

Take your drawing skills to a new exciting level

LAST CHANCE!

7 reasons why mastering point of view is essential

Many writers are confused about point of view when they start writing.

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