Live workshops are a rewarding and enjoyable experience. You will learn from the other participants as well as having an immediate response to your work from the tutor. The creative and encouraging atmosphere of a workshop is a great learning experience for both beginners and more advanced writers.
Patti Miller offers a range of different workshops. Ongoing weekly , morning or evening, courses are available in the Sydney area and the Blue Mountains, while weekend and day courses are offered elsewhere. Any individual or group may contact LSW and arrange a course, or ask if your local writers centre can arrange a course. Specialised life writing courses for particular interest groups such as Aborigines, senior citizens, women, environmental groups, refugees and others, can be arranged. Class size is limited to 12 participants.
Life Writing
Inspiring and exciting introduction to autobiographical writing. We will explore various aspects of life writing including setting started, accessing memory, voice, vivid detail and structure. Can be offered as a 1 day ‘Taste’, a 2– 5 day Intensive, or an ongoing 6, 8 or 10 week workshop.
Memoir (and Follow-up Life Writing)
Extending and developing life writing skills, focussing on the Memoir – an aspect or period of a life. It is a follow-up to Life Writing, but suitable for anyone interested in Memoir – i.e. you don’t have to have done a previous class. We will explore issues such as narrative voice, narrative structure, the difficulties of truth and pushing the limits of memoir. Can be offered as a week-end course or an ongoing 6, 8 or 10 week workshop.
Leap from Life into Fiction
A fiction workshop for those who want to leap from the stories of their own lives into imagination, focusing on the creative spark between the actual and the imaginary. We will explore how to make the leap into a vividly detailed reality and how to let the story, rather than life, lead the way. Can be offered as a week-end course or an ongoing 6, 8 or 10 week workshop.
Writing For the Senses
Exploring how to recreate the texture and power of the senses in writing – make your narrative, characters and scenes rich and evocative with the sights, sounds, scents, tastes and feel of the world. This is an enriching workshop for both fiction and life writers. Offered as a week-end workshop or an ongoing four week workshop.
Landscape Writing
This workshop came from the Song of the Winds festival and explores writing a sense of place – conveying its physical presence, its emotional resonance, its spiritual power, its texture and its narrative importance. It is for both fiction and life writers and is offered as a one day or weekend course.
Cover Story
An introduction to writing feature articles for magazines and newspapers. It’s an exciting and practical course looking at research, interviewing, pitching, angles, writing, structure, editing. This can be offered as a week-end intensive or an ongoing 5 week course.
Further Information
For further information including detail of fees , organisers may contact Life Stories Workshop for an Organisers’ Information Leaflet for any of the courses. Average full day fee is $750. Organisers will be provided with promotional material as required. See Writing Links for contacts if you want to approach you local Writers’ Centre about organising a workshop