Do you have a writing project but unsure how to start?

Members of the Goulburn Valley Writers' Group invite you to our Creative Writing Kick-Start. Supported by Greater Shepparton City Council's Creative Cities initiative, these introductory workshops hope to inspire creative writing within the local community.

Melissa Black, script supervisor for La Brea and Blue Canaries

Basics of scriptwriting - 10.00am

Join Melissa Black for a ‘taster’ session covering the basic necessities for writing your script. Melissa holds an Advanced Diploma of Professional Screenwriting from RMIT and has worked on the award winning Australian feature film 'Blue Canaries', NBC Universal TV series 'La Brea' and she was an AACTA Pitch: Focus competition finalist for her short film 'The Smell of Bones'.

In her talk, Melissa will touch on character, voice, structure, basic script elements, dialogue, and more. The session will include a small interactive writing exercise and brief information about opportunities in the screenwriting industry.

Tracee Spiby, Author of "One Hell at a Time"

Researching Family History - 10.50am

Writing and researching family history involves uncovering your ancestors’ lives. But how do you go about finding meat to put on the bones of what could otherwise end up as just a list of names and dates? Where do you look?

In Researching Family History, Tracee Spiby offers valuable tips to look for hidden family secrets using online tools and websites to enhance your research and bring your ancestors to life.

Robyn Black, co-ordinator of the Furphy Literary Awards

Write a Winning Short Story - 12.00pm

Learn what it takes to give yourself the best chance to enter a winning short story in a competition.

Robyn Black is an award-winning poet who currently co-ordinates the Furphy Literary Award, one of Australia’s richest prize-winning writing competitions. Learn what judges look for, why it is important to follow all instructions and have some fun with a practice draft of your own short story.

Suellen Drysdale, President of the GV Writers Group

Writing a Children's Book - 12.50pm

Rediscover the joy of childhood by writing your own children’s story. Suellen Drysdale has published two pre-teen novels in 'The Hybrid' series along with a children’s picture book 'Forgetful Gran's Muddle Rhymes' and she vows that daydreaming has its benefits.

Suellen will cover the basics of pulling together a captivating children's story, focusing on age groups, story structure and vocabulary that suits your young readers.