Introduction To Creative Writing with Laura Jean McKay

Interested in starting off with creative writing, or in need of a refresher?

In this Queensland Writers Centre workshop, we’ll introduce you to the fundamentals of great writing – from character, voice, story structure and more - and provide all the information, tools and inspiration you need to get started telling your own stories.

Learning Outcomes

As part of this workshop, you will:

• Learn more about the creative process of writing.
• Gain an understanding of the basic elements of fiction writing, including setting, character, dialogue, conflict, themes and voice.
• Become inspired to write.
• Assemble a collection of useful techniques and practical exercises for developing your writing skills and fleshing out your ideas.
• Receive an overview of the Australian writing and publishing industry, and what it means to be a writer.
• Meet and mix with other writers and Queensland Writers Centre members.

Format

This is an in-person workshop with a focus on writing craft; it will be held at State Library of Queensland. This workshop is designed with a focus on beginner writers of fiction and narrative non-fiction, but is suitable for writers of all levels and backgrounds.

About Laura

Laura Jean McKay is the author of The Animals in That Country (Scribe 2020) - winner of the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award, The Victorian Prize for Literature, the ABIA Small Publishers Adult Book of the Year and co-winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel 2021. The Animals in That Country has been shortlisted for The Stella Prize and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. The novel is one of Readings Best Australian Books of the 21st Century.

Laura is also the author of Holiday in Cambodia (Black Inc., 2013) and her latest collection is Gunflower (Scribe 2023), shortlisted for the 2024 Queensland Literary Awards and named one of The Guardian’s best books of 2023.

An Adjunct Lecturer in Creative Writing at Massey University, she also serves on the Australasian Animal Studies committee, and the advisory boards for Animal Studies Journal and Headland literary journal. She was awarded the NZSA Waitangi Day Literary Honours in 2022.

For more information about Queensland Writers Centre’s Program of Events and answers to FAQs, please visit: www.queenslandwriters.org.au/program-info