Emily Perkins & Charlotte Wood

Class topics 

Attention

Restoring creative fascination. Writing begins and ends with close attention – a brain capacity that must be protected, practised and nurtured. We’ll kick off our new series looking at how to catch sparks and hone your ability to not only pay attention but sustain it for deep focus. We’ll look at practical ways to deal with drags on the work like distraction, fragmentation and procrastination.

Permission

Are you allowed to do that? This session looks at giving yourself permission to write freely, as well as addressing the ethical questions around writing from life, story sovereignty, appropriation and attribution. We’ll show you how to fight corrosive self-censorship, exploring good and bad kinds of responsibility, irresponsibility, rebellion and disobedience, and how to attune to the value in what you’re creating.

Traction

Keeping the project going. This session offers practical, pragmatic advice on how to keep at it through the long haul, creating and maintaining momentum. We will look at making the best use of the time you have, creating boundaries to help you get in the zone, and how to protect the work as it proceeds. We’ll also look at how to reap the benefits of time away from the work without losing your connection to it.

Faith

Keeping the faith. What to do when ‘why not write’ turns into ‘why’? This session offers guidance on how to face the blank page when you’re wondering what the point of it is. We’ll talk about how to use both internal and external motivation, helpful/unhelpful emotions – how to set them aside, how to use them to keep going – and about creative self-doubt versus second guessing.

Completion

When is the work finished? What happens next? This session looks at revision and redrafting, deadlines, perfectionism, feedback and editing. We’ll also provide strategies for when the work meets the world: good reviews, bad reviews, no reviews, prepping for promotion - and friends’ and family responses. And we’ll look at how to listen in for the beginnings of your next idea...

Questions? Email [email protected]