Welcome to our February Newsletter.
We would like to congratulate our writers in the Unlocking Creativity courses, Live and Online, who are doing a great job developing their craft. You are all well on your way to accessing your creative potential.
Our tutors have been so impressed by the variety of stories that are emerging and love watching the evolution of ideas and witnessing the blossoming of individual voices. The synergy between imagination, story structure and craft really stands out, as writers experiment with different styles, genres, and perspectives. It is truly inspiring to witness the transformation that occurs when creativity is unleashed and given space to flourish.
Surrendering to the Process
Writing a novel or screenplay can feel like an overwhelming task. This is why we encourage our writers to just work through their story one step at a time and surrender to the process.
This ensures that their stories are grounded in a solid structure that takes their main character on a profound and moving journey. Equally importantly, it allows the writer’s imagination to kick in and produce its indefinable magic.
By the end of the course, writers are constantly amazed by what happens when they follow the process, get out of their own way and set up a dance between story structure and their imagination.
Michael Singer, the author of the best-selling book, The Surrender Experiment, puts it beautifully, “So that’s why I surrender to process, why I so regularly employ the mental tricks that get me in the right frame of mind to create. It makes it easier to have moments of truth and recognition, and it gets my ego out of the way. And getting my ego out of the way makes it easier to listen to myself with some objectivity – to hear myself almost as a different person would. If you can give yourself over to a process and get comfortable with disappearing, you’re likely to harvest some hard‐to-find truth along the way, both about yourself and about what you’re trying to say.”
For writers who have undertaken Unlocking Creativity and want to follow a process, our 10-Month First Draft Online course is starting on the 4th of March, and for those who want to take their story to the next level our 8-Month Second Draft Online course starts on the 18th of March.
Intensive 6-Week Short Story Course!
Starting on the 26th of February, the 6-Week Writers’ Gym will teach you advanced writing tools and techniques to further nurture your craft and flex your creative muscles. This comprehensive course is designed for writers who have completed our Unlocking Creativity course and are looking to continue their creative journey.
Annette Higgs in-conversation with Belinda Castles
Writers’ Studio tutor and author, Annette Higgs is having a conversation with Belinda Castles about her novel, On a Bright Hillside in Paradise, which won the Penguin Literary Prize 2022.
If you’re in Sydney and are interested in hearing about her path to publication, Better Read Than Dead in Newtown are hosting the discussion on the 8th of February from 6:30pm-8:30pm.
You can learn more about the event here
Success Stories
Siobhan O’Brien
Siobhan, a Writers’ Studio alumna’s debut novel, All the Golden Light, published by HarperCollins Publishers, is now available for purchase.
While loss and deprivation have decimated the country, Adelaide Roberts dreams of a life filled with purpose and hope. On a rugged island off the south coast of New South Wales she meets lighthouse keeper Emmett Huxley, a dark-eyed outsider haunted by his service in France. Adelaide and Emmett are inexorably drawn together, but Adelaide discovers plans have been made for her with decorated returned soldier Donal Blaxland, a local landowner.
Adelaide knows she must leave – and between the treacherous waters of the coast and the rugged ranges of an ancient land, she fights for her survival, determined to live and love on her own terms.
A moving, uplifting story about the craving of the heart – and hope in the darkest of times.
Click here to buy All the Golden Light
Julia Levitina
Julia, a Writers’ Studio alumna’s novel, The Girl From Moscow, published by Pantera Press, is due for release on the 27th of February.
Twenty-one-year-old Ella dreams of playing Natasha Rostova in War and Peace at the Moscow Theatre Academy. But when she meets her good friend Vlad at a city square, Ella finds herself in the middle of a protest and attracts the glare of the KGB. Labelled a traitor, she must withdraw from the academy and she soon yearns to escape the cruel and oppressive Soviet regime.
However, her hopes of leaving the country are smashed when her husband, Roman, is sentenced to two years’ labour camp. Will she risk everything and leave behind those she loves to pursue a life in the West?
An absorbing, thrilling and heart-stopping Cold War drama, perfect for fans of The Spy’s Wife and The Girl from Munich.
Click here to pre-order The Girl From Moscow
Loraine Peck
Loraine, a Writers’ Studio alumna’s second novel, The Double Bind, published by Text Publishing, is an action-packed sequel to her award-winning debut crime novel, The Second Son.
You can run, but you can never escape your family.
Amy and Johnny Novak have fled to a seaside town in northern New South Wales. They want a fresh start with their eleven-year-old son Sasha, and Amy is determined to shake off the legacy of Johnny’s criminal family.
Are Amy and Johnny still keeping secrets from each other? And how did they get involved in a high-stakes game with Arturo Raoul De Leon, aka The Snake? Can Amy rise to the occasion to keep her family safe or will she be forced to become Johnny’s partner in crime?
With its character-driven plot, psychological finesse, humour and sparkling dialogue, The Double Bind is an enthralling read.
Click here to buy The Double Bind
Share the Good News!
If you’ve recently earned recognition for your writing in competitions or received awards, we’d like to showcase and celebrate your accomplishments!
Please share a brief note along with relevant details or links to wstudio@writerstudio.com.au with the subject line “Success Stories.”
We look forward to showcasing your achievements.
Recent Course Feedback
Some snippets of the wonderful feedback that we receive back from recently completed courses. We update these each newsletter.
“The course was a massive learning experience, and incredibly valuable to me. I feel like I earned a Degree in Creative Writing in the time I spent following the structure in this course. But saying that, I did it following my own passion, and didn’t feel like I was forced down a path, like some other kinds of study might have done.” Sarah, First Draft Online
“The course has been such a joyful exploration of writing, and I am truly grateful I finally committed some time for myself to do it … I think what I loved was how practical the course has been in getting us all to release our fears and just do it … We’ve been given some really helpful tools, and foundations as well as some huge life lessons.” Felicity, Unlocking Creativity
“I’m grateful I found the Writer’s Studio where I could do this course. I’m really pleased that I made the decision to do the course and stayed with it to the end, actually did it! If I was doing this by myself it would never have been completed and I feel a great sense of achievement, whatever happens next.” Louise, First Draft Online
“I am so glad I have reached this point, and The Writer’s Studio courses are fantastic (Unlocking Creativity, Genre Short Story, First Draft, and Second Draft) and looking forward to the Third Draft. I have learned so much about writing, but it also has thrown a different light on how I read, on writing styles and certain habits of authors that I did not pick up on before, which is an added bonus.” Dani, Second Draft Online
“This course has helped me lift the pen up and go write with so much more confidence than ever before. I have more knowledge around structure and can apply so many tools and strategies to help me become a better writer.” Alana, Unlocking Creativity
“I am so happy that I signed up for the Unlocking Creativity course back in Jan 2022! I am learning so much about the craft of writing and I have gotten so much joy from it! Thank you to the Writers’ Studio for helping me to be able to live a dream and to call myself a writer! So amazing!” Jodie, Second Draft Online