April is National Poetry Writing Month, which challenges emerging and established poets to write 30 poems in 30 days.
Get tips, tricks and tools on the craft of writing.
Writing Tips and Tools
Instead of fearing the blank page, "immerse yourself in a space that is ineluctably your own", says WV tutor Liz Conor.
Dr Liz Conor is an ARC Future Fellow at La Trobe University. She is the author of ‘Skin Deep: Settler Impressions of Aboriginal Women’ and ‘The Spectacular Modern Woman: Feminine Visibility in the 1920s’. She is the editor of ‘Aboriginal History’, a columnist at ‘New Matilda’, has published widely in academic and mainstream press, as well as campaigned as a community advocate and commentator, on gender, race and representation.
"Believe in what you're writing", says WV tutor Karen Pickering.
Karen Pickering is a feminist organiser and writer. She was the host of Cherchez la Femme, a monthly talkshow of popular culture and current affairs from an unapologetically feminist angle. She is the editor of ‘Doing It’, a collection of sex-positive writing by women, released in September 2016 by the University of Queensland Press, and is currently writing a book on menstruation and menopause in collaboration with the Victorian Women’s Trust.
April is National Poetry Writing Month, which challenges emerging and established poets to write 30 poems in 30 days.
"Journal your work in progress", says WV tutor Kate Mildenhall.
Kate Mildenhall is a writer and teacher. Her education work has taken her into schools, universities, volunteering with Teachers Across Borders in Cambodia and, currently, into State Library Victoria. Her debut novel ‘Skylarking’ was published in August 2016.
Kate will be running a workshop on "Writing Women - Historical Fiction" at Writers Victoria in April 2017.
"Writing a pitch? Then think 'headline' ", says WV tutor Erina Reddan.
Erina Reddan is a former Walkley Award winner who uses her media skills to work with creatives and executives of Australia’s top organisations to distil information to its essence and communicate it. A published author of both fiction and non-fiction, Erina teaches at Latrobe University and coaches and mentors writers from inspiration to signing the deal and beyond.
April is National Poetry Writing Month, which challenges emerging and established poets to write 30 poems in 30 days.
"Copywriting is the most empathetic of all forms of writing" says WV tutor Luke Ryan.
Luke is a 30-year-old Melbourne-based freelance writer, comedian and editor of the ‘Best Australian Comedy Writing’ series. In 2014 he released his debut book, ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Chemo’, a comedy memoir about having cancer. His work has appeared in ‘Best Australian Essays’, ‘Junkee’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘Quartz’, ‘Smith Journal’, ‘The Lifted Brow’, ‘Crikey’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’ and more.
"Write it as if no-one will ever read it" says WV tutor Maxine Beneba Clarke.
Maxine is an Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean descent. In 2015, her short fiction collection ‘Foreign Soil’ won the ABIA for Best Literary Fiction and the Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for The Stella Prize. She is the author of three collections of poetry, including ‘Carrying The World’ (2016), a critically acclaimed memoir ‘The Hate Race’ (2016) and the picture book ‘The Patchwork Bike’ (2016).
"The worst way to bring characters to life is to describe what they look like" says tutor WV John Marsden.