Writing a novel is like heading out over the open sea in a small boat. It helps if you have a plan and a course laid out. ~ John Gardner

Is 2016 your year of writing? Have you begun a novel, memoir or some short stories, but feel like you need:

• direction
• feedback
• motivation
• all of the above?

Why not join Berkelouw’s Writing Group? Led by award-winning novelist and short story writer Jo Riccioni, these sessions will offer you the best of both a quality writing course and a nurturing and supportive feedback group.

During weekly meetings over eight two-hour sessions, Jo will use solid examples and discussion to cast light on various technical aspects of the writing craft. The second part of each meeting will provide members with the chance to have their own writing workshopped, should they wish.

Areas of teaching will include:

• Narrative voice, narrative point-of-view and tense
• Character development
• Dialogue
• Scene-setting and sense of place
• Narrative arc
• Themes, motifs and mood
• Using research
• The writer’s toolkit, including tips for carving out time to write and staying motivated.

Workshopping will optionally involve two members each month submitting 1000-2000 words of their writing in advance by email for the group to read before the session. Constructive and supportive group feedback will be led by Jo. Writing exercises and prompts may be substituted where members do not wish to have their writing workshopped.  

With a combination of no-nonsense teaching and friendly, discussion, this group is set to become the key motivator to achieving your writing goals in 2016.

When: Tuesday evenings, starting May 3rd, 2016

Time: 6.30 - 8.30 pm

Where: Berkelouw Books, 12-14 Park St, Mona Vale NSW 2013

Bookings are essential and can be made by on line by following this link (fees apply), phone on 9979 2112 or by email to monavale@berkelouw.com.au.

Cost: $ 280 per person for eight sessions.

Places are limited so please book early.

About Jo Riccioni

Jo Riccioni’s first novel, The Italians at Cleat’s Corner Store, for which she was awarded a Varuna fellowship, won the 2015 International Rubery Award for Fiction and was long-listed for the New Angle Prize in the UK. Jo’s short stories have won numerous prizes, both in Australia and the UK, and have been read on the BBC and Radio National. She is published in The Age, The Best Australian Stories 2010 and 2011, The Review of Australian Fiction, WetInk, Westerly, Aesthetica Magazine (UK), and the Momaya Review (UK). Jo was awarded a Varuna Lit-Link Fellowship and an Arthur Boyd Bundanon residency to work on her collection Can’t Take the Country out of the Boy, the title story of which has been optioned for a short film. She has a Masters in Medieval Literature from Leeds University, UK, and is an alumna of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Faber Academy. With a background in tertiary education and corporate training, Jo combines her skills as an adult educator with her passion for writing and reading.

www.joriccioni.com

twitter: @JoRiccioni

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