Amanda Hodgkinson
Author
The craft of writing
Diana Souhami
Author and biographer
The elision of fact and fiction in biography
and autobiography
Writing fiction involves choices:
- How do I tell this story?
- Do I need one narrator or more?
- As a writer, what differences do these choices make to the heart of my
novel, for me and for the reader?
As well as being natural story tellers, writers need to master the craft of writing.
In this workshop, we will look at some short texts, discussing how different
writing techniques work.Through practical exercises, we will also look at
different approaches to a single narrative, focusing on becoming more confident
and aware of the skills we need to create the novels we really want to write.
In this workshop we will explore some essential questions about ‘life-writing’,
both autobiography and biography. Through discussion and by doing writing
exercises we will consider these kinds of questions:
- What’s the difference in truthfulness between a factual and a fictional
representation of a person?
- What skills are required to write biography and autobiography convincingly?
- Who is your reader when you are writing autobiography?
- Is it a good idea to break taboos in biography or autobiography?
Please come to the session with a few successful and also less successful
examples of autobiography and/or biography.
Katie Ward
Author of Girl Reading
Letting your reader decide
Sarah Bower
Novelist and short story writer
Creating character - driven fiction
‘If I introduce an ambiguity, it’s an ambiguity that’s meant to be there,’
Hilary Mantel Some kinds of writing, like detective fiction, provide a
dénouement which answers all outstanding questions. However, many
great works such as Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, The Yellow Wallpaper
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, use
ambiguity. This clever device takes the reader on a journey, while leaving her
suspended once she’s finished. Often, though not always, associated with
unreliable narrators and ghost stories, ambiguity is a gift to an imaginative
reader when deployed successfully. In this session we’ll look at creating
work which treads this line, at characters with dubious motives, at loaded
language and intentional lack of clarity.
In this workshop we will look at methods of building character from the
outside in. We will discuss and develop the concept of protagonist and
antagonist and how dramatic tension is generated by the relationships
between them. The workshop will examine to what degree characters are
determined by their environment and how they can act upon it. We will use
a combination of group work and individual writing exercises. By the end of
the session, participants should have produced a first draft of a complete
story of around 500 words.
Inua Ellams
Poet and playwright
From first line to full stop
Joanna Carrick
Artistic Director of the Red Rose Chain
theatre company
Fact and fiction for the stage
In this workshop, we will begin with the very basics; mining ourselves and
our worlds for places and concepts to begin writing poetry. We will start
with practical exercises for generating ideas, then getting them down on
the page, fine tuning the ideas, creating first drafts, editing closely and finally,
finding ways of creating a ‘family’ of poems. Along the way, we will also
discuss what a poem is and isn’t, share key words, methods and language to
dissect and critique our own work.
Joanna specialises in writing for theatre and in particular, using historical
stories or existing source material for inspiration. She has written about
Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I and a local Victorian asylum, as well as
adapting works by Dickens and Brontë for the stage. In this practical
scriptwriting session we will have some fun applying some of the techniques
Jo has developed. Using real events we will come up with some scenes;
combining creative ideas with useful structural devices.
Kate Worsley
Fiction writer
How far do you go?
Any novel has to work hard for the suspension of disbelief. A novel with a
historical setting has to work even harder: the voice, the setting, characters
and dialogue have to be not only consistent and believable, but also of
their period. How do you go about achieving this? And just how ‘authentic’
does a historical novel have to be anyway? Please bring an extract from
one successful and one unsuccessful novel with a historical setting and
be prepared to discuss why you think it does/doesn’t convince. You will
be provided with short extracts from novels set in a range of periods for
discussion and will write and workshop your own period pieces.
Jason Hewitt
Novelist, playwright and actor
Inhabiting our characters - body and soul
In the world of theatre, actors preparing for a role thoroughly immerse
themselves in their character, using techniques that help them to
impersonate and understand the physical and psychological characteristics
required for the role; and yet much character development in fiction is
done by writers sitting at desks using, perhaps, little more than thought.
In this workshop we challenge this notion. Using techniques from leading
theatrical practitioners including Constantin Stanislavski, Mike Alfreds and
Declan Donnellan, we will investigate fresh methods for not only creating
characterisation in fiction but also truly living within a character’s skin.
Liz Calder & Rachel Calder
Publisher & editor, literary agent
Do you want to be a book publisher?
Do you want to be a Literary agent?
Drawing on her 40 years as a book publisher and editor, Liz Calder will
describe how she made her way in the publishing business in London, New
York and Suffolk. She will offer ideas as to how to get ahead in this dynamic,
challenging, but never dull business.
The work of a literary agent has never been more important in today’s
literary world of sometimes bewildering range of options available to
writers. Rachel Calder, proprietor of The Sayle Literary Agency since 1993,
will look back at the development of the role of agents and give practical
advice about how to break into this fascinating profession.
Have you always wanted to write? Perhaps you
already write but would like to know more about this
challenging but rewarding activity? If so, the Writers’
Weekend at University Campus Suffolk could be just
for you.
We are offering beginners and practitioners the chance
to work with published authors across a variety of
literary genres. Participants can share ideas, develop new
skills and talk about literary matters with eight gifted and
inspiring writers, a publisher and a literary agent.
No experience is needed for any of these sessions. All
you need are writing materials and an imagination.
Spaces on the eight workshops are limited, so please
book early to avoid disappointment.
Secure your place via the UCS online shop for the
Writers’ Weekend. Each three hour workshop costs £30.
You may also wish to have a buffet lunch. If so, book for
£8 via the UCS online shop for the Writers’ Weekend
lunch.
Saturday 12 March 2016
10.00am - 1.00pm
Katie Ward - Waterfront Room 211
Amanda Hodgkinson - Waterfront Room 217
Lunch
More about the writers here
Sarah Bower
https://twitter.com/SarahBower
Liz Calder
www.fullcircle-editions.co.uk
www.flipsidefestival.co.uk
Rachel Calder
www.sayleliteraryagency.com
Joanna Carrick
www.redrosechain.com
Inua Ellams
www.inuaellams.com
www.phaze05.com
Jason Hewitt
www.jason-hewitt.com
www.facebook.com/jasonhewittauthor
Amanda Hodgkinson
www.amandahodgkinson.com
2.00pm - 5.00pm
Inua Ellams - Waterfront Room 211
Diana Souhami - Waterfront Room 217
Diana Souhami
www.dianasouhami.net
5.00pm - 6.00pm
Liz Calder & Rachel Calder - Waterfront Room 212
This session is free.
Katie Ward
www.katieward.co.uk
Sunday 13 March 2016
Kate Worsley
www.davidhigham.co.uk
10.00am - 1.00pm
Joanna Carrick - Waterfront Room 211
Sarah Bower - Waterfront Room 217
[email protected]
Lunch
01473 338811
2.00pm - 5.00pm
Jason Hewitt - Waterfront Room 211
Kate Worsley - Waterfront Room 217
http://www.ucs.ac.uk/Courses/UG/English
www.facebook.com/ucsenglish
artworking & design by Luke Pyett
12 and 13 March 2016