2015 Marvellous Journeys: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Who: Terry Dowling
When:
Saturday 18 April 2015, 10am-4pm
Cost:
Full Price: $180; Member: $125; Conc Member: $110
Level:
Beginner/Intermediate

Want to write out of this world? Do you dream of the impossible? Then get ready to immerse your imagination in the genres of science fiction and fantasy with one of Australia’s most awarded and internationally acclaimed speculative writers, Terry Dowling.

Terry Dowling has been described by Locus as “the most noted prose stylist in Australian speculative fiction”. In this one-day course Terry will explore the exciting and lucrative genres of fantasy and science fiction, with an emphasis on the key elements of imaginative storytelling and producing what sells.

Terry will focus on the special requirements of the field: creating worlds that are consistent and logical, characters that are believable and interesting, and situations that will intrigue the modern reader. The course will involve both aspects of latest genre theory plus practical exercises for achieving such essential storytelling techniques as invisibility of delivery and the Voice of Truth. Terry will give special attention to current local and international markets, the presentation of professional manuscripts and important strategies for developing both style and suspension of disbelief essential for success in the field. Students will be given the chance to receive feedback on their writing.

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Students will gain a clear and practical understanding of the field’s current requirements and what the leading editors are looking for.
  • Students will gain a practical insight into how manuscripts should be presented for the current international market.
  • Students will gain a clear understanding of the importance of Invisibility and the Voice of Truth in the presentation of narrative.
  • Students will receive an introduction to such essential writing skills as logic-testing, brainstorming and the use of both dialogue cues and narrative cues to establish characters and believable dialogue.
  • Students will be introduced to the art of successful world-building using The Fourteen Things.
  • Students will apply the above elements in (1) a practical manuscript evaluation exercise and (2) anonymous evaluation of their own writing.

Food
Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided. Course participants are advised to bring their own lunch as there are no cafes within easy walking distance.

Student Requirements
Terry Dowling asks that for the forthcoming Marvellous Journeys workshop each person attending bring along a sample piece of their writing, (between 200-1000 words) preferably the beginning of something. Three (3) stapled copies please without the author’s name appearing anywhere on the manuscript (so that only Terry will know it belongs to you).

Recommended Reading

Jonathan Strahan & Charles N. Brown, The Locus Awards, Voyager, 2004.

Bill Congreve & Michelle Marquardt, The Year’s Best Australian SF and Fantasy, MirrorDanse Books, 2005-2010.

Stephen King, On Writing, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002.

About the tutor
Terry Dowling
is one of Australia’s most awarded, versatile and internationally acclaimed writers of science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy. He is author of thirteen books, among them Clowns at Midnight (which London’s Guardian newspaper called “an exceptional work that bears comparison to John Fowles’s The Magus), the award-winning Tom Rynosseros saga, and such critically praised collections as Amberjack: Tales of Fear & Wonder (starred review, Publisher’s Weekly), Basic Black: Tales of Appropriate Fear (starred review, Publisher’s Weekly) and Blackwater Days, as well as three best-selling computer adventures. Terry’s stories have appeared in The Year’s Best Science Fiction, The Year’s Best SF, The Year’s Best Fantasy, The Best New Horror, The Year’s Best Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, as well as in anthologies as diverse as Dreaming Down Under, Wizards, The Dark, Inferno, Songs of the Dying Earth and Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror. He is editor of such titles as Mortal Fire: Best Australian SF, The Essential Ellison and The Jack Vance Treasury and winner of the 2007 International Horror Guild Award for Best Collection. The award-winning genre newspaper Locus calls him a “highly original” writer, “the most noted prose stylist in Australian speculative fiction” and “Australia’s finest writer of horror”. It also regards his work as placing him “among the masters of the field.” (www.terrydowling.com)

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