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Participants in face to face courses must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and must comply with any other precautionary measures Writing NSW puts in place. Course participants are currently required to wear a mask while in the classroom.

Researching your family history can uncover fascinating facts and threads of stories that fiction writers envy. But how do you take the information you’ve gathered and turn it into a story others will want to read? Your audience might be your family, friends, fellow genealogists or the broader public. Whoever it is, they want more than a list of dates and events and a family tree.

In this interactive introductory workshop, Dr Betty O’Neill will guide you through the elements of writing that make non-fiction engaging for readers and help you explore the forms that are suitable for your audience and the story you want to tell. You will have opportunities to work on current or planned writing projects and time to discuss your writing with Betty and other group members.

Is this course right for you? Read our FAQ >

This workshop takes place at Writing NSW in Sydney.

Expected learning outcomes

In this introductory workshop, we will:

1. Consider your audience and select the appropriate genres, media and forms for writing and publishing family history
2. Review your research using planning tools and checklists
3. Explore narrative structure and story mapping
4. Experiment with nine story-telling essentials
5. Plan your next steps to confidently start writing your family history.

Participant requirements

Please read our FAQ before enrolling.

Pen and paper, or fully charged device. No prior knowledge or experience is necessary.

If you have questions about this course and/or COVID-safe guidelines, please contact us.

More from Writing NSW

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