This course ran in 2019. We have an online version of this workshop running in September 2020, check it out here. 

We hate it in real life, but in realistic narrative fiction which involves characters we care about, it’s a necessity. In this one-day workshop we will explore how to take characters not where they want to go, but where they need to go: into the vortex of conflict.

This workshop is designed for writers who want their work to feel enlivened with greater dramatic tension and compelling storylines. The group will look at how a story’s shape is structured around a central conflict, and how external and internal conflict interact in a story to create a satisfying sense of unity and momentum.

From the ancient Greeks to what’s on Netflix, this workshop will take a long-range look into what galvanises a plot and what a character struggles with. To develop these insights and skills, participants will engage in writing and rewriting scenes during the day.

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Expected Learning Outcomes

Participants will gain:

1. An understanding of how a story’s structural integrity is built around a character in conflict;
2. The usefulness of studying and integrating the three arenas of conflict in fiction, and an entertaining, inclusive approach to integrating ‘dark’ material into storylines; and
3. Some keys and prompts to creating fiction which is naturalistic, plausible and compelling.

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Participant Requirements

Participants must have written short stories or have a novel in progress as part of their creative writing experience, and have thoughts to share about structure, characterisation and setting. Please bring a notebook or pen.