Ten Experiments starting June 19
Limited places available in my 6-month online course
Update: This course is now sold out. But do get in touch at the email below if you’d like to join the waiting list or get priority notice the next time I present it.
Dear friends
I’m writing to let you know of a 6-month online course I’m presenting for experienced writers. It’s called Ten Experiments: Deepening and Liberating Your Creative Practice, and will be a practical application of many of the creative strategies I discuss in my book The Luminous Solution. The course will start on June 19.
How will it work?
The format is simple. One Wednesday each month (10am-11.30am Sydney, Australia time) there will be a Zoom class of 1.5 hours where I’ll introduce and elaborate on the topic of the month, with lots of time for discussion, questions and sharing of experience.
At the end of the class I’ll provide a set of practical ‘experiments’ and exercises for you to try in your current project over the following month.
The Zoom recordings will be available for watching or listening if you can’t make the class for any reason (or if you want to watch / listen again).
Throughout the course you’ll have access to a private online discussion board you can visit anytime for sharing questions, resources, inspiration, consolation, struggles and breakthroughs. This forum will become a lively little creative community – with strict privacy and confidentiality rules - for the course duration.
The course is hosted on an education platform called Thinkific.
We won’t be workshopping, reading or giving specific feedback on our work in progress but general discussion of process always welcome.
The group size is limited to 14. There are several places left.
What will it cover?
The course will explore practical application some of the creative techniques I wrote about in my book, most specifically in a chapter called ‘The Grumpy Struggle, Despair and the Luminous Solution’. They include:
Heat-seeking - finding your fire
Making surprising connections
Knowing when to wait
Borrowing another's creative power
Turning tables & throwing grenades
Digging deeper for your own gold
Circling & cycling
Mapping how far you've come
Scoping the way ahead
Aiming higher - risk & creative ambition
Along with all of this we’ll be discussing concepts such as divergent and convergent thinking, mood and creativity, intuition and risk. Outside the formal content there will be much informal discussion of other creative strategies, barriers and solutions.
Who’s it for?
This course is aimed at ‘experienced’ writers, by which I mean those who have been practising their craft for five or more years and have produced at least one substantial work. Lack of publication or professional representation is no barrier – I just want to ensure participants are past the beginner stage in their learning and practice.
Participants can be at any stage of a project - the techniques and experiments we’re trying can work at any time and I use them repeatedly throughout my own creative process. You can be working in any genre or form (i.e. fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc).
What’s the cost?
The price for the six-month course is $A1870 to be paid on enrolment, either in one sum or by six automatic monthly credit card instalments of $312. The cost includes GST and also covers my Stripe & Thinkific fees.
When will it start?
Wednesday 19 June, 10-11.30am Sydney time. We will meet at roughly four-weekly intervals (with a small wiggle in August/Sept to allow for an overseas trip of mine), with a final class on November 6. The community discussion board is open for contributions and chat as soon as you enrol.
About me
I have published seven novels and three books of non-fiction. My latest novel Stone Yard Devotional was described by the UK Guardian in March as ‘a quiet novel of immense power’ and has been praised by authors Anne Enright, Tim Winton, Karen Joy Fowler, Hannah Kent and Paula Hawkins among others. My work has won or been shortlisted for a number of prizes. More information can be found at my website, www.charlottewood.com.au
Next steps
If you’d like to sign up or have questions, please email hello@charlottewood.com.au with an expression of interest - tell me a little about your writing background and any particular struggles you’re having at present. If I think we’re a good fit I’ll then send you an enrolment link and you can sign up and into the community board.
Warm wishes
Charlotte