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Jun. 13th, 2009 03:56 pmI'm in announcement mode. My whole day has been nothing but announcements and emails asking things and announcements and emails and... Smallville. It's a strange kind of day, but it works.
From now till the end of the year it looks as if all my teaching is in Canberra. Sorry about that, interstate folks, but staff changes and phonecalls going astray have kinda limited things. I'll be in Melbourne for Continuum and in Sydney (probably) for the Freecon, but apart from that, my whole life is in Canberra this year. It's a pity. I love a few days in Sydney in July especially, to warm up a bit. If things change, I'll let you know.
Speaking of July, I'm doing a Tuesday evening course at the ANU on Finding Heroes starting late July. It's mostly Medieval - we're going to look at where our heroes come from and how they develop. It's all about the relationship between history and story, which is rather a thing of mine (don't laugh - it's not *that* obvious - I just wrote all my theses on aspects of that precise subject, and my first novel, and... please, stop laughing!).
I'm also giving a Saturday ANU course on writing articles for the web. If anyone comes from interstate, we could have dinner together afterwards. I always feel a bit guilty when someone drives so far for one of my courses, and Saturday is a good night for a dinner.
Then there's the course for younger folk all about writing one's own school for wizards. My preparation for this is amazingly arduous. Harry Potter (of course - I'm watching every single film - again), plus some Jennings, Chalet School, Abbey Girl books. I so believe in the value of hard work.
My favourite July course has to be the very short one late in the month. It's for writers who suddenly find they're at conventions and conferences and giving readings and things. It's all about audience control. Mwhahaha!
Actually, it's about using your nerves and making yourself heard and using your own voice. And microphones. It's about microphones. if you want to see me in action on all fronts (not doing the workshop - giving a reading and maybe answering questions) I'm part of the Fireside Chat series at the ACT Writers' Centre this Tuesday. I think I am, anyway. No-one's got back to me with confirmation, yet.
In August I'm teaching something for writers and teachers and anyone who wants to work with the Middle Ages. It's called 'Bringing the Middle Ages to Life.' I'm also teaching a very practical workshop on writing manuals.
September is all about writing. I've been asked to teach an evening course called Finding your writing voice. I'm teaching an August/September series for youth on world creation. Specifically on parallel world creation. I call this the Harry Potter effect.
October is mostly the Middle Ages. I've been missing the Middle Ages with all the fiction that's occupying my life and all the food history, so getting back to it is going to make me very happy. The October evening course is that old favourite The Medieval Life Cycle: from conception to afterlife.' Yep, sex and ghosts. Explaining divorce and annulment and consanguinity and the boiling of saints' bones.
By 'mostly,' I mean that I'm taking a workshop on writing local fantasy as well. Just one day. 10th October. It's because both of my novels ought to be out by then, and they're both local fantasy. What I am calling local fantasy for workshop purposes (because both novels have Canberra settings, and neither has a Canberra publisher) has lots of possible names - suburban fantasy, urban fantasy, slipstream, even possibly magic realism - it all depends on who is doing the labelling and what they what they want to achieve with the label. I want to achieve an entertaining and educational workshop for people who want to use magic in the world they know, so 'local fantasy' is as good a label as any.
Then I'm back to the Middle Ages and the 18th century and maybe other periods with a series on worldbuilding using real history. I have recently heard a lot of comments by writers "It doesn't matter - it's only fiction" and then they think the book or the TV show or the film is a failure and they can't see the link between the things that fail and the problems with the worldbuilding. Rather than ranting on this blog and whingeing and acting like a needy child, I decided to teach the course (changing reality is so much more effective than whingeing about it). All I need is students.
The ACT Writers' Centre courses are here and the Australian National University courses are here.
And that is the end of my gratuitous advertising for the day.
From now till the end of the year it looks as if all my teaching is in Canberra. Sorry about that, interstate folks, but staff changes and phonecalls going astray have kinda limited things. I'll be in Melbourne for Continuum and in Sydney (probably) for the Freecon, but apart from that, my whole life is in Canberra this year. It's a pity. I love a few days in Sydney in July especially, to warm up a bit. If things change, I'll let you know.
Speaking of July, I'm doing a Tuesday evening course at the ANU on Finding Heroes starting late July. It's mostly Medieval - we're going to look at where our heroes come from and how they develop. It's all about the relationship between history and story, which is rather a thing of mine (don't laugh - it's not *that* obvious - I just wrote all my theses on aspects of that precise subject, and my first novel, and... please, stop laughing!).
I'm also giving a Saturday ANU course on writing articles for the web. If anyone comes from interstate, we could have dinner together afterwards. I always feel a bit guilty when someone drives so far for one of my courses, and Saturday is a good night for a dinner.
Then there's the course for younger folk all about writing one's own school for wizards. My preparation for this is amazingly arduous. Harry Potter (of course - I'm watching every single film - again), plus some Jennings, Chalet School, Abbey Girl books. I so believe in the value of hard work.
My favourite July course has to be the very short one late in the month. It's for writers who suddenly find they're at conventions and conferences and giving readings and things. It's all about audience control. Mwhahaha!
Actually, it's about using your nerves and making yourself heard and using your own voice. And microphones. It's about microphones. if you want to see me in action on all fronts (not doing the workshop - giving a reading and maybe answering questions) I'm part of the Fireside Chat series at the ACT Writers' Centre this Tuesday. I think I am, anyway. No-one's got back to me with confirmation, yet.
In August I'm teaching something for writers and teachers and anyone who wants to work with the Middle Ages. It's called 'Bringing the Middle Ages to Life.' I'm also teaching a very practical workshop on writing manuals.
September is all about writing. I've been asked to teach an evening course called Finding your writing voice. I'm teaching an August/September series for youth on world creation. Specifically on parallel world creation. I call this the Harry Potter effect.
October is mostly the Middle Ages. I've been missing the Middle Ages with all the fiction that's occupying my life and all the food history, so getting back to it is going to make me very happy. The October evening course is that old favourite The Medieval Life Cycle: from conception to afterlife.' Yep, sex and ghosts. Explaining divorce and annulment and consanguinity and the boiling of saints' bones.
By 'mostly,' I mean that I'm taking a workshop on writing local fantasy as well. Just one day. 10th October. It's because both of my novels ought to be out by then, and they're both local fantasy. What I am calling local fantasy for workshop purposes (because both novels have Canberra settings, and neither has a Canberra publisher) has lots of possible names - suburban fantasy, urban fantasy, slipstream, even possibly magic realism - it all depends on who is doing the labelling and what they what they want to achieve with the label. I want to achieve an entertaining and educational workshop for people who want to use magic in the world they know, so 'local fantasy' is as good a label as any.
Then I'm back to the Middle Ages and the 18th century and maybe other periods with a series on worldbuilding using real history. I have recently heard a lot of comments by writers "It doesn't matter - it's only fiction" and then they think the book or the TV show or the film is a failure and they can't see the link between the things that fail and the problems with the worldbuilding. Rather than ranting on this blog and whingeing and acting like a needy child, I decided to teach the course (changing reality is so much more effective than whingeing about it). All I need is students.
The ACT Writers' Centre courses are here and the Australian National University courses are here.
And that is the end of my gratuitous advertising for the day.