Workshop 4: Do we Call the Grammar Police?

In Workshop 4: Do we Call the Grammar Police? we will revise the use of the Comma, Semi-Colon and Correlative Conjunctions. Even though it's a brush up on our grammar for the Spilt Ink Competition we will also take a look at short story punctuation in particular Peter Cowan's short story titled "Canary." Much like Tim Winton, Cowan breaks the rules. Friday 23rd March @ 1pm - inquire about the Print room at FAC reception.

 

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Workshop 3: A Different Genre & Helen Garner's Portable Prose

Workshop 3: A Different Genre at the Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday, 9th March @ 1pm.  As part of the ongoing series - Working the Short Story - the following workshops are designed to help you aim for the biennial OOTA Spilt Ink Competition. This week's class looks at the portable prose of Helen Garner. "Memoirist, fiction writer, faction writer, creative non-fiction/non-fiction writer, journalist? Australian critics and booksellers have stopped trying to pigeonhole Helen Garner and now just give her prizes. This is the power of Garner’s writing. She drills into experience and comes up with such clean, precise distillations of life." Garner’s collections of fiction and nonfiction corroborate her reputation as "a great stylist and a great witness".

Writing Exercises and readings of Garner's prose. 

FOR OOTA WRITERS - Why not join out critiquing group? The more you critique your work, the more you learn!
 

Critiquing Group @ the Fremantle Arts Centre every Prose Friday morning 10.00am to midday.  This is held in the FAC Cafe (small room) and is subject to availability. Writers are asked to send up to 4 pages of their work (Times New Roman, 12, 1.5 spacing) prior to the Friday, so that you can read other writers’ work and comment beforehand.  This can be either a short story, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, part of your novel, your memoir, or part of a non-fiction work that you are having difficulty with. We will critique for two hours, have lunch before class at 1.00pm.  

Please note: The critique session is complimentary to the Friday afternoon Prose Class. Therefore the cost for both sessions is $25.00.  Beginners who do not have a project on the go, are very welcome to join us, to sit in, learn about the advantages of critiquing and perhaps have a coffee (This is free of charge - mornings only).  For more information contact Helen @ hagemann(dot)helen(at)gmail(dot)com

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Joining our Prose Critique Group

FOR OOTA WRITERS - Why not join out critiquing group? The more you critique your work, the more you learn!

Critiquing Group @ the Fremantle Arts Centre every Prose Friday morning 10.00am to midday.  This is held in the FAC Cafe (small room) and is subject to availability. Writers are asked to send up to 4 pages of their work (Times New Roman, 12, 1.5 spacing) prior to the Friday, so that you can read other writers’ work and comment beforehand.  This can be either a short story, flash fiction, prose poetry, part of your novel, your memoir, or part of a non-fiction work that you are having difficulty with. We will critique for two hours, have lunch before class at 1.00pm.  

Please note: The critique session is complimentary to the Friday afternoon Prose Class. Therefore the cost for both sessions is $25.00.  Beginners who do not have a project on the go, are very welcome to join us, to sit in, learn about the advantages of critiquing and perhaps have a coffee (This is free of charge - mornings only).  For more information contact Helen @ hagemann.helen@gmail.com

Check out the fortnightly Prose class @  http://writingatcentre.blogspot.com.au/

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Workshop 2: Creating Unforgettable Protagonists

In Workshop 2 - Creating Unforgettable Protagonists, we continue with our 10 Part Series called "Working  the Short Story" (including Mags Webster on 4th May). We will look at how to create a memorable protagonist and also - How NOT to create a protagonist. Readings of some of Cate Kennedy's protagonists in her short stories, and inspirational affirmations that will get you going. Friday 23rd February @ 1pm - inquire about room at FAC reception. 
PLEASE NOTE:  Places are available in our Friday morning critiquing session. We meet at 10.00am having emailed our work earlier in the week. Cost is $25 including Prose Class @ 1pm. Email: Helen
Check out the Guidelines for the Friday morning critique group @
http://writingatcentre.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/critiquing-workshop-with-helen-hagemann.html

 

How to create a memorable protagonist

Often the secret to writing a good story is to create a memorable protagonist. After all, usually the most pertinent element of a story for readers are the characters. Readers will see something in the protagonist that matches who they are or who they wish to be. Indeed, years after forgetting the story’s plot and its message, readers will remember the characters and their best lines.

How NOT to create a protagonist

You can have the greatest plot in the world, discuss a deep, universal theme, and write crisp, taut sentences, but if the reader can’t connect to your protagonist, the story will fall flat. Simply put, you always must create a protagonist the reader will root for. 

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Working the Short Story: a 10-Part Series with Helen Hagemann

Every second year OOTA conducts a writing competition called Spilt Ink with poetry and prose submissions. To help you produce samples of your stories (hopefully a winning entry), Helen will conduct a 10 Part Series called "Working  the Short Story" (including Mags Webster on 4th May). The aim will be to guide you and refresh your knowledge of what makes a good story. Each Prose class will look at major elements that will have you powering away into your writing. This is a work-in-progress list, however each class will cover one of the following:- Friday 9th February @ 1pm is Workshop 1 - Getting started with writing prompts.

1.  Getting started with writing prompts
2.  Writing affirmations for inspiration
3.  Choosing a different genre ie. prose poetry, science fiction, non-fiction, creative non-fiction
4.  Grammar
5.  Theme
6.  Setting
7.  Point of View
8.  Characters
9.  Plot
10.  General Tidy-up: Critiquing, Editing and Final polishing

PLEASE NOTE:  Places are available in our Friday morning critiquing session. We meet at 10.00am having emailed our work earlier in the week. Cost is $25 including Prose Class @ 1pm.
Check out the Guidelines for the Friday morning critique group @ 
https://writingatcentre.blogspot.com.au/2018/03/joining-our-prose-critique-group.html

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News & Changes in 2018 for Prose Writers

Dear Prose Writers
Firstly, Happy New Year! and I hope you have managed to do some writing over the holidays. In 2018 there will be some changes to the Prose class at the Fremantle Arts Centre. As you are aware usually the classes run all year each Friday fortnight, however this year there will be 3 terms - breaking at the start of each school holidays (April, July, Sep/Oct) This is due mainly to the FAC not providing a room and also as your tutor I will be travelling during these two periods, so far April & July school holidays.
I am only covering the first half of the year at the moment, so the following changes are up to Friday 29th June, 2018 (end of school term).  Critique group - please read below re our monthly get-together.

Prose Classes
Friday 9th & 23rd February with Helen Hagemann
Friday 9th & 23rd March with Helen Hagemann
Friday 6th April with Helen Hagemann - end of term

--------------------- o ------------------- School Holiday Break

Friday 4th May with Mags Webster TBC
Friday 18th May with Helen Hagemann

Friday 1st June with Helen Hagemann
     "     15th June with Helen Hagemann
     "     29th June with Helen Hagemann  - end of term

-------------------- o ------------------ -- School Holiday Break


Critique Group - to meet once a month.
Friday 9th February, 9th March, 6th April & 1st June with Helen Hagemann
Please Note: Critiquers are free to meet on Friday 4th May at the FAC and also during the school holidays at the Hubbles Cafe, which should be booked with the owner. 
Cheers, Helen Hagemann

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Readings of Your Work: Final for 2017!

Final Prose Class for the Year with Helen Hagemann on Friday, 1st December @ 1pm. We will have two hours of  "READINGS OF YOUR WORK" with a coffee break in between. Please bring along your favourite piece to read for approximately 5 - 8 minutes. This is very good practice, as well as having others hear your work! Any member who has prose poetry, vignettes, flash fiction, script, memoir, children's story, a novel on the go, or some non-fiction are very welcome to join us. The cost for this "readings" session is $10 - to cover the cost of room rental. I hope you can join us!

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Shifts in POV: J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy"

Workshop: Shifts in POV with Helen Hagemann @ the Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday, 17th November, 1pm-3pm.  Readings of J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy". Writing exercises will look at shifts in POV from chapter to chapter and within a single chapter.  For those writing short stories this will also be a challenge.

Venue: Fremantle Arts Centre, Upstairs Room, however inquire at desk. Time: 1-3pm. What to bring: Notepad, pen, laptop or iPad Cost: OOTA $25 - NON-OOTA $30 (ask for membership form to save). For information on joining OOTA and what we do, please visit our website ootawriters.com

 


On The Casual Vacancy

For two years, the working title of the novel was Responsible, until Rowling picked up Charles Arnold-Baker's work on local government, Local Council Administration, whilst looking something up and came across the term "casual vacancy." The New Yorker questioned Rowling's original choice of title, and she remarked "This is a book about responsibility. In the minor sense—how responsible we are for our own personal happiness, and where we find ourselves in life—but in the macro sense also, of course: how responsible we are for the poor, the disadvantaged, other people’s misery."

One of the novel's major themes is politics. The Guardian referred to The Casual Vacancy as a "parable of national politics", with Rowling saying, "I'm interested in that drive, that rush to judgment, that is so prevalent in our society. We all know that pleasurable rush that comes from condemning, and in the short term it's quite a satisfying thing to do, isn't it?" Rowling was also critical of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition that had led since the general election in 2010 saying, "There has been a horribly familiar change of atmosphere [since the 2010 election], it feels to me a lot like it did in the early 90s, where there's been a bit of redistribution of benefits and suddenly lone-parent families are that little bit worse off. But it's not a 'little bit' when you're in that situation. Even a tenner a week can make such a vast, vast difference. So, yeah, it does feel familiar. Though I started writing this five years ago when we didn't have a coalition government, so it's become maybe more relevant as I've written." Rowling went on to say that Britain held a "phenomenally snobby society", and described the middle class as "pretentious" and "funny". 
^{Reference - Wikipedia}

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The Bechdel Test: Friday, 3rd November with Helen Hagemann

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Workshop: The Bechdel Test with Helen Hagemann @ the Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday, 3rd November, 1pm-3pm.  Readings of Virginia Woolf's short story "The Widow and the Parrot: a true story." The Bechdel Test now a benchmark in movies is also a testament to the influence Virginia Woolf still has on not just literature, but all modern art forms, and is living proof that her ideas live on even decades after her passing.

Venue: Fremantle Arts Centre, Upstairs Room, however inquire at desk. Time: 1-3pm. What to bring: Notepad, pen, laptop or iPad Cost: OOTA $25 - NON-OOTA $30 (ask for membership form to save). For information on joining OOTA and what we do, please visit our website http://ootawriters.com

The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added. About half of all films meet these requirements, according to user-edited databases and the media industry press. The test is used as an indicator for the active presence of women in films and other fiction, and to call attention to gender inequality in fiction.

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The Droste Effect: For your Writing

Workshop: The Droste Effect with Helen Hagemann @ the Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday, 20th October, 1pm-3pm.  Readings of Delmore  Schwartz's short story "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities". Writing exercises will involve using the Droste Effect  to tell a particular story - of a story within a story, within a story, etc.

Venue: Fremantle Arts Centre, Upstairs Room, however inquire at desk. Time: 1-3pm. What to bring: Notepad, pen, laptop or iPad Cost: OOTA $25 - NON-OOTA $30 (ask for membership form to save). For information on joining OOTA and what we do, please visit our website ootawriters.com

The Droste effect (Dutch pronunciation: [drɔstə]), known in art as mise en abyme, is the effect of a picture appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear.^[1] The appearance is recursive: the smaller version contains an even smaller version of the picture, and so on. Only in theory could this go on forever; practically, it continues only as long as the resolution of the picture allows, which is relatively short, since each iteration geometrically reduces the picture's size. It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system of instancing which is the cornerstone of fractal geometry.

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Prose @ Hubbles Yard Cafe

Prose @ Hubbles Yard Cafe with Helen Hagemann Friday, 6th October, 1pm-3pm. This is a critiquing workshop and the idea is to help writers who may have some flash fiction, a short story or novel/chapter opening that they would like others to comment on. All writers at different levels can participate and give brickbats and bouquets. (ie.constructive criticism). You can email Helen prior to class for distribution @ hagemann(dot)hele(at)gmail(dot)com or bring along on the day. 

Please note: Max 4 pages 1.5/2.0 spacing in Times New Roman font. Payment is optional as this is a school holiday class, but any amount is gratefully accepted for Helen's time.
Venue:   Hubbles Yard Cafe, 50 George Street, East Fremantle.
Meet for lunch at 12-12.30pm or order smaller meals /coffee at 1pm in the separate room that is provided.

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Looking @ Tom Cox with Helen Hagemann

Looking @ Tom Cox with Helen Hagemann @ the Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday, 22nd September, 1pm-3pm.  Whether published or not this workshop is about promoting yourself as a writer on all social media platforms. Published British author and social-media guru Tom Cox will be our focus as a template. 
Venue: Fremantle Arts Centre, Upstairs in the Print Studio.

Time: 1-3pm. What to bring:  Notepad, pen, laptop or iPad

Cost:  OOTA $25  - NON-OOTA $30 (ask for membership form to save).  
Please note: For information on joining OOTA and what we do, please visit our website http://ootawriters.com

Tom Cox is one writer who uses all social media platforms to focus his writing, ie his books, his philosophy on life, family and nature. Mostly all of these areas are covered with his own personalised photographic record. His concerted efforts to self promote have gained him as many as 23.6K followers on Instagram, 69.3K on Twitter and 805,000 followers on Facebook (approx). Writing is not only about getting published or winning competitions but it is also about living as a writer and creating your own community, ie network. We can all do this now with the help of such mediums as Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, Wordpress and Instagram. All these platforms link to one another and are beneficial in the promotion of your writing, and your life as a writer. Class to read various blog-posts by Tom Cox that highlight, how as a prolific writer, he attracts attention through humour, the environment in which he lives, his basic home philosophy, and also his love of his pet cats.  Writing exercises will cover the same areas as this author.


Cox is a Nottinghamshire-born British author, now based in Devon. He has published nine books, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Good, The Bad & The Furry and Bring Me The Head Of Sergio Garcia, his account of his year as Britain’s most inept golf professional, which was longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book Of The Year award. Between 1999 and 2000 he was the chief Rock Critic for The Guardian newspaper and went on to write columns and features for many other newspapers and magazines, before quitting print journalism altogether in 2015 to write pieces exclusively for his voluntary subscription website. He also hosts a monthly show on the experimental radio station Soundart. His new book, 21st Century Yokel - “a nature book, but not quite like any you will have read before” which crowdfunded in a record-breaking seven hours[4] - will be published by Unbound in October. 2017

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