This course will teach you the fundamentals of essay writing, while working on your own piece, covering craft essentials including style, subject, structure, tone and argument. From Montaigne on, this malleable, hybrid and ever-evolving form has been a perennial place of experimentation, where the writer can trial ideas, explore the world around them, test statements and pose new questions.

Have you always wanted to write fiction? Everyone needs to start somewhere, and Start to Write is the course designed to get you across the basics, as you begin to generate ideas and get your very first words down on the page.

YA fiction is amongst the bestselling genres in Australia, read avidly by teenagers and adults alike—but how do you start writing for this highly engaged community of readers? In this special course, you will carefully study YA’s complex set of rules and conventions, while working towards completing a full first draft of your manuscript.

Successful crime fiction writers may find their work on bestseller lists and even making the leap to movie and television screens. The writing can be hardboiled, action-packed, even philosophical in nature, making crime fiction a diverse genre. This course will take you through the fundamentals of crime fiction, while affording you space to develop your own craft.

Intimate relationships are the centre of so many of the stories we wish to tell. How do we make connections – figurative and physical – between characters realistic? In this exciting short course, you’ll focus on the ins and outs of writing romance, developing your skills in crafting characters and scenes.

Project plan your manuscript with one-on-one consultations with a leading writer.

You will be paired with a leading author for a series of fortnightly one-on-one consultation sessions to discuss your work, and help you negotiate the roadblocks and challenges you might be facing.

For emerging fantasy, science fiction and horror novelists ready to dive in and commit to completing a novel, this rigorous three-stage course will guide you through the process of planning and beginning, applying essential skills in writing (and reading) to the specialised art of speculative fiction, as well as establishing a dedicated writing practice toward completion of your project.

For emerging novelists ready to dive in and make the commitment to complete a full manuscript, this rigorous three-stage course will guide you through the process of planning and beginning your novel, developing essential skills in writing and composition, as well as establishing a dedicated writing practice.

A fascination with history can be transformed into daring works of fiction. In this course, writers will discover opportunities to illuminate the past and learn how to shape and write compelling fiction based on rich historical sources. Whether your goal is to write short stories, a novella, or a full-length manuscript, this program will help open your mind to the creative possibilities of historical fiction.

Short story writing requires an incredibly sharp skill set. This course will be your opportunity to shape a short story over the space of three weeks with award-winning author Laura Elvery, learning the tips and tricks necessary to crafting a captivating work of short fiction.