Workshops and Police...

June, 2024

​An amazing month – lots happening. here's a quick summary...
 
June began with me completing the first full draft of the manuscript with the working title A Day in His Life. At 38,000 words, it is a novella. I will return to it in a month or so to explore expansion, but where it sits at the moment is certainly enough for the story being told. I can add more back story and perhaps one or two more incidents during the character’s day, but I don’t want to artificially inflate what is meant to represent a single day. For now, that project must simmer.

​ 

​I’m excited to share that Writers SA has engaged me to deliver two events in the latter part of the year. The first is a six hour intensive writing workshop on August 30th where participants will be challenged to explore aspects of their current projects with the aim of refining and improving their writing. I’m hoping to stir their self-critical passion and creativity to enable them to grow their projects.

​The second is titled First Drafts which is delivered in eight fortnightly sessions, each ninety minutes, consisting of, say, thirty minutes of me front-loading on specific topics like story and chapter openings, character and setting creation and so on, and then a workshop atmosphere for the remainder of each session during which the participants can discuss and share and begin exploring those specific elements in their own projects.
​​ 

I’ve also been enjoying collaborating with Richard Miles’ on his historical project – a collection of stories from mounted police officers detailing the history of the South Australian Mounted Cadre. Close to completion as a manuscript, we’re currently exploring publication opportunities for this unique book.

​ Two new manuscripts have been offered to publishers, so I await responses on their first outings in the big world.
​
And, towards the close of June, I’ve embarked on creating the third manuscript in the Dragon Kin series. The Dragon Kin fantasy novels have been a slow work in progress since I drafted the first book, Storm, in 2021, and the second, War, last year. All titles are working titles only, and the new book is titled Revenge, for now. I’ll appraise you of the general content of that series next blog.
 
July will be busy with other matters, but let’s see where it takes us.