TESTIMONIALS from attendees As a professional presenter, I was incredibly impressed with the presentation. As a writer, I was enthralled. As a human being I was inspired. Hands down the best bit of the conference for me. - Nina Campbell, Author of Lemon Tree. https://ndcampbell.com.au/
Without doubt, the highlight of the conference for me! Thank you and I can't wait to do more with you. Fantastic. So helpful. Covered what I expected and so much more. - EC del Zuanne, Author
Very practical at all levels. Videos were fabulous additions that illustrated the points really well. Great presenter - very engaging. Personal insights were great, too. - Tanya Nellestein, Author
I'd never considered writing a fight scene AT ALL, but a friend convinced me to attend your presentation. It was absolutely gripping and fantastic. Thank you. It will change the way I think and write about conflict. - Amber Jakeman, writes feel-good fiction https://amberjakeman.com/
Women and men are equal, but different. In this age of 'kick-ass' women and 'strong' women in genre fiction, writers need to understand those differences in order to write realistic female and male characters. This 2 hour workshop aims to help writers understand the physiological and psychological differences in how women and men get into arguments/fights, how they behave during altercations, and how they feel about them afterwards. In addition, it covers key points on how women fight, physically, - and the way those differ to how men fight. Suitable for writing characters who are either untrained in martial arts, or who are trained. Learn the small, vital details that will make your fight scene immersive and realistic to your readers.
NOTE: This workshop can also be done in a 3 hour format to allow for writing exercises.
MASTERCLASS The Masterclass goes into more detail, and also works with authors to step through fight scenes and physically block out how positioning, fighting techniques and settings will work in their own fight scene, from their own work in progress. Students also get to critique 3 scenes - time permitting. 3 Hours
From the Inside, Out
Creating authentic characters and relatable ensemble casts using personality profiling
This 2 hr workshop uses a simple personality profiling system to teach writers how to generate characters with depth. A good writer has to learn how to write people who aren't just them wearing different clothing. Which means you need to get inside the character right from birth. People are born with some personality traits. You need to understand them, and then layer on external influences that modify the basic traits. Learn how to balance your characters with others in your story, so every reader will find at least one character to identify with. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each personality type - and how to use those to drive character conflicts and decisions in response to plot events. Understand how personality types are influenced by cultural, societal and familial backgrounds. Above all, learn how to create characters that behave consistently.
From the Ground, Up
Building realistic worlds and living cultures based on science
2 hour workshop - joint presentation by Amanda Pillar (Senior Archeologist) and Aiki Flinthart (Geologist) Too often we read fantasy and science fiction novels that have unrealistic worlds with weird geography and human cultures that feel shallow. Or we see fantasy maps that show rivers running uphill. With more emphasis on ‘immersion’ for readers, it’s crucial that a novel’s worldbuilding is consistent and has solid foundations in science. Speculative fiction writers Amanda Pillar (Senior Archaeologist) and Aiki Flinthart (geologist) present the key concepts needed for creating a believable physical landscape, map creation, providing your cultures with important resources, and showing how resource availability will affect cultural development and history.
Workshops given in person, only. For details contact Aiki through the Contact Details page.
Aiki has trained in martial arts for 18 years, with crosstraining in knife-throwing and archery. She has also taught personality-profiling workshops in corporate environments for 8 years