Writing workshops

I did NOT pose this picture. I stumbled across the hat on a rock on one of my afternoon walks. It was a bit eerie. What was the hat doing on the rock? The most obvious answer was that someone had found it - unattached to a human - and kindly left it in prominent spot in the hope that its owner would return and find it. BUT. As one of the wonderful young women in my Dancing Wombat Workshops said - 'there is always a but' - BUT it could also be that someone carefully placed it there to see - laugh at? analyse? capture and put up on Youtube? - reactions. Was there someone hiding behind a rock nearby, observing what I would do? A hidden camera perhaps? Or was there something under the hat I should, or shouldn't find? A note – a love letter, a clue to hidden treasure – hidden under it? Is it something more nefarious?

And so on.

Once upon a time I thought writing was a gift. And sure, some writers are more nearly gifted than others, but for all of us – including those super-clever writers – writing is a craft. A craft to be learned, loved, worked on, more nearly perfected, over time. We pretty much all need to serve an apprenticeship.

Rocking Boat Workshops

Through Rocking Boat - rockingboat.au - I, and my team, offer creative writing workshops designed for people facing literacy and social challenges (including people with disability or a history of incarceration or trauma).

I also offer creative writing workshop to school aged children and adolescents, older women and other groups by request.

These workshops come out of my many years of professional experience and my enjoyment of working with people who have a desire to engage with the world in creative ways.

We are happy to come to rural and regional areas to hold workshops.

A D Penhall Workshops

If you are an aspiring fiction writer (with or without literacy challenges), I may also be able to help you with the apprenticeship. I have no magic wand, or super-special insights, but I've learned a few things during my diverse writing, academic, professional, etc life and am (sometimes) available for small group adult genre writing workshops, and (sometimes) for individual support. Workshops can be tailored to suit individual, small group and organisational needs and budgets.

All writing workshops are based in a very sound understanding and appreciation of diverse narrative fiction forms and practices. I have an M.A. Creative Writing from UTS, published short stories, as well as editing experience in both fiction and non-fiction.

All workshops are based in an understanding that the ideas that bubble up inside us require refining, support, many coffees/ teas/ beers/ wines/ whiskys, discussion with friends/ other writers/ yourself, a lot of thinking, rethinking, hair pulling, sleepless nights and many moments of joy, hopefully shared with another person or persons.

Workshops can be face to face, via zoom / skype / facetime / whatsapp etc, purely on-line or a combination of the above.

For more info on workshops tailored for neurodiverse individuals, see rockingboat.au.

For more info on all other workshops, please fill in the contact page on this website.