“Everyone has a story,” say local writers, Kim Hodges and Leonie Henschke. “A story other people will want to read if it has pace, suspense, characters who come alive, feelings and reflection.”
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To show you how to write that story, Kim and Leonie are running a six-week course ‘How to Write your Memoir’. Held at the Coffs Harbour Women’s Health Centre in Little Street, it will run as an evening or daytime program.
The evening course starts on the August 23 from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm and the daytime course on the August 24 from 10 am to 12 noon. Refreshments will be provided and a course handbook. The hands-on course will cover writing theory and practical skills with ample time for writing exercises and your own work.
Kim and Leonie will also provide assessment and appraisal of finished chapters.
Participants will learn how to plan and get started and develop their writing skills to make the characters come alive with feelings and growth. They will also show techniques for creating atmosphere, period detail and setting.
Also, most importantly, participants will be encouraged to finish (always the hard part) a draft outline memoir by the end of the course with some fully fleshed out chapters which can be reviewed. The final session will give advice on options and protocols for self-publishing, publishing houses, and printing and marketing.
The cost is $180 for the six week course (day or evening) with concessions available. Ring Kim (0435 211 522) or Leonie (041 266 8315) for more information, registration and payment details.
Both presenters are well-experienced in delivering and facilitating workshops and have first-hand experience of writing and publishing. Kim Hodges lives in Repton and is currently editing her second memoir for publication in February 2018. She has a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters of Social Policy (University of Wollongong) and has been employed in many professional roles. Tutor and Lecturer in the School of Arts and Social Science (Southern Cross University); Consultant: Curriculum development (at TAFE NSW) and in Policy (NSW Government).
Kim’s first published memoir Girl on the Edge, an arresting memoir was published in February 2016 and has sold well across Australia. Kim speaks on book tours, festivals and radio and school programs spreading the messages of her memoir which deals with sensitive emotional issues. “My adolescent experiences niggled away in the back of my mind for decades and worked their way into words. This memoir is written through a sensitive adolescent lens and reflections as an adult. It explores: identity; belonging; alienation; and class, gender and power issues,” she says. “It is set within a small town context, a local school and family.”
Leonie Henschke lives in Sawtell and belongs to the Coffs Harbour Writers’ Group and has facilitated many workshops on writing skills. She is a journalist and writer. She began her career as a journalist and editor on magazines and newspapers for Consolidated Press (the Packer organisation) and then worked for Angus & Robertson Publishers in Australia and Great Britain as Managing Editor. Over the last 20 years she has worked for the University of New England in Armidale in a number of roles, including Managing Director of the University’s commercial arm, UNE Partnerships, delivering corporate training in Australia and internationally. She is currently working on a novel set in WWII Brisbane and contributes widely to arts and cultural activities across the region with networking and consulting at local, state and federal government levels. Leonie guided Kim down to road to secure a publisher.