youth writing workshop

The Secret of Stories 

I played with Barbies until I was in high school. I kept this mostly to myself after I realised that the last few friends with whom I used to play had locked away their sets of Barbies in the attic or given them away to their little cousins,…

Problems and Choices

When someone asks you how your day went, what parts do you tell them? I usually start with the moments that were the most interesting, or had the greatest conflict. Some dude was acting crazy on the tram. My boss had an unreasonable request. I spilt something on…

The Love Scent

Peppermint and Orange. That smell should be fermented into the walls and soaked into the bedsheets. It was a sweet and loving smell. As I saw her that night, all of her, I knew what I had missed. Well, what I had almost missed. Her smell, that sharpness…

How to Write an Interesting First Act

There are a lot of stories in the world and only so many hours in the day. Often, working with students, I’ll point to the Melbourne Young Writer’s Studio bookshelf and ask how many books they think are up there (I have no idea, but it’s a…