Annual writers’ weekend Midwinter Words is back for its 11th year, bringing two creative workshops to Drysdale and Portarlington at the end of this month.
With a focus on short fiction, Midwinter Words 2025 will once again offer the chance for local writers to learn, create and connect.
Kicking off on Saturday, July 26 at Boronggook Drysdale Library, the first event of the weekend will be an all-day short fiction workshop led by author and RMIT lecturer Clare Strahan.
Ms Strahan will lead attendees through the nitty gritty of creating characters, backstory, chronology, showing and telling, dialogue and point of view within a limited word count.
The second workshop of the weekend will be presented by librarian and writing facilitator Ross Palmer in the Bayview Room at Parks Hall, Portarlington on Sunday, July 27.
Mr Palmer will lead a series of flash fiction exercises and provide follow-up exercises for writers to take with them.
Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to read and get feedback on their work, as well as meet both presenters and connect with other local writers and groups.
Event co-organiser Pearl Wilson said the weekend had a lot to offer local writers.
“(Fellow event organiser) Jenny Macaulay and I are really looking forward to this one, because we are both facilitators of writing groups that mainly do short stories and flash fiction, and that’s what this weekend is all about,” Ms Wilson said.
“We’ve had crime writing and memoirs, all sorts of different subjects over the past 10 years, so it’s great to have these presenters who will be doing something that’s really relevant to a lot of local writers.”
Visit trybooking.com/DBOKR for tickets or more information.