So You Want To Write? with Hannah Kent and Rebecca Starford
Learn how to begin and maintain a focused creative writing practice
This course is designed for those who wish to write seriously, but may be having difficulties in beginning or maintaining a focused creative writing practice.
‘So You Want To Write’ is designed to instil confidence in writers and to give them a renewed understanding of what is required to begin, continue or complete a writing project. Participants will come away with strategies to manage tendencies towards procrastination and self-doubt, and suggestions to assist and encourage creativity.
Through a series of dynamic writing exercises and key insights into the creative practice, this course will assist you in developing techniques to keep you motivated, disciplined in the lonely hours at your desk, and able to maintain a healthy and productive relationship with your writing.
The course is designed to take you 4-5 hours in total, and can be completed in short stages at your convenience.
Scroll down to see the full course curriculum and a list of frequently asked questions.
KYD Members receive a 10% discount on this course and all other KYD online courses throughout the year. Become a member here, or contact [email protected] for more information.
Want to buy a course for a friend? Purchase a gift voucher here.
Your Instructor
Hannah Kent is the co-founder and publishing director of Kill Your Darlings. Her debut novel, Burial Rites (2013), has been translated into thirty languages and was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Stella Prize, the Guardian First Book Award, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, amongst others. Hannah’s second novel, The Good People (2016) was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, the Queensland Literary Awards and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. It is being adapted for film by Aquarius Productions.
Rebecca Starford is the co-founder and publishing director of Kill Your Darlings. Her debut memoir, Bad Behaviour (Allen & Unwin), was published in 2015 and is currently in development with Matchbox Pictures. Her novel The Imitator was published in 2021. Rebecca is a former editor at Text Publishing, and has worked for Affirm Press and Australian Book Review. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Age, and Weekend Australian. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland.
Course Curriculum
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StartIntroduction (0:17)
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StartSuggested Exercise: What Prevents You From Writing?
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StartYour Teachers: Why We Write and What Stops Us From Writing
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StartThe Things That Stop Us From Writing
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StartYour Teachers: Difficulties and Inhibitors
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StartPersonal and Practical Inhibitors
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StartYour Teachers: Personal or Practical Inhibitors
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StartSuggested Exercise: How to Manage Personal and Practical Inhibitors
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StartPersonal Inhibitors
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StartYou Are Not Alone
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StartYour Teachers: Managing Personal Inhibitors
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StartEight Suggestions for a Healthy Relationship to Writing
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StartIntroduction (0:36)
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StartSuggested Exercise: The Best Thing You've Ever Written
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StartDon't Worry
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StartSuggested Exercise: The Worst Thing You've Ever Written
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StartWhen Are You Most Inclined to Write Well?
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StartYour Teachers: On Deadlines
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StartSuggested Exercise: Harnessing the Unconscious
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StartEncouraging Creativity
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StartSuggested Exercise: Three Objects
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StartYour Teachers: How Do You Encourage Your Creativity?
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StartThe Importance of Reading
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StartThe Importance of Daydreaming
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StartCreativity Triggers
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StartThe Dark Force of Procrastination
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StartWays to Counter Procrastination
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StartWhen Your Writing is Growing Stale