The Excited Writer - Term 2 Workshop: Building Story

Runs from May 4 to July 6, 2025

All great stories have the same formula: Exciting beginning, rising middle, and climactic ending. Whether you plan every plot point before even writing the first chapter, or you write by the seat of your pants and let the story take you wherever it wants to go, the story needs to go through a range of tension-ascending techniques, building to a climax, followed by a satisfying resolution. Over these ten weeks we will be looking at 15 beats designed to keep your reader along for the entire ride.

Join author and book-mentor, MH Salter, for an inspiring and interactive workshop that will keep you excited about your writing, whether you have completed a first draft, or are still in the planning stages. Over these ten weeks, you will focus on your own work-in-progress.

May 4: Introduction - Introduce your book idea, the main plot points in your story, and what you would like to gain and focus on throughout the term. We also look over the 15 beats that make up the story arc and discuss ways this will improve your story.

May 11: Plotter or Pantser - Do you plot out your book, or do you write by the seat of your pants? Both of these methods work well, and this week we will look at how you write, and the ways that each method can improve your word count. 

May 18: Act One - This week we will look at the first act of your manuscript using the following beats: The Opening Image; The Theme Stated; The Normal World; The Inciting Incident; The Debate.

May 25: Act Two - This week we will look at the second act of your manuscript using the following beats: Act Two Begins; The Upside-down World; Fun and Games; The Midpoint (The Second Inciting Incident); Everything Hits the Fan; Death; The Awakening.

Jun 1: Act Three - This week we will look at the third act of your manuscript using the following beats: Act Three Begins; Climax; Resolution. 

June 8: Story Arc Template - This week we fill out your story arc template, incorporating all three acts.

June 15: Chapter Bookends - This week we will look at the ways to use conflict, cliff hangers, and perfectly placed rising tensions, to keep up the pace of your book in relation to your chapter beginnings and endings. 

June 22: World Building - This week we will look at ways to turn up the brightness of your world, and how the setting of your book can be seen vivid colour.

June 29: Writer's Block - This week we will look at the ways that writer's block can hit you, and the different methods you can use to stay excited about your writing. 

July 6: What Now? - Looking at the growth of your story during this term, we will introduce the subject of Term 3, The First Chapter, and discuss how your whole story can begin with the biggest bang possible.

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The event will be held at the Cove Civic Centre in Hallett Cove, SA, or online via Zoom, every Sunday during the school term. 

Choose to enrol week by week, or book the full term to receive 20% off the total cost. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get excited about your manuscript, and learn how to make your story grab hold of the reader and refuse to let go, even after they turn the final page.