Carla Salmon Books

Creating bravely

Great stories make the small things big, and the big things small. In this interactive workshop, Carla reveals the techniques behind compelling stories and shows participants how to apply them to their own writing. Through quick-fire challenges, creative prompts and engaging activities, students will learn how to hook readers, raise the stakes and create characters readers genuinely care about.

Drawing on examples from her own writing process, Carla explores each stage of the creative journey, from generating ideas to refining a final draft. Participants will discover practical strategies they can use immediately and leave with greater confidence to take risks, experiment and create bravely.

Topics may include:

Character development and theme
Finding story ideas in everyday life, current events and the news
Crafting compelling inciting incidents
World-building and creating a strong sense of place
Using descriptive language that shows rather than tells
Receiving and applying feedback to strengthen a piece of writing
Editing strategies used by professional authors

Throughout the workshop, Carla will share autobiographical anecdotes (including the time she worked as a fourteen-year-old television journalist intern and went undercover to chase a story in a police station). She will also provide behind-the-scenes insights into her research, drafting and editing processes, demonstrating how skills used in novel writing can be applied to short stories and other narrative forms.

Expect photos, videos, fun games, short quizzes, collaborative challenges and visible learning activities with outcomes participants can measure immediately.

This workshop can be tailored for students in Years 5 to 12 and can suit a single 40-minute session, multiple workshops or a full-day writing experience.