Creative Writing Course: Stories Short & True - Short Courses Sydney
Jump To

Creative Writing Course: Stories Short & True

What you'll learn

Improve your work skills by learning how to write a short story through our writing short courses online and in Sydney.

What do Helen Garner, Tim Winton, and David Sedaris have in common? They have all written about small snippets from their life and turned their everyday stories into art.

Join us for a one day workshop to learn how to embrace moments from life and spin them into a short story. You’ll consider themes such as your family, your most surprising day, your greatest life passion and your relationship with nature (for example, the sea). You will learn how to embrace your narrative voice and craft your memories into an engaging piece of creative nonfiction.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this short story writing course, you will have enhanced your career prospects by:

  • Gained a greater knowledge of the variety of works of creative nonfiction
  • Learned how to identify opportunities for stories in everyday life
  • An understanding of the narrative voice that makes an engaging work of creative nonfiction

Course content

What will be covered in this creative writing course?

We will look at short creative nonfiction stories by significant authors including Helen Garner, Tim Winton and David Sedaris. In particular, Helen Garner’s True Stories, Tim Winton’s Island Home and David Sedaris’ Naked. we will also:

  • Workshop the range of themes that emerge from a consideration of those works
  • Explore how to look at everyday life as an opportunity for stories
  • Look at the narrative voice that makes an engaging work of creative nonfiction
  • Practise writing a short piece to share with the group (optional)

The emphasis of this workshop is to help people start writing, to find the stories from your individual experiences. While there is practical writing time included, the course is not intended to be a technical writing workshop, so detailed critique of your writing style is not included.

Intended audience

Who is this short story writing course for?

This course is designed for students looking to upskill, including beginners and those with some creative writing experience.

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon St & Victoria Rd in the grounds of St. Joseph's Church)

Course materials

What to bring to class

  • Download the notes from the link in your confirmation email
  • A pen and notebook, or a device for writing in class

Course testimonials

  • said: 5 stars

  • said: Good group of participants and tutor did a great job. The course provided me basic elements and gave me direction to creative non-fiction writing. Thanks.

  • said: The course was liberating in that I learned that rules for fiction don’t always apply to memoir!

  • said: Course and tutor very welcoming, engaging and encouraging. Presented info, examples and exercises with support to brainstorm ideas and write a short piece... Highly recommended.

  • said: 5 stars!

Course tutors

Great reasons to enrol in a short course with us

Small classes

A personal approach means quality learning, so you can enjoy plenty of interaction with your instructor and the chance to ask questions.

Short & sweet

Our short courses & workshops get straight to the point, providing the skills you need with minimal commitment of your precious time.

Facilities & equipment

Our range of venues suit every type of course, are easy to get to, and have the equipment and tech needed to support your learning.

Easy, secure enrolment

Enrol online 24/7 with a safe, convenient 3-step process, and you can change your mind up to 7 days before class starts.

Quality instructors

Our educators bring first-hand experience and knowledge, with up-to-the-minute practices from diverse industries.

Business or pleasure

Our courses help you rapidly increase your skills and knowledge, for professional development or personal interest.

4.7 starsaverage rating on Google

1,400+courses to choose from

99%customer support rating

View upcoming classes

This course has no current classes. Please join our waitlist and we will notify you when we have places available. Join waitlist

This course has no current classes. Please join our waitlist and we will notify you when we have places available. Join waitlist

Related courses

  • Creative Writing Course for Beginners

    Learning the art of creative writing through our writing short courses in Sydney! Do you want to try creative writing but you aren't sure where to start? You can learn the fundamentals of creative writing in this practical course for beginners. With this creative writing course, you will develop an understanding of plot, structure, and character, familiarising yourself with different styles of creative writing while learning to create your own. Designed to instruct, support, and...

    Learn more

  • Creative Writing Course: Journal & Letter Writing

    Learn to write your thoughts through journals and letters with our writing short courses in Sydney! Writing down our thoughts and feelings can be liberating, can help us build a greater understanding of ourselves and move past any challenges we face. It can also help develop a more positive mindset and explore any dreams and plans we have for the future.  In this creative writing course, we will explore a number of writing forms that help capture our thoughts and feelings, such as...

    Learn more

  • Creative Writing Course: Memoir & Life Writing

    Learn how to write a memoir with our writing short courses in Sydney! Put simply, life experience, combined with a desire to write, qualifies you to tell your own story. Our experiences shape us and inform our world view, and nobody navigates life without struggle. Our personal circumstances, our observations of the world, and our personalities make us all unique individuals, and therefore the narratives of our lives are just as unique. We will read, discuss and be inspired by...

    Learn more

  • Creative Writing Course: Reading & Writing Lyric Poetry

    Learn how to read and write poetry with our writing courses in Sydney! From the outcries of praise and lament in the Bible to the musical expressions of delight and despair in the songs of Taylor Swift, lyric poetry been helping humanity turn emotional outbursts into art for centuries. In this course, we’ll look at poems that use the lyric ‘I’ to make public declarations of love, sadness, anger, joy, bewilderment, and more – while analysing how poetic modalities can amplify...

    Learn more