Author Jemma Pollari will deliver her workshop at the culmination of a week-long arts residency at the Brushtales Cabin.
Workshop designed for young writers (age 10+), teens and adults.
Workshop: Writing the Journey
A walk through story structure — on the page and on the land.
Saturday 6 June
1pm – 4pm
$15 for participants
Younger children and accompanying adults welcome free of charge.
Venue: Brushtales Cabin @ Rocky River (address sent upon registration)
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Stories are about change. A character has a problem. They go on a journey. By the time they arrive at the other end, they are not quite the same person they were at the beginning.
In this workshop, we explore how a physical journey — movement through a landscape — can mirror and reveal emotional transformation. We'll use a simple, universal story structure to build a scene that moves, and we'll move ourselves at the same time, taking a guided walk through nature with writing stops along the way.
Think back to a journey you've taken… a drive to a place you hadn't been in years, a walk somewhere loaded with memory, a trip you almost didn't make. Remember that feeling at the start? That feeling when you arrived? This workshop faces the space in between.
THE ROUTE
Walk. Write. Repeat.
The workshop follows a gentle path around the Brushtales Cabin. At each stop, we pause to write, drawing from the landscape around us to feed the story on the page.
Total path distance is approx 500m, and includes a dry creek bed track and a small hill. Medium level of mobility and fitness required.
⌂ START & END: Brushtales Cabin
We begin here: settling in, meeting each other and the story structure, and choosing our journey.
〰 FIRST STOP: The Creek
Stepping out from the Cabin, we gravitate to the creek flat, finding a place under the shade of the casuarinas to write…
〰 SECOND STOP: The Boundary
After picking our way east through the dry creek bed — keeping a watch out for sly stinging nettles — we come to the boundary fence. We settle in on the banks of the creek to write again…
△ THIRD STOP: The Water Tanks
Up the hill — a bit of puff, but we move at a gentle pace, and it’s worth it. From here we can see for miles around. When we finish our writing at this stop, it’s a casual downhill back to the Cabin.
WHAT WE'LL COVER
Skills for the craft
This is a hands-on writing workshop: you'll leave with pages of material and a structural framework you can use again and again.
Universal story structure — a simple arc that works for any journey
Writing with all the senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, taste, and interoception
Using weather, plants, animals, and built environment to show emotional state
Balancing backstory and reflection with action and forward movement
Mapping emotional change across a journey — plotting the arc
Weaving in flashbacks and memory without losing momentum
Suitable for
adults
older kids & teens (age 10+)
beginner writers
experienced writers
Parents/guardians and younger children welcome, there are comfortable places to relax while the writers write.
WHAT TO BRING
Notebook and pen (something you can write in on the move, eg hardback notebook or clipboard)
Hat and water bottle
Comfortable walking shoes
Layers (the days can be warm, but it gets cool quickly at this time of year)
Yourself and a story waiting to be found
Ready for the journey?
Places are limited. This is a small group workshop — book early to secure your spot.
Workshop presenter
Jemma Pollari is a Finnish-Australian author of speculative fiction, ukelele player, Lego fanatic, and boy-mum from the Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. She is the co-author of Code Bravo, a YA mathematical adventure thriller for the MathThrills product suite for high school students. She holds a Ba. Science Communications (Honours), Grad. Dip. Ed. (Secondary, Physics and Mathematics) and M. Ed. with a focus on leadership.
Jemma is the Chair of the Queensland Writers Centre, thriving on helping other writers find community. As a hybrid home-schooled and traditional-schooled kid with a teaching background, Jemma is passionate about education and has a particular focus on supporting young writers. She has run Brisbane Children’s Writers Festival and Youth Writing Saturdays Sunshine Coast.
When not writing, Jemma builds websites with a focus on helping authors find their readers, takes far too many photos, drags her reluctant sons up mountains—and occasionally finds time to relax with a good book.