The Art and Craft of Writing the Senses
A Balinese Writing Retreat
With Patti Miller and the Sydney Writers’ Centre
in association with Bookshop Travel
Dates: 30 September to 5 October 2010
* 5-day writing course (6 nights and 7 days tour)
* plus optional 4-day Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (additional 5 nights and 6 days tour)
Come with writer Patti Miller to the highland town of Ubud, the artistic centre of Bali, for a unique writing enrichment course. Whether you are writing from actual or imaginary life – memoir, autobiography, short stories or novels – The Art and Craft of Writing will show you how to create the colour, texture and weave of lived experience on the page.
This is a very special writing course, uniquely focused on developing the sensory richness of your creative expression. Immersed in the natural beauty and rich cultural heritage of highland Bali, mind, heart and body all engaged in the writing process, you will explore how to translate the physical world of the senses into words.
Staying in your own room at Villa Sanggingnan, a peaceful resort set in tropical gardens on the outskirts of Ubud, you will be able to write every day and explore the ancient culture of Bali. We will have welcome and farewell meals together and breakfast and morning tea are also included. If you wish to stay on for the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, one of the six most prestigious writing festivals in the world, we offer a supplementary package of accommodation and a 4-day Festival Pass.
The Writing Course: 30 September to 5 October
In the peaceful, creative and luscious atmosphere of Ubud, long regarded as a cultural capital of Indonesia, this writing course will re-awaken your senses. You will taste, touch, see, smell and hear the world again. You will read and discuss extracts from a wide variety of writers such as Annie Dillard and Patrick Susskind, and participate in exercises designed to revitalise and extend your creativity.Each morning for five days, from 10am to 1pm, the workshops will offer readings, discussions and writing exercises designed to re-awaken the senses and heighten observation, to explore the rich symbolic world of sensory images. You’ll learn how to use the senses to convey – or create – scene, characters and texture. You’ll also discover how sensual writing can be used to further narrative and even to convey ideas.
If you want to move from more factual styles of writing – academic, journalistic, technical or report writing – or simply feel your writing needs revitalising, then this workshop will help you make the leap into the rich textured world of powerful writing. This workshop is for both memoir and fiction writers and, whether you feel you are a beginner or more experienced, it will extend your creativity and enrich your writing.
Cultural experience
In the afternoons you will be able to write in the solitude and quiet of your own garden room, or you can head out to explore the fascinating town and countryside of Ubud. You can walk in the Monkey Forest and rice paddies; visit local temples and enjoy the vibrant colour of ritual and ceremonies; immerse yourself in the arts and crafts at the famous Neki Gallery or at nearby artist villages. If you like, you can take a cultural tour arranged by our tour manager to explore more of the richness of Bali. In the evenings you can attend a performance of the traditional Barong or Kecak dances or simply enjoy some of the exquisite local cuisine. And of course, there are also the delights of the Ubud market, the rejuvenating pleasure of a therapeutic Balinese massage, or a quiet coffee at the Lotus Pond café, whenever you need a break from writing.
The Ubud Writers and Readers festival – 6 October to 10 October
The festival brings writers and readers from the region and around the world together to share the pleasures of writing and ideas. In past years the Festival has presented such influential writers as India’s Vikram Seth, Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka and Australia’s Sonya Hartnett and Mungo McCallum. The program for 2010 is not yet available, but we are sure it will be as rich and stimulating as usual and we will forward details as soon as we have them.
Accommodation
We have booked Villa Sanggingnan, an artists’ resort, entirely for our use. It is secluded and peaceful, set in tropical gardens on the edge of Ubud, but only 5 to 10 minutes walk into the bustling centre of town. You will have your own room, with either fans or air-conditioning, and private bathroom.
Because Ubud is in the highlands, it is cooler than coastal Bali – and is also more peaceful. It is a renowned centre of the arts, particularly painting, carving and dance, and is also an exciting market town. There are numerous artist villages dotted around the countryside nearby.
NOTE: Because the resort has been booked for the exclusive use of the writing group, anyone not enrolled in the course cannot be accommodated at the resort during the time of the Writing Retreat. Family and friends are of course welcome before or afterwards!
Meals
All breakfasts and morning coffee/teas are included. We also include a Welcome and a Farewell dinner, as well as a mid-course lunch, all at renowned Ubud restaurants, selected for their ambience and cuisine.
Your Writing Teacher – Patti Miller
Patti Miller is a highly experienced writer of both memoir and fiction, and a writing teacher. She is the author of the best-selling Writing Your Life, The Last One Who Remembers, Child, Whatever The Gods Do and The Memoir Book.She has taught writing at university and writers’ centres for over 20 years and has taken a number of writing workshops in Paris and Fiji. Her inspiring approach to writing is both passionate and attentive to the art and craft of writing. For a list of publications and further information on her work see her website: www.lifestories.com.au.
Your Tour Manager – Susan Stanbridge
Sue’s background is in Psychology and Computing Technology. She sold her IT Marketing Company a few years ago and has since focussed on yoga, writing and travelling. One of her favourite places is Ubud. She loves the people of the area and the environment, whichprovides the serenity and personal freedom to allow the creative juices to flow.
© Copyright Sydney Writers' Centre Pty Ltd, Suite 3, 55 Lavender Street, Milsons Point NSW 2061, Australia.
