In August of 2019 I was lucky enough to run a workshop on writing science fiction with my good pal Maddie Godfrey. We covered:
- What makes science fiction?
- Worldbuilding
- Character sketches, and
- Taking inspiration from ‘the real’
all through the lens of the sub-genre of cyberpunk. As a group, we created our own cyberpunk world, thinking through how physical environment, society and culture shape each other and influence the lives of our characters. Everyone left the workshop with a science-fictional world to write in, a description of a character to use in their stories, and the beginnings of a new work.
It was so much fun to see how everyone’s imaginations took off in different directions from the same starting points.
My favourite thing from the workshop? The contribution from one of our participants that our multi-levelled, corporate dystopia would suffer from acid rain due to all the pollution. I want to write in this world!
Some feedback from our workshop participants:
“I liked being able to talk through ideas, and Maddie and Jo gave lots of good writing tips.”
“I’d love more workshops with you two as facilitators!”
“I enjoyed having an encouraging and stimulating space to think and write and brainstorm.”
“The workshop really got me inspired to try to write again!”
“Jo and Maddie cultivated a welcoming atmosphere. The workshop was well structured and inviting. It helped me not feel so scared about writing. Maddie and Jo are fantastic human beings, let’s do more workshops! I love your ideas and would like to learn more.”
Interested in booking me for a workshop? Feel free to shoot me an email at hello@josephinenewmanwriter.com and we can chat about what you’re looking for.
Josephine Newman 