Learn To Write Good:
Dominic has run his Learn to Write Good creative writing classes since 2015, teaching hundreds of students around the country. He shares tips and techniques learned from twenty-five years of writing prose, poetry, theatre and music. Classes are relaxed, with a focus on nurturing creativity.
The class is open to writers of all disciplines and skill levels, including people with learning disabilities and little or no formal education. Dominic is dyslexic and largely self taught, and believes that this is no barrier to becoming a great writer. The courses are also accessible to people with physical disabilities and students are welcome to use adaptive equipment such as voice recognition software or bring a support person. If people have any questions feel free to get in touch.
Over the years, wordsmiths of every description have come through this course, including rappers, novelists, poets, playwrights and journalists.
In this course we cover:
Content creation – What to write about, and how to get the ball rolling when you’re feeling blocked.
Good work practices – When and where to write, how long to set aside and how to make your work space feel like somewhere you want to create.
Finding your voice – Your point of view is your greatest asset as a writer, you’ll learn how to tell people how the world looks, smells and feels to you.
Figurative language – Learn how to use techniques like metaphor, symbolism and imagery to make your writing engaging.
Editing - Ernest Hemingway said, “the only kind of writing is rewriting.” He also said, “the first draft of everything is shit.” With this in mind we go over how to get rid of the fluff and get to the heart of your words.
Plus, a whole bunch of other cool bits and pieces to help you grow as a writer and break out of old habits.
Learn To Write Novels Good
The second course is solely focused on the art of novel writing. Over six sessions we cover the main rudiments of writing a novel, and learn techniques to help demystify the process.
The class is open to writers of all levels, but it would be helpful to have an idea you want to work on.
On this course we cover:
Generating Ideas - We cover a range of techniques, to develop your ideas for your novel and start getting words onto the page.
Coming up With Interesting, Realistic Characters - Learn to create characters with depth, who are unpredictable and intriguing to the reader.
Writing Believable Dialogue - Good dialogue should flow, and catch the sing-song nature of speech. Find out ways to make sure all your characters have interesting and unique ways of talking.
Finding Your Voice - The voice of your novel is what will make it stand out from other books. We look at ways to refine and capture your unique style on the page.
Structure- We study different structures you could apply to your novel, and how to map them out.
Testimonials:
“I found all of the exercises challenging and thoughtful and it was nice to sit in a group of strangers and write for hours. Peaceful and unblocking. I would certainly do it again if it came back to Dunedin.”- Nadia Reid, musician and songwriter
“For me as a rapper/songwriter I got exactly what I was wanting from the class which was new creative writing ideas and exercises plus a look into Dominic’s approach and insight on writing.”- Lucky Lance, Team Dynamite
'Dominic encouraged us to put our work and ourselves out there. Before that workshop the only people who had ever heard my poetry were close friends and girls I was trying to impress. I don't think I would've had the guts to try performance if I didn't attend' - Jordan Hamel, 2018 New Zealand Poetry Slam Champion.
“Dominic gives both practical advice and life tips to writing stories, and never assumes we all come from the same background or education. There’s really fun exercises each class that are adaptive to the needs and levels of the group. Every person has a seat at the table.” - Vanessa Crofskey, poet and performance artist
“In this class I learned techniques which have sped up my creative process and also helped me to be very intentional about the effect I have on an audience. I genuinely use them every time I write a new piece. I am that person who would fall asleep during lectures so I really appreciated that the entire class was really hands on.” - Rose Northey, Winner of the 2019 Going West Slam