Suitable for ages 11 – 13

Every story has a few essential ingredients. Character, setting and conflict work together, along with dialogue and description, to create an imaginary world where readers can lose themselves. Good stories need believable characters that readers feel connected to.

This workshop will give an overview of the essential elements of writing stories, with particular attention to crafting characters. We’ll explore how to write dimensional characters, and how characters develop and drive a story.

By the end of the workshop, participants should have an understanding of basic story elements and a good introduction to writing characters and their role in developing plot.

Cúirt International Festival of Literature is delighted to announce Mary Watson as this year’s Writer in Residence for children and young people. As part of Cúirt Labs, Mary Watson will be facilitating workshops in primary schools across Galway city and county, as well this ‘Making a Story World’ workshop.

We hope that the Cúirt Labs programme will inspire the next generations of writers, artists and cultural enthusiasts from across Galway, all backgrounds and communities. 

Mary Watson is from Cape Town and now lives on the west coast of Ireland. She has a PhD from the University of Cape Town where she taught for many years. She won the Caine Prize in 2006, the Philida Award in 2022, and The Wren Hunt, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2018. Mary Watson writes short stories, thrillers, and young adult fantasy.

Kindly supported by The Community Foundation for Ireland
Event Location

Galway City Library

St. Augustine Street Galway

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