About Student Workshops

inspired

Sasha Wasley is a West Australian author of contemporary and young adult fiction. With a PhD in literature and a passion for children’s literacy, she has worked as a classroom facilitator with young people, adults and ESL students. Sasha offers exciting creative writing workshops for students in Perth and regional WA, providing virtual or in-person workshops and author visits. She will bring her knowledge of the writing craft to your primary or secondary or adult students, igniting their interest in creating strong, well-structured narratives, interesting characters and unique storylines.

“Sasha provided students with an engaging workshop, stepping them through techniques to help with planning under pressure. My year 12s asked for Sasha to come back before their exams!” (Courtney, Senior English Teacher)

The Workshops

Scroll for details on each workshop.

Ignite your Writing
Perfect Plotting
Compelling Characters
Nailing your Creative Piece in an Exam (Year 11/12)
Being an Author
Manuscript Workshop – work on a real manuscript
Publish a Book in a Term

Ignite your Writing

Ignite Writing prompts and creativity workshop.

Bust your writer’s block! In this 90 minute workshop, Sasha takes (up to 35) primary or secondary students through a tailored experience of fun and engaging activities to inspire creative processes. Students work in groups and independently. Includes:

Finding inspiration
Mind-mapping and storyboarding
Finding your focus
A writing ‘growth mindset’
Enquire here.

Perfect Plotting

Understanding plot points and narrative structure.

Do your stories have bewildering beginnings, muddled middles or flailing finishes? Over 90 minutes, Sasha uses familiar stories to get students recognising the shape of a narrative and identifying plot holes. Tailored to ability level from year 4 to year 12. Includes:

Know the difference between story, narrative and plot
Map the plot of a simple story
Create a plot in groups
Expect the unexpected: we know the rules, now let’s break them!
Enquire here.

Compelling Characters

Creating well-rounded characters and discovering archetypes.

Are your characters flatter than Flat Stanley? Sasha takes an interactive approach tailored to the ability level of students compelling to build on their character development skills. Suitable for year 4 to year 12. Includes activities to help students understand and experiment with:

Flat vs rounded characters
Character arcs
How character and plot work together
Understanding archetypes
Traits, flaws and motivations
Enquire here.

Nailing your Creative Piece in an Exam

How to plan and organise an effective creative piece in exams

Whether it’s a year 11 ATAR English exam or a General English homework assignment, senior students will benefit from learning how to approach writing a creative piece for assessment. Sasha works with senior students in this 1-hour session to help them structure and plan a written narrative and understand what assessors are looking for.

“Sasha was so good. She is talented and made us feel like we could write good stories under pressure. I liked her advice. I feel more confident now to tackle a short story in an exam.” (Year 12)

“I wrote so many notes because there were lots of tips! I’ve added the worksheet to my study notes.” (Year 11)

Workshop includes:

3-act dramatic structure
Use of literary techniques/language features
Meeting assessment criteria
Selecting an idea/concept
Planning your piece
Enquire here.

Being an Author

What it’s like being an author: the journey to getting published.

Sasha gives students an insight into how she became an author, the different types of publishing, the ins and outs of editing, proofreading, cover design, typesetting, marketing, and more. From helping little ones understand what an author is to providing secondary students with an honest insider’s view of the publishing industry, this workshop can be adapted to suit all ages. Includes Q&A session.

Enquire here.

Publish a Book in a Term

Publish your own class book to treasure forever.

Sasha can provide weekly workshops with one class across a whole school term, culminating in the production of a professionally bound paperback anthology of short stories and creative pieces for students to read with pride and families to treasure forever. This makes a wonderful keepsake or fundraiser for a graduating class. Works best with: