On a sunny Saturday morning in September, a group of keen writers gathered at the Hastings Community Hub to take part in the Western Port Writes 2026 Workshop series.
The first workshop, The Craft of Short Story, was run by much-admired author Melissa Manning. It was an immersive, masterclass on the intricacies of short story, a popular art form that has it its own group of devoted readers – and writers. We explored the elements of a short story, from plot to voice to characters; the weight of detail that a short story might need; the amount of scaffolding for characters in the story; and then writing prompts to help us get started with exercise to refine our technique.
Melissa Manning is a talented short story creator – her first book, Smokehouse, was nominated for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize for Fiction in 2022, and this year her debut novel, Frogsong, was published. We walked away with inspiration and the confidence to start shaping or honing our own stories.
The second workshop, Writing Romance, was run by best-selling co-authors Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus, who have written four books together. The session started with a Q&A on how these talented writers got their start in romance – a genre they had always loved and felt was under-represented when they started out; their co-writing process – they have a major plotting session and then tackle different parts of the story – each working as the other’s reader and editor before bringing the story together to ensure a singular voice; how they juggle writing, working, motherhood and life – with care and skill!; and the road to publication – they got their start after launching the social initiative Books on the Rail, which gave them a social media presence and a following.
Then, as in the first session, it was into writing our own starter romance. We looked at tropes, the setting – and a complication, how to create that spark between characters, the importance of the ‘meet-cute’, and how to ensure readers buy in to the romance. Romance stories might appear to be simple but the layers and considerations for writers are deep and a clever writer will reel in the reader. We left with tools to start writing and great information on where to take our story once it’s ready for readers and publication.
After, we chatted with authors as they signed their books, at the Petersen’s pop-up bookshop. Two fabulous sessions with experienced, generous writers who shared their tips and wisdom on that creative day at the Hub.
NOTE: The WPW26 Workshops were generously supported by Love Hastings, Love Local – the Western Port Chamber of Commerce. We were delighted to be joined by Ali Hughes on the day.
