2017 School Magazine

BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL

to develop an intriguing storyline. Something that we have taken away from this presentation is to not tell the story, but to show it. His tip was that this can be done by imagining yourself watching the character in a scene. The final presentation was ‘Writing from Cultural Experience’ by Wai Chen. This focused on the importance of personal experiences, and how they reflect you as a person. Wai Chen told us that the most powerful stories are the most personal ones. Wai told us the story of her father, and his journey as a freedom swimmer. Along with some fun games and stories, Wai Chen’s innovative presentation inspired us to become better writers, and to not identify someone as a particular culture based on their physical appearances. The day was a great experience, we all had so much fun and would definitely recommend it to anyone eager to gain knowledge from experienced authors. GRACE COLLINS (7E) AND ISABELLA PETERS (7E)

On Thursday 7 September, we had the amazing opportunity of attending the annual Brisbane Writers Festival at the State Library of Queensland. We participated in presentations from James Maloney, Mark Smith and Wai Chen. The first presentation was ‘Literary Empathy’ by James Maloney, where we experienced and learnt about the importance of developing empathy with characters in a novel. He shared insightful and helpful writing tips, and encouraged us to force ourselves to think about the experience of another very different to ourselves. James stressed that empathy helps readers engage with and develop feelings about characters. The second presentation was ‘Welcome to Dystopia’ by Mark Smith. This was an interactive and enticing experience, and he encouraged us to put ourselves in different survival situations, like those in his novel. We learnt about dystopia, and how it influences composing a novel and makes it more interesting and enjoyable to read. Mark asked us to ponder different questions

PINK STUMPS DAY

A highlight of the Brisbane Girls Grammar School cricket season was an incredibly successful and most enjoyable Pink Stumps Day, held in February. We had an unprecedented number of supporters cheering on our teams at Rangakarra and they thoroughly enjoyed the pink- themed afternoon tea, which resulted in us raising a record $870 in support of the McGrath Foundation. Our donation will assist in placing McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities across

Australia and raising awareness about breast cancer. JOSIE DOOLEY (12G) AND LILY AWYZIO (12M)

052 | COMMUNITY | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2017