"I'm a Fan!" - Creative Writing Workshop

Can you remember the things you were obsessed with as a child? Before your teenage years hit and your obsessions changed to fit a cooler narrative? Are you constantly falling in love with books, films, music, celebrities? Do you want to use this energy in your own work?

 In this day workshop, we will use writing prompts to explore the things we love – books, TV series, music, art, people, places, things – to spring board our imaginations.

 People often think of fan fiction as something that exists in the corners of the internet when in reality, writers working in all genres and fields use elements of fan fiction all the time. Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea would not exist without Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ movie was inspired by the plastic woman herself. Bebe Ashley's beautifully crafted poetry collection ‘Gold Light Shining’ was made possible by her love of Harry Styles.

Using examples like these, we will work together to generate ideas and do what comes naturally to us, as humans – tell stories and play.

This workshop is open to writers at any stage in their practice.

About the tutor

Louise Nealon is a writer from County Kildare.

Her debut novel, Snowflake, released in May 2021, won Newcomer of the Year at the An Post Book Awards and was chosen for the One Dublin One Book campaign in 2024.