John Danalis: If I can do it, so can you!

Session description:

This presentation takes the audience on a journey from my early years as a cross-eyed lover of pirate stories, through my years as a young adult with father-son issues, to the roving storyteller, author and illustrator of today.

Mixing humor, heartwarming tales of teacher kindness, and tonnes of practical tips – not just for writing, but for life – this presentation will spark the creative flame in even the dampest spirit and will have students turning themselves inside out in search of their own precious gifts.

NB: It is preferred that students undertake this foundation session before undertaking any of the other sessions or workshops (with the exception of Riding The Black Cockatoo which can be a standalone presentation).

Topics:

• Story: its importance, where to find it, and where it can take us.
• Resilience ~ overcoming physical and social constraints.
• Embracing our faults, fears and brokenness.
• Finding our creative voice.
• Honoring our individual gifts and the gifts of others.
• How creativity thrives on challenges.
• Demystifying the creative process, fame, and the popular notion of ‘gifted’.
• Illustration and its varied styles.
• Non-linier approaches to writing.
• Finding stories in our own backyards.
• Personal and societal reconciliation through story.
• Writing our lives.