I’m Bel Lopez, and this is Story Doula, a newsletter exploring why we tell stories and how we stay connected— with our communities, with each other, with ourselves.
When people ask me what my favourite thing about documentary making and non-fiction writing is, they often assume it’s the public-facing part of it: hearing my voice on a podcast, seeing my words in print. But the truth is that’s often just the necessary byproduct of one of the main reasons I do this: to sit with a person and hear their story, to fossick together until it reveals something new to both of us.
For the last two decades, I’ve crafted conversations that I call ‘deep dive interviews’, and I’m going to crystallise what I’ve learned into two busy hours, on Saturday morning, November 15th at Coledale Hall in the Illawarra, south of Sydney. Here’s the spiel:
WORKSHOP: How to Ask the Right Questions
9:30–11:30am
Award-winning documentary maker and writer Belinda Lopez has spent many years asking the right questions to discover untold stories about families, history and society.
In this workshop, she focuses on the art of interviewing—an often-overlooked but crucial skill for writers of family and social histories, memoir and biography, as well as in documentary and journalism. She shares the approaches she has developed to unearth illuminating stories in collaboration with her interviewees.
The workshop is $50! Hurry and book if you’re interested.
It’s a part of the program for True Story Festival, a celebration of nonfiction writing and storytelling, and the most wonderfully intimate festival held over two days just an hour from Sydney. The full program is here - I hope to see you there.
Stories elsewhere
— Papuan journalist and editor of Tabloid Jubi spoke in Sydney this week, alongside human rights lawyer Veronica Koman. They shared two films this week that go to the heart of human rights issues in West Papua. One of them is available to watch free on YouTube with English subtitles: My name is Refugee, directed by my friend, the Papuan journalist Yuliana Lantipo. It’s a moving explanation of an internal refugee crisis happening right on Australia’s doorstop.
— I Teach Creative Writing. This is What A.I. is Doing to Students: Gifting you access to this article- let me know if it doesn’t work.
— Jane Gilmore, feminist crusader against sexist headlines and consent advocate, has written about her cancer diagnosis below. You can support her and, for a limited time, get a signed copy of her new book about teaching consent to kids here.
Until next time,
B.
I haven't heard the work 'fossick' in such a long time, and it's tickled me to read it here as a description of listening in interviews (or psychology sessions!).
I can't make it on the 15th, but I hope it's a great day!
It sounds like a fantastic workshop, Belle. Have fun!