Reflections on Words Out West and AIDC: Finding My Place as a Writer

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to immerse myself in two very different creative spaces—two weekends ago, I was at AIDC, the Australian International Documentary Conference in Melbourne, and this past weekend, I attended Words Out West Readers & Writers Festival in Chinchilla.

Both were valuable in their own way, but something shifted for me over these two experiences. At Words Out West, sitting among readers and writers, I felt a deep sense of belonging—an ease that has been missing for a while. It surprised me. I found myself breathing a little deeper, listening more closely, and feeling more like myself. There was a quiet energy to the festival that spoke to me, maybe because, like many of the people I met there, I’m more introverted now than I’ve ever been. Conversations were thoughtful and slow. The presentations invited reflection rather than reaction. It was a space that didn’t ask me to be anything other than who I am right now.

In contrast, AIDC was intense. Brilliant, for sure—full of passionate storytellers who are fiercely committed to getting their documentaries made and seen. But underneath it all, there was a certain pressure in the air. Like in research circles, documentarians are all vying for the same funding opportunities, the same audiences, the same screens. What can sometimes look like extroversion is, I think, people pushing themselves to be seen and heard in a competitive space. And I get it. I respect it.

At AIDC, I was reminded that if I ever want to step into the documentary world properly, I’ll need to find a way to step into that space too—to be bolder, louder, and to advocate for my stories in a much more visible way. Maybe that time will come. Maybe it won’t. But what I know today, sitting here after a weekend in Chinchilla, is that I’m more comfortable as a writer than as a filmmaker.

There’s something about the solitary nature of writing that suits me. It’s slower. Quieter. It gives me space to think, to process, and to create without the noise. Words on a page feel like home in a way that a camera doesn’t—at least, not right now.

So, for now, I’ll keep writing my novel while also collaborating to produce the documentary.