Turning stories into shortlists: Donna Fisher’s Creative Writing journey at ECU Online
When Donna Fisher first landed in Australia from the North East of England, she had no idea that two decades working for the NSW Government would ultimately lead her back to the thing she loved most: storytelling.
While speechwriting, project management and government-wide transformation projects defined her day job for 20 years, these never felt her life’s narrative – “my passion was always storytelling,” Donna reflects.
And in 2019, she decided to chase it full throttle, creating a feminist augmented reality app that turned unsung women’s histories into walking tours. Dubbed, somewhat cheekily, feminist Pokémon, the app let users hunt stories instead of critters. After a few years, she wound it down, but the leap into creative writing had already begun.
Today, Donna is immersed in the Master of Creative Writing at ECU Online, a program she describes as the “place I needed to study” to take her writing to the next level. Having already honed her craft through the Faber Writing Academy in Australia, The Novelry in the UK, and mentorship from established authors, she was ready to delve deeper. “I wanted to create literature that provokes thought and inspires action,” she says. ECU Online’s learning modules, particularly Writing for the Planet’s Future, spoke directly to her ambition, combining intellectual rigour with the freedom to explore stories that matter.
Nature as more than just scenery
A recurring theme in Donna’s work is the natural world. “Nature offers an endless source of inspiration, and often the answers we’re looking for,” she explains. Her stories and poems don’t merely use the outdoors as a backdrop; forests, winds, and rain-soaked grass are living, breathing characters in her narratives.
After a chronic illness made writing physically difficult - brain fog and uncooperative fingers meant she could barely form a sentence - Donna discovered forest therapy. “The joy of observation began to drown out the pain,” she recalls. The practice of being still, noticing, and letting the world speak back to her didn’t just restore her words; it transformed her outlook.
This connection to nature threads through her writing, providing emotional truth that resonates with readers. Her story Gannin' Hyem Mate, shortlisted for the 2025 Bridport Short Story Prize, exemplifies this. Written as part of her final ECU Online assignment, it tells of a woman returning to her hometown and seeing it through the eyes of her father’s ghost - a meditation on memory, reconciliation, and the transformative power of place.
While studying Tim Winton’s Disgust and Enchantment (a chapter in his memoir Island Home) in the Writing Realities unit, Donna was struck by how he transformed setting into character, even for places she had never visited. This insight pushed her past her hesitation to write about her own home – and in her Geordie dialect – realising that “when setting is written with emotional truth, it becomes universal”.
ECU Online: where flexibility meets rigour
The Master of Creative Writing’s online format has been indispensable for Donna, a mother of two with one child homeschooled. “Being able to study one subject at a time and set my own schedule has made it possible to pursue the degree alongside family life and my writing,” she explains. The program’s design allowed her to explore writing across genres - fiction, non-fiction, and performance writing - while receiving expert feedback from tutors like Linda Martin and Annabel Smith. Their encouragement pushed Donna to submit her work to competitions and publications. “Their belief in me gave me the confidence to put my writing out into the world,” she says.
The course has also pushed Donna creatively. Units like Writing Realities asked her to confront personal experiences, silencing her inner critic and teaching her to use vulnerability as a strength.
The confidence she has developed in these units shines through in her Substack essays, where she shares deeply personal and authentic reflections. It also fuels her professional writing pursuits, allowing her to explore new creative directions and develop work across forms and genres. One current project is a darkly comic gothic novel about menopause that subverts the werewolf trope.
Milestones and recognition
Studying at ECU Online has already yielded real-world creative milestones and achievements for Donna. Being shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize was “such an honour,” she says, and her story is now under consideration for publication by a UK literary magazine. Meanwhile, a BBC Radio interview allowed her to share her poetry with a broader audience – a thrilling, if not terrifying, experience for someone who admits she’s more comfortable with a pen than a microphone.
Yet for Donna, the Master’s isn’t just about accolades; it’s about learning to navigate the literary world, building resilience, and embracing the vulnerability required to be a writer. “This program is teaching me not just how to write better, but how to be a writer,” she says.
Advice for aspiring writers
Donna’s message for others dreaming of writing, whether full-time or on the side, is clear: “Ignore the inner critic and put yourself out there. You never know who might need to hear your story.” It’s a credo born of experience: of balancing family, online study, chronic illness, and creative ambition; of turning personal challenges into published work; of finding one’s literary voice amidst life’s noise.For those inspired by Donna’s story, the next steps are within reach: ECU Online’s Master of Creative Writing offers the tools, flexibility, and mentorship to turn your own passion for storytelling into something tangible and ready to be shared with the world. Whether it’s writing stories that resonate, submitting to competitions, or building a sustainable creative career, the program supports students every step of the way, one compelling story at a time.
