Writing the World Writing Seminars
NOTE: To receive the formal announcement of these seminars, or if your writers’ group would like a presentation, please email me at h_stanbrough@yahoo.com and put WTW in the subject line. For the venues and the current schedule of events, please see Events next door. I provide coffee and light snacks at all seminars. For the daylong seminars, we break for lunch and reconvene at an agreed-upon time. The actual lunch is on your own.
SEMINAR TOPICS
Half-Day Seminars—These seminars last 3 to 4 hours and cost $30.
Writing Realistic Dialogue I (The Elements of Dialogue)—Dialogue is not only what occurs between the quotation marks. It’s actually 1/3 what’s said by the characters and 2/3 narrative bits in the form of tag lines and brief descriptive narratives. Here you will learn various techniques that enable you to suspend the reader’s sense of disbelief through the use of realistic, non-linear dialogue and its nuances, including the wise combination of sentences and sentence fragments to construct the give-and-take flow of natural dialogue. Also includes a segment on punctuation for writers. (You’ve never heard it like this before.) Includes a student handout and the opportunity to purchase the paper edition of Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction and the out-of-print Punctuation for Writers at a reduced rate. Having attended this seminar, you should also attend Writing Realistic Dialogue II.
Writing Realistic Dialogue II (The Application of Dialogue)—Concepts presented here are more easily understood if you’ve attended Writing Realistic Dialogue I. Learn to convey the emotions of the characters and subliminally manipulate the mood and emotions of the reader through the intimate nuances of the language itself as well as dialogue and punctuation. Includes a limited discussion of narrative as it pertains to dialogue; the sounds of letters and words as they relate to conveying emotion; the importance of spontaneity; and four in-depth, specific techniques for conveying emotion with your dialogue. Includes a student handout and the opportunity to purchase the paper edition of Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction and the out-of-print Punctuation for Writers at a reduced rate.
Creating Realistic Characters—What causes the reader to immediately recognize and identify with a character type? What makes the individual character stand out from other, even similar characters? Why should the dialogue of “cardboard” or “flat” characters be more colorful than that of other, more important characters? Here you’ll learn to assign the character traits, quirks, and idiosyncracies that enable your characters to come to life for your reader! Includes a list of character traits. Includes a student handout and a free ebook, Creating Realistic Characters.
Writing Dialect—The old wisdom on writing dialect is a paradox: Many say until you know how to write dialect well, you shouldn’t write it at all, but how can you learn to write it well unless you practice? In this class you’ll learn to write dialect like a master, which is to say you’ll learn to think your way through it. Includes a comprehensive list of suggested words and spellings to use when writing dialect as well as rationale for and against using phonetic spellings, how much dialect is too much, etc. Includes a student handout and a free ebook, Writing Dialect.
Writing Great Beginnings & Writing Flash Fiction—Write a complete short story with characters, setting, conflict and resolution in 99 words or fewer. Caution: writing flash fiction can become an addiction. In the second part of this seminar, we’ll discover how to grab the reader from the first sentence of your story or novel or memoir. We’ll explore ways to turn a phrase, look into dramatic, emotional, and dramatic-emotional sentence structures, and learn techniques that will not drag the reader into the story, but have him leaping into the story of his own accord. Includes dozens of examples from published and unpublished manuscripts from known and unknown writers. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own opening lines and/or examples they particularly enjoy. Includes a student handout and two free ebooks, Writing Great Beginnings and The Art of Writing Flash Fiction.
NEW! Narrative in Fiction: Whispers from the Background—Does your narrator get mouthy, overstep his bounds? Does he act on an urge to make social commentary that has nothing to do with the story line? Does he judge the characters and comment on their morality or on the situations in which they find themselves? Does he go beyond his authority to comment on behalf of one or more characters? Does he wander off into “baggage narrative” that bogs down the current story line? Does he blur the line between narrative and a character’s internal monologue or unspoken thoughts? Being a writer is difficult enough without putting up with a narrator like that. And what if your narrator is also a character? Is he different in the different roles? Come to this seminar and learn, for once and all, how to make your narrator understand his role, that you’re the boss and he’s the employee. Learn for once and all how to make him sit down and shut up. Includes an explanation of point of view and a free ebook, Narrative in Fiction: Whispers in the Background.
NEW! Writing Creative Nonfiction—Learn to create mental movies; definitions and uses (and overuses) of simile and metaphor; the use of action verbs, adjectives and adverbs; using narrative as quasi-dialogue; punctuation for writers; various types of formal and informal essays; various techniques to organize your thoughts and map your creative nonfiction; and common snags in writing narrative. Includes direct narrative voice (addressing the reader directly without being a putz). Includes a lot of strong narrative tips in this one, including the natural tense for narrative, what writing instructors really mean when they say “Show, don’t tell,” and how to immediately recognize (and repair) “passive” constructions. All of this and more. Includes a student handout.
Self-Editing for Writers—Includes a section on punctuation for writers (how the various marks of punctuation directly affect the reader) and a thorough, in-depth presentation regarding the errors I see most often in manuscripts I edit: includes erroneous use of quotation marks and single quotes, myths about punctuation and passive voice, paragraphing, erroneous word choices, etc. This one seminar will dramatically improve all of your writing. Includes a student handout and a free ebook, Self-Editing for Writers.
The Essentials of Digital Publishing (Overview)—A 3-4 hour overview of the subject. Includes the main points of epublishing preparation and submission. Does not include cover design. Includes a student handout and a dollars-off coupon for the book.
Daylong Seminars for Writers’ Groups—These seminars last 6 to 8 hours (with a lunch break) and cost $60 ($55 if paid in advance).
Notes from Writing the World—This is a catch-all. Includes discussion of writing narrtive in fiction, creating realistic characters, writing dialect, writing great beginnings, writing flash fiction, self-editing for writers and the seven writerly sins. NOTE: Does NOT include Writing Realistic Dialogue, Writing Poetry, or The Essentials of Digital Publishing. Those topics are presented separately. See below. Includes a student handout and a free ebook, Notes from Writing the World.
Writing Realistic Dialogue—Learn various techniques that enable you to maintain suspension of the reader’s sense of disbelief through the use of realistic, non-linear dialogue and its nuances. Learn to construct the natural give-and-take flow of dialogue. Learn to convey the emotions of the characters and subliminally manipulate the mood and emotions of the reader through the intimate nuances of the language itself as well as dialogue and punctuation. Includes a limited discussion of narrative as it pertains to dialogue; the sounds of letters and words as they relate to conveying emotion; the importance of spontaneity; and four in-depth, specific techniques for conveying emotion through punctuation and sentence structure. Includes a student handout, a copy of the electronice edition of Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction, and the opportunity to purchase the paper edition of the book at a reduced rate.
Writing Poetry—Poetic techniques that are characteristic of all well-written poetry, no matter the sub-genre. The poet’s task is to relate the poem itself and convey the spirit of the poem. Topics include the use of meter or not; the use and purpose of particular line lengths and line breaks; purposeful word choice; stanza use and construction; end and internal rhyme, either, or neither; definitions of free verse, blank verse, and various traditional forms; the use of punctuation in poetry; and the nuances of our beautiful language. Includes a student handout and a free ebook, The Craft of Poetry: Structure & Sound. Includes a reading for particpants, time allowing.
The Essentials of Digital Publishing—Manuscript preparation for submission to Smashwords and how to create an attractive ebook cover. Step by step manuscript preparation including screenshots, how to create an interactive table of contents (not with Word’s TOC feature), and several other notes and tips. Cover design section includes step by step instructions for changing the color and texture of your stock cover photo, adding and adjusting stylized text, and using the Print Screen feature on your PC and the Paint program to create your own JPG files. Includes how to size the cover for Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others, how to create a thumbnail image, and more. Also includes a section on marketing, social networks and much more. Includes a student handout and a free copy of The Essentials of Digital Publishing.
Narrative in Fiction, Memoir and Nonfiction—Includes “Writing Creative Nonfiction” and “Narrative in Fiction: Whisers from the Background.” Please see the descriptions above. Includes a student handout and a free ebook.
The Art of Observation (Two Day Seminar/Retreat)—The ability to write intimately is essential to enabling your reader to see what you’re seeing, hear what you’re hearing, feel what you’re feeling (physically and emotionally), etc. Observation, the ability to sense beyond the societal, physical and emotional veils with which we all contend, is essential to that intimacy. In this intensive retreat, we identify the veils and provide various techniques for sensing beyond them, including a special focus on honing the physical and emotional senses. Notes and discussion on trust, on searching less and receiving more, and on sensing our connection with what we observe and our place in the grand scheme. Discussion of the states of consciousness, including relaxation exercises. Attendees should expect to have their writing spirit revived. This seminar has taken a spiritual (not religious) bent for some. Includes guided practical application and time for unguided practical application, fellowship and sharing of experiences with intimate sentience. Toward the end of this retreat, all will be welcomed and encouraged to convey whatever sense-opening experiences they’ve witnessed or in which they’ve taken part during the seminar. Includes a detailed student handout.
Note: The instructor will provide all student handouts indicated above in class on the day of the seminar. Students will be able to download the free ebooks after the seminar.
