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WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
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SEPTEMBER 2010 On Location: Landscape and Setting in Prose Saturday, September 18, 1–6pm What would any powerful story be without its landscape? What if Lawrence of Arabia had been set in Iceland? What if Hogwarts school was in an abandoned barn instead of a castle? What if the DaVinci Code had played out in Nebraska instead of France? The perfect setting is integral to every great story. We will investigate the locations where our stories, novels and memoirs are set. We will discuss how setting can be used to frame a story and we will practice the art of creating unique, detailed descriptions that bring those places alive in both narrative and scene. Walking and Talking: Character and Dialogue in Prose Sunday, September 19, 1–6pm In any great novel, memoir or story, the text is populated with vibrant, unique characters. As writers, we create these characters based on people we know, people we imagine, and combinations between the two. Exciting characters have their own lives, histories, speech patterns, desires and fears, and they interact with one another in a way that is compelling and believable. Together we will examine what makes great heroes, villains and minor characters, and invent some of our own. We will practice writing the physical description, gestures, monologue and dialogue that brings each of our characters to life. To Register for the Writers Guild classes, please contact Rosa Glenn Reilly at rosa235@earthlink.net. Visa and MasterCard accepted. ____________________________________________________________________ OCTOBER 2010 Memory and Imagination Sunday, October 16, 1–6pm These are two of the main building blocks for any memoir or fiction, but its vital to know how and when to use each one. How do your create and autobiographically-inspired novel? Can you invent details within a memoir? The key is to understand exactly where the lines of mainstream genre are and how to avoid crossing them. Together we will investigate ways to tap into your memory and your imagination and to weave that content skillfully into your texts. The Art of Short Fiction Sunday, October 17, 1–6pm Short fiction is a popular and inventive genre, encompassing everything from 6-word stories to micro-fiction to flash fiction to short stories to novellas. We will take a look at examples of each form and explore the elements of each, taking a look at what makes a great story and where stories are being published and read. Then we will experiment with writing some stories of our own. If you have always wanted to try your hand at fiction, this is a great place to start! To Register for the Writers Guild classes, please contact Rosa Glenn Reilly at rosa235@earthlink.net. Visa and MasterCard accepted. ____________________________________________________________________ NOVEMBER 2010 Making a Scene Saturday, November 13, 1–6pm When we read prose, whether the book is a memoir or a mystery novel, a thriller or a romance, historical novel or Sci Fi trilogy, they all have one thing in common: the author is willing to create SCENES in which the reader sees and hears and feels what is happening. In this workshop we will look together at what makes a great scene, including dialogue, movement, gesture, sound, weather, setting and conflict. We will examine examples from well-known novels and look at what makes them work, and how the author moves from narrative into scene and back out again. And of course, we will write scenes of our own. Poetic Forms Saturday, November 14, 1–6pm For those who love Poetry, it can be great fun to experiment wildly with some traditional and modern poetic forms. Sonnets, Villanelles, Sestinas, Lunes, Haiku and Renga are all fun, but so are Concrete poems, Occasional poems, List poems, Insult Poems, Epistles, Limericks and forms we invent ourselves! Poets, closet-poets, beginner-poets and non-poets are all welcome! To Register for the Writers Guild classes, please contact Rosa Glenn Reilly at rosa235@earthlink.net. Visa and MasterCard accepted. ____________________________________________________________________ DECEMBER 2010 The Art of Editing Saturday, December 18, 1–6pm First drafts and source texts are great, but what happens next? Together we will discuss the steps of the drafting process. The goal is to learn how to make a text more interesting and navigable for the reader, while not losing the passion and authenticity of the author's voice. Together we will learn to see the possibilities of the first draft and the expansion and choices of the second draft so that we can steer our work on the journey towards completion. Self Publishing 101 Sunday, December 19, 1–6pm How does self-publishing work? How do you know if it is right for your book or project? What is Print-On-Demand? What is a blog and how do you start one? What is a chapbook? What is an author platform and why might you need one? Together we will examine these and other questions about a variety of hands-on ways to get your work out into the world. To Register for the Writers Guild classes, please contact Rosa Glenn Reilly at rosa235@earthlink.net. Visa and MasterCard accepted.
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