June Workshop - Power Proposals

I keep forgetting to announce this, a fact which I blame on the jackhammers and bulldozers in my front yard. But we're in the end stages of the foundation repairs *happydance* so it's time for me to get back on the ball.

In June, I'll be teaching my workshop on Power Proposals. We'll give you some insight to the submissions process and why it's set up the way it is. Yes, the game is rigged against you, but that doesn't mean you can't win. We'll look at the three parts of a proposal and the purpose of each piece. We'll look at samples and do some exercises to help you with your proposals. Like most of my workshops, it aims for a practical, step-by-step approach to the proposal process which you can apply not just to your current project, but to future projects, too.

Why take this class from me? I've been both an agent and an acquisitions editor. When you send out your proposal, someone like me will be your first reader. Slush jockeys with severe eyestrain and a crushing cases of the jadeds? Yep. The hardest reader to impress is exactly the reader you must impress.

Dates and signup information are in the blog sidebar, top right. I hope to see you there!

Theresa

April Workshop on Narrative Elements

What is narrative? What is story? And how do narrative and story intersect? In this workshop, Theresa will teach you to identify narrative elements and will show you how to manipulate them to achieve certain effects. These tools are useful at the drafting stage and can make the revision process even smoother. But the main goal is to provide writers with a comprehensive system for understanding what's on the page.

Most of the lessons are suitable for beginning to intermediate writers, but the final lessons introduce some advanced narrative techniques.

Have a few pages of draft material ready for practice sessions, and be prepared to do some writing exercises!

The workshop begins Friday, April 1, 2011, and ends Thursday, April 14, 2011. Cost is $50.00. All courses are conducted on an email loop. Email edittorrent@gmail.com with any questions. Sign up between now and March 28 -- this class tends to fill fast!

Alicia's March Workshop -- Synopsis Writing

Do you have to write a synopsis? Do you dread it?

Are your queries and proposals being form-rejected, and you know you’re writing well?

Is your synopsis too long and you can’t figure out how to cut it?

Well, this class is for you. In two weeks, we’re going to work on creating a sensational synopsis of any length, from the one paragraph version for a query or pitch, a one-pager, or a longer one to go with the proposal. You choose!

The trick is to leave the plot behind. Too many writers get bogged down in events, and end up with a boring chronicle of “this happened, then this happened.” I can tell you from having to evaluate many proposals that this sort of synopsis will bore the editor– yes, no matter how good your story is. Instead, we’ll concentrate on writing a synopsis that reflects your entire story, not just the plot. I call it the SCORE method:

Situation

Character

Organization

Revelation

Epiphany

By focusing your presentation on that, you can weave in plot events but never lose the coherence and intensity of the story. In this interactive workshop, you’ll work on presenting your own story in your own voice, so that the editor will want to read the book.

If you’re facing the difficult job of writing a synopsis, here’s your chance to get expert guidance and feedback. This two-week class will be conducted entirely in an email list, with a limited number of students. SCORE with Your Synopsis will start March 1, and costs $50. To sign up and pay for the class, click the Buy Now button in the sidebar, or email edittorrent@gmail.com.

For Those of You Who Are Wondering but Are Too Shy to Ask

I've received several questions about the September Structure workshop, and thought it made sense to address them here, too.

I'm a new writer. Can I take your class, or will it be too advanced for me?

No, I don't think it's too advanced for a beginner. It will flood your brain with information, but it's information you can use right now to make your writing better, and none of it is conceptually difficult. And you need at least a fundamental understanding of structure to shape a book, so in that way, it's perfect for new writers.

But it is a lot of material. A lot. My whole goal in this course is to take abstract concepts (Aristotle's notion of magnitude, for example), and show you how to translate that to real scenes and plots and characters. So it's very practical, and for that reason alone, it would be great for a new writer.

My advice to the new writer, though, is to hang onto the lessons and revisit them in a year or two. What's important to you in the early stages is not what will be important to you later. Today you might be wrestling with conflict and causation. Tomorrow, it might be sequencing and logic. The workshop addresses a broad range of structure concepts, some of which might be more worthwhile later. (But it sure won't hurt you any to get exposed to these ideas early on.)


I've published six books. Will there be anything new for me to learn in this class?

Experienced writers like the structure workshop because, even if they know these theories, they don't always know what to do with them. I mean, it's one thing to say that events must have a certain magnitude. It's another to know how to evaluate your writing for magnitude and change it where necessary. (I've been working on the magnitude lesson today, which is why this is on my mind.)

And if you've had little training in literary theory, but still manage to pull together publishable books, this class might provide you with a new understanding of your instinctive approach to your work. Perhaps you already "get" the mechanics of character shifts in some deeply intuitive way. This workshop will give you the tools and the vocabulary to manage your draft structures in a more thoughtful way.


Are there still spaces left?

Yes, a few, but not many. I want to keep this class size fairly small because it's intensive. I've done it in person for years, but never online before now, and I'm not sure how that will affect the Q&A. But if we keep it fairly intimate, I'll know that I have ample time to handle whatever arises, and nobody will be shortchanged.


I don't understand what this workshop will be about. What is structure?

Take the class and find out. :)

It's going to be a great workshop. I've given this one in person a million times over the past two decades, and believe me, people walk out of it armed for battle. This isn't just academic theory blah blah blah, and there will be a lot of step-by-step explanations of how to handle different structural concepts when working on real manuscripts.

Theresa

Announcing the September Workshop

Alicia and I are very excited to announce the first ever edittorrent online workshop.

Starting September 1 and running for two weeks, I will be leading an intensive class in Fiction Structure. (Some of you out there may have taken the face-to-face version of this seminar and might be able to comment on what our workshoppers would be in for. *evil grin* Try not to scare them too much.)

We'll start by examining some of the classic theories analyzing structure (Aristotle, of course). This is all big-picture stuff that gives form and coherence to your story as a whole.

Then we'll look at mid-scale structure: scenes, sequences of scenes, and how to create coherency in blocks of actions. We'll talk about structural tricks for incorporating things like theme and motif in easy ways, all with the goal of making the text feel integrated.

We'll wrap up with a brief look a small-scale structure at the sentence and paragraph level, but if history can predict the future, we won't dwell too long on this part of the workshop. When I teach this class in person, we tend to spend a lot of time on the large scale and mid-scale sections, which is where the students seem to gravitate. I always want to cram in some thoughts on sentences and paragraphs, but I'm also willing to be guided by ongoing Q&A. That's the nature of a workshop. :)

This course will be conducted through a simple yahoo loop, meaning that you'll need to be able to join the yahoo group.

The cost will be US$50. There's a paypal button on the blog sidebar for those of you interested in signing up.

I'm leading this one, and Alicia will lead the October workshop. We'll be alternating months with this ongoing series, and I'll have more information for everyone on the course schedule soon. Some of you might recall that we talked about a different topic for the September workshop, but that particular one has been rescheduled.

Anyway, registration for the September workshop may begin now. The class size is limited, so you might want to sign up early.

Questions? You know where to post them. :)

Theresa