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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors
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Showing and Telling: The Effective Use of Detail Tools of the Writer’s Craft
Showing and Telling: The Effective Use of Detail As writers we are told: “Show, don’t tell!” What does this injunction mean? How do we put it into practice? This workshop covers various aspects of detail, that vital element of effective writing. We’ll use published examples to focus on what and how a writer chooses to show, as well as when and why a writer might decide to tell. With the help of short assignments, we’ll explore the use of active verbs, sensory perceptions, the importance of sense of place, action and gesture, and we’ll discuss helpful hints on dialogue and point of view. Whether you are working on poems, a play, essays, memoir, or fiction, you’ll come to understand how the choice and the portrayal of detail can give your writing specificity and vigor. Tools of the Writer’s Craft While some aspects of the writing life are ones over which we have little dominion—luck, timing, even talent—what we can control is our craft, which is the focus of this workshop. With the aid of handouts and daily assignments, we’ll focus on tools and techniques that make writing effective, including a thorough understanding of point of view and its relation to sense of place, the differences between and respective uses of showing and telling, the importance of crafting scenes, as well as some dialogue pitfalls and helpful hints. You will write daily, with the writing critiqued in a workshop forum. Come prepared to work hard; you will leave with new confidence in your writer’s craft. Biography
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by Instructor Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Education Last updated on February 10, 2009 |
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