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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors
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Showing And Telling: The Effective Use of Detail or Weekend Workshop Introduction To The Craft Of Fiction
Advanced Craft Workshop
Showing And Telling: The Effective Use of Detail or Weekend Workshop As writers we are told: “Show, don’t tell!” What does this injunction mean? How do we put it into practice? This weekend 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, as well as discuss some 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. Introduction To The Craft Of Fiction When we first begin to write, we are often sustained by the novelty of the act itself. But when we move beyond that initial inspiration, we find ourselves developing an interest in craft, and craft is the emphasis of this workshop. As you read and critique the work of published authors, you will begin to read as a writer: what are these authors doing—intentionally—that “works?” What can be learned from them? With the aid of handouts and daily assignments, we focus on specific aspects of craft: transforming autobiography into fiction, the effective use of detail, the difference between showing and telling, and point of view. The work that emerges from these assignments is discussed in a workshop forum. The week is filled with reading, writing, critiquing, and discussion. Your awareness and appreciation of what goes into any piece of writing will be heightened; in the process, you will come to understand how to begin or to improve your own writing projects. Advanced Craft Workshop This course is designed for writers who are launched into a novel (and, for those interested in fictional techniques for non-fiction writing, memoir) and are looking for inspiration, encouragement and, most importantly, solutions to some of the problems that arise when working on a longer manuscript. Your first assignment will be to summarize your writing project for the others in the class; then daily assignments ask you to explore and advance your story. Tools and techniques covered include crafting scenes, incorporating sense of place in point of view; sustaining plot and building character; methods to summarize as well as dramatize; and dialogue pitfalls and helpful hints. Each participant’s work will be critiqued daily in a workshop forum. Class discussion will include the subject of personal style as well as the application of these techniques to your particular manuscript. Come prepared to read and write daily; you will leave with an array of tools to improve your entire manuscript. Biography
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