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"Learn to Write Better Fiction"

LEARN TO WRITE BETTER FICTION

Well-organized, yet spontaneous and fun, these 50-minute workshops with Q&A were recorded at the San Diego State University Writers' Conference and can be enjoyed at home, in your car, wherever you are. Use them yourself or give them as gifts. They really help.

                                                                    VOLUME I

Workshop Number\Title:

1. Building a Good Foundation.
How to design a storyline and strengthen your plot.

2. The Dramatic Question as an Aid in Plotting.
How and when to raise questions that move your story and add suspense.

3. Visualizing your Characters.
Ways to see them yourself and show them to the reader.

4. Bringing your Characters to Life.
Going beyond visual techniques to make readers care.

5. Dialogue and Internal Monologue.
Ten tips for snappier dialogue. How and when to let your characters think.

6. The Opening you Can't Put Down.
Proven techniques to hook your readers on Page 1 and not let go.

7. Dramatic Scenes & Effective Transitions.
What they are. What they do. How to write them.

8. Storyboarding a Scene.
Using film techniques to make scenes come alive.

9. Psychic Distance and Camera Angles.
Proper use of narrative voice. New ways to look at viewpoint.

Nine Workshops - $80.00.

                                                                   VOLUME II

Workshop Number\Title

10. Images and Insights; Metaphors and Symbols.
Make your prose come alive with heightened language.

11. Writing the Ending: Crisis, Climax, and Resolution.
How to bring the story "home" and see what it says.

12. The Secret Ingredient of Success.
What has to be behind the words to make them work.

13. Discovering your Story.
How to find the story that's yours. Strategies for finding stories in general.

14. Structuring the Literary Novel.
The genre defined. Basic principles of organization.

15. Voice, Tone, and Style.
What they do for your fiction. How to make them more compelling.

16. Step by Step through the Synopsis.
What it is. What it does. How to write it.

17. Developing as a Writer.
Vital steps along the path from amateur to pro.

18. Fulfilling your Writing Dream.
Coping with rejection and carrying on with dedication.

Nine Workshops - $80.00

                                                                  VOLUME III

Workshop Number\Title

19. Narrative Structure from A to Z.
The five basic parts of every story.

20. Viewpoint.
What it is and what it does. Examples and options.

21. More on Viewpoint.
Picking the one that's best. Pro's and con's of each alternative.

22. Creating Characters that Live and Breathe.
How to make readers care.

23. Creating a Character from a White Mercedes.
A playful approach to writing fiction.

24. Motivation: Who Wants What and Why?
Choosing character goals that drive your plot.

25. Giving Your Scenes Pizazz.
Step-by-step instructions in how to spark up your prose.

26.  Criticism: The Art of Give and Take.
Tips for getting it; tips for dishing it out.

Eight Workshops - $70.00

 

"Your tapes are in my car and I listen to them over and over. You are definitely one of the all time great teachers."
M.C.M., Oxnard, CA