Browsing Tag

Creative Writing

Presentation: Seamless World Building at the Writer’s Guild of Texas

Building a convincing world is important no matter what genre you write in.  It is easy to give either too little detail, resulting in a world that seems poorly thought out, or too much detail, leaving the reader overwhelmed.  We will discuss how the principle of Hemingway’s Iceberg, the…

Saturday Night Write Discussion: Focus On Secondary Characters

Saturday Night Write meets on the third Saturday of each month to provide instruction and encouragement to writers in the community surrounding UT Arlington (and anyone else who wants to drive out to meet up with us).  Our discussion leader presents a structured topic and background research to spark interactive…

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5 Session Class: Novel Writing: Level 6 (Start Date)

Are you ready to take your novel writing skills to the next level?  Wish your writing had a little more polish?  In this course, you will learn the difference between substantive editing and line editing, what it really means to show not tell, how to recognize purple prose, why word…

novel-writing-level-3-3

5 Session Class: Novel Writing: Level 3 (Start Date)

Are you ready to take your novel writing skills to the next level? In this course, you will learn how to handle four different types of scenes: action scenes, relationship scenes, humorous scenes and “twister” scenes. We will cap the course with a session on troubleshooting your plot, editing your…

writing-about-yourself-online

5 Session Class: Writing About Yourself Online (Start Date)

Whether you’re wanting to present yourself as a foodie, share your travelogues or highlight yourself as an expert in a profession or hobby, sharing personal stories will help your readers connect with you. In this course, students will explore techniques for writing effective short memoirs and personal essays, including…

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ONLINE 8-Week Planning Out a Novel or Series (Start Date)

This is a workshop in fiction writing for beginners with no experience and intermediate students who want to streamline their writing process. Led by Amber Royer, whose debut novel Free Chocolate has been named one of the Barnes & Noble SFF Blog’s 25 Debuts to Watch for in 2018…

saturday-night-write-high-stakes-plotting

Saturday Night Write: High Stakes Plotting

Saturday Night Write meets on the third Saturday of each month to provide instruction and encouragement to writers in the community surrounding UT Arlington (and anyone else who wants to drive out to meet up with us).  Our discussion leader presents a structured topic and background research to spark interactive…

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8-Week After School Fiction Writing for Teens (Start Date)

This 8-week workshop-style class in fiction writing is designed to provide a peer environment for teenage writers (Grades 9-12). Led by Amber Royer, whose debut novel Free Chocolate has been named one of Barnes & Noble’s 25 Debuts to Watch for in 2018, the class is…

The Importance of Character Agency at the Carrollton League of Writers

I will be a guest of the Carrollton League of Writers.  It’s a casual atmosphere at a local BBQ restaurant.  I’ll be speaking on The Importance of Character Agency and how this relates to the reader’s ability to relate to your story.  I will be available to…

5-session-class-novel-writing-level-5-start-date

5 Session Class: Novel Writing: Level 5 (Start Date)

Are you ready to take your novel writing skills to the next level?  How do you go from having a series of scenes to something that makes sense as a novel?  In this course, you will delve into structure and discover if your story has enough (or too much complexity…

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5 Session Class: Novel Writing: Level 2 (Start Date)

Are you ready to build your novel writing skills? Or are you confident in your writing, but mystified by terms like character agency, pathos, and subtext? In this course, you will learn how to craft realistic dialogue, create characters who do indeed have agency, understand narrative structure, and connect readers…

fencon

FenCon

I’ll be a guest at FenCon this year.  Check their web site for updates including my programming schedule…

saturday-night-write-discussion-how-not-to-write-dialogue

Saturday Night Write Discussion: How NOT to Write Dialogue

Saturday Night Write meets on the third Saturday of each month to provide instruction and encouragement to writers in the community surrounding UT Arlington (and anyone else who wants to drive out to meet up with us).  Our discussion leader presents a structured topic and background research to spark interactive…

5-session-class-novel-writing-level-4-start-date

5 Session Class: Novel Writing: Level 4 (Start Date)

Are you ready to take your novel writing skills to the next level? It is often said that, “Story Is Character.”  In this course, you will learn how to design dynamic protagonists, villains, mentors and sidekicks, and love interests – and how to handle unlikable characters and antiheroes.  Aspiring writers will…

5-session-class-novel-writing-level-1-start-date

5 Session Class: Novel Writing: Level 1 (Start Date)

Have you always wanted to write a novel and don’t know where to start? Or do you have a work in progress that needs help becoming a finished draft? This class starts with the basics — character, plot, setting and theme to ensure that you are building a sound structure…

seminar-achieving-catharsis

Seminar: Achieving Catharsis

Catharsis is defined as a cleansing of emotions.  As a writing theory, it goes as far back as Aristotle’s Poetics.  But it’s actually simple to understand.   You know how sometimes you close the cover of a book or walk out of the theater, and you’ve laughed, you…

query-letter-clinic-for-writers

Workshop: Query Letter Clinic for Writers

Do you have a completed novel or a novel-in-progress? Are you ready to take the next step towards getting it traditionally published? Then you need a well-polished query letter to serve as your introduction to prospective agents and editors. Learn what goes into an effective query – and…

narrative-as-interpreter-in-fiction-writing
Literary Terms, Writing Tips

Narrative as Interpreter in Fiction Writing

When we’re talking fiction writing, what really is narrative?  It’s everything that isn’t action and isn’t dialogue.  Which means it’s the glue that holds it all together.More directly, narrative is how we help the reader interpret the action and the dialogue.  We given them…

new-advanced-novel-writing-classes
News

New Advanced Novel Writing Classes

Are you ready for a new writing adventure and some new writing challenges?So excited about the new series of classes I’m doing for UTA Continuing Education this fall.  There was such an overwhelming positive response to the Novel 1-2-3 classes that they’ve decided to test…

a-few-query-tips
Musing, Publishing Industry

A Few Query Tips

I’m doing a query clinic next month, and today I’m trying to turn my time in the query trenches, and all the lessons I learned the hard way, and those I learned from critiquing other people’s queries, into a concise, helpful Power Point.  Getting it right means…

creative-writing-genres-grades-4-6

3 Session Class: Creative Writing Genres (Grades 4-6) (Start Date)

Need an extra boost for that fall writing class? Get a head start in a fun and imaginative way. Our creative writing course will teach you to take real life scenarios and spin those scenarios into works of innovative genius. We will investigate all types of writing genres in order…

saturday-night-write-discussion-creativity-exercises

Saturday Night Write Discussion: Creativity Exercises

Saturday Night Write meets on the third Saturday of each month to provide instruction and encouragement to writers in the community surrounding UT Arlington (and anyone else who wants to drive out to meet up with us).  Our discussion leader presents a structured topic and background research to spark interactive…

writing-about-food

Workshop: Writing About Food

Whether you’re writing a novel, or want to be a blogger, adding descriptions of food will give a sensory appeal to your work and ground it in a specific place and time. This hands-on session will include a chocolate tasting. Participants will then write and share descriptions. Fiction…

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