craft

Do you want to write a funny novel or short story? Or perhaps you'd like to add humor to the book you've already written? If so, then this is the course for you. Some of the areas covered in this two week course, include-- The difference between funny and humorous. What makes something fun to...

In this workshop, we will explore what these hard-to-define terms mean and how to use them to form the underlying framework for powerful stories and impactful marketing. Learn how to twist tropes, weave in theme, and build a compelling premise that can be used in promoting the finished book.

Side characters are an important component in your story. You want them to be interesting, but not take over the story, right? In this workshop, you’ll learn some tips and tricks to creating useful secondary characters. Lesson One: Basics about secondary characters Lesson Two: The Sidekick –...

Crank up the efficiency and get that novel, short story, article or script DONE. Through exercises, evaluations, tips and technologies, you can learn to write faster. Discover how to break through blocks, get ideas, develop plots, draft and polish in less time without losing quality.

Great fiction isn’t only make-believe. Incorporating facts (history, science, medicine, archaeology, etc.) can enliven and deepen a story, contribute to rich world-building, and establish trust between reader and author. Whether you’re writing a futuristic fantasy, a historical romance, or...

Do you have trouble with telling the reader the story instead of showing it? If so, join the crowd. This is one of the most common mistakes in writing. But there’s hope. In this two week workshop, I will Show you how to tell which mode you’re in Tell you how to fix the problem Show you how to...

From well-worn fairytales to far flung fantasy, the tradition of drawing from beloved stories to create new and striking iterations has a long history. At the core of this story obsession are familiar tropes and relationship dynamics that keep us coming back to similar stories time and again...

A threshold is any point of entering. The line between here and there. Also called limen, it is any point or line or place between what is and what will be, or between what was and what is now, often that defining moment of no return. Thresholds are important in the structure of story and are...

Develop your characters and create backstory using emotional wounds and inner conflicts. What motivates your character? What are the traumas that might be inspiring them to take certain actions? How to determine what wounds make sense for your characters and your story Raise the stakes in your...

Do the names Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Ben Aaronovitch, Lisa Shearin, Mike Carey, Karen Marie Moning, Jonathan Howard, Kate Griffin, Kevin Hearne, Daryinda Jones, or Benedict Jacka ring a bell with you? They are merely some of the many writers who mix magic, paranormal, supernatural, and...

Conflict is the reason stories happen. Conflict is keeping a romance from blossoming, a hero from reaching his goal, a villain trying to stop a hero, or even a killer from being stopped. Nine times out of ten a book falls flat because the conflict is non-existent and in this one-week course...

Take Your Characters From Flat to Fabulous: Creating Characters Your Readers Will Love will examine how to take a character from a flat, formless idea to a living, breathing, three-dimensional person that readers can root for, care about, and fall in love with. We will cover: · The...

You’ve done it! Reached the end of your draft. Wouldn’t it be nice if that was all you had to do? But unless you are a wonder writer, your initial draft will not be perfect. So, what comes next? Revision! In this workshop, you will receive a revision road map and a tip for revising your draft...

Ideas are awesome. But ideas aren’t stories. In this workshop, we’ll look at some techniques for figuring out how to turn your ideas into stories, and those stories into great novels. The focus on this workshop is on the pre-writing phase, where we’ll think about brainstorming and planning to...

Are you seeking a coach and mentor who listens? Doesn't squash your writing style? And who provides positive, constructive feedback to meet your goals? As a certified coach with a background in education and over a decade of working with writers, my goal is to offer you an individualized...

Without conflict there is no story. Your characters have to grow and they have to be challenged. They fall in love, break up and make up until the HEA or HFN. How do you keep the tension and conflict as they go through their story arc? What keeps them going and what conflicts do they have to...

There are all types of mystery niches in which to write stories: amateur detective, police procedural, government agency, spies, private detectives, capers, cozies, romantic suspense. Even paranormal mysteries. Any one of them could be a comedic mystery. Why? Because comedy is in the...

If you plan before you begin your draft or plan during the drafting part of your writing process, we’ll cover many of the techniques that you can use to help make your drafting go smoother. If you current do no or little planning before or during the writing of the story draft, we’ll explore...

Every novel has common parts of scenes, such as moving the plot forward, revealing character, motivation, inner/external conflict, etc. These universal necessities will make up the first part of the workshop and be fleshed out and explained. In addition, romance has some specific things...

Throughout this 3-week workshop, writers will learn the ins and outs of worldbuilding and how to properly integrate information into their story. Week one will focus on macro-worldbuilding: how the world is shaped, what political powers are in play, and how religion and technology appear in the...