Learn to effectively describe characters and settings without bogging down the pace of your prose.
Description:
W. H. Horner, a faculty mentor with Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, will work through fundamental aspects of writing fiction. Attendance is limited. Handouts and worksheets will be provided. Attendees should bring a three-ring notebook and paper. One of the hardest and yet most rewarding tasks for a writer is bringing worlds to life. Readers need to experience the settings with as many senses as possible and be able to see and hear characters clearly in order to connect with them. However, the majority of readers don’t want pages upon pages of lifeless description, no matter how beautiful it might be. This workshop is designed to help writers bring their creations to life with vivid prose that doesn’t devolve into
travelogues or portraiture. Exercises will help attendees experiment with descriptive techniques.
Learn what makes dialogue effective and craft powerful examples of your own.
Description:
W. H. Horner, a faculty mentor with Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, will work through fundamental aspects of writing fiction. Attendance is limited. Handouts and worksheets will be provided. Attendees should bring a three-ring notebook and paper. Dialogue is one of the best ways to move the plot forward while bringing characters to life. If it crackles with energy and instantly commands attention, good dialogue will stick with readers after they have put down the book or short story. While it’s easy to recognize, it’s not easy to create. W. H. Horner walks attendees through issues and techniques related to dialogue by analyzing some of the best examples in prose, film, and stage writing. Attendees will have a chance to craft dialogue of their own, trying out techniques and sharing with the group.
Writer's Craft: Fiction Fundamentals Focus Session: Point of View
Summary:
Learn about POV options and pitfalls and how to deepen readers’ engagement with your characters.
Description:
W. H. Horner, a faculty mentor with Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, will work through fundamental aspects of writing fiction. Attendance is limited. Handouts and worksheets will be provided. Attendees should bring a three-ring notebook and paper. What is point of view? How can authors use POV choices to provide engaging reading experiences for their readers? All these questions and more will be answered in this focused workshop. W. H. Horner will walk attendees through a number of issues related to point of view, focusing on ways to deepen their engagement with their characters in order to give readers the intense experiences they crave. Writing exercises will include experimenting with various point of view techniques, making one’s writing reflect the point of view character’s attitudes and emotions, and recognizing problems in point of view execution.
Writer's Craft: Fiction Fundamentals Focus Session: Publication Pitfalls and Traps
Summary:
Learn about the submission process and what to avoid in your prose to increase your chances of publication.
Description:
W. H. Horner, a faculty mentor with Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, will work through fundamental aspects of writing fiction. Handouts and worksheets will be provided. Attendees should bring a three-ring notebook and paper.
We all make mistakes, but editors, agents, and publishers want manuscripts that are as close to perfect as possible and with authors who communicate clearly and professionally. W. H. Horner has amassed a collection of mistakes and literary blunders from both beginning and established writers. The workshop deals with topics such as grammar, formatting, and style in manuscripts. Query and cover letters will also be covered, with a focus on professional presentation and tone. After the session, attendees should be able to spot pitfalls in their own work before submitting it for publication or direct sale.
New York Times Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole takes you through a series of exercises that will let you build a story from the barest spark through twists and turns.
Description:
New York Times Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole takes you through a series of exercises that will let you build a story from the barest spark through twists and turns. He’ll give you several story recipes and show you how you can work from them to create delightfully complex and engrossing stories.
Writer's Craft: Heroes & Villains – Creating a Character Driven Story (Part 2 of Plotting)
Summary:
All great stories need both a hero and a villain. Join award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake as he presents the tools you need to create both sides of this vital opposing force.
Description:
All great stories need both a hero and a villain. Join award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake as he presents his class, "Heroes and Villains – Creating a Character Driven Story." This class will give you the tools you need to create both sides of this opposing force. You will learn to create each in a dynamic way that will capture the hearts of your readers, making them cheer for their triumphs and commiserate their losses.
Should you give detailed, rich descriptions? Or offer the bare minimum and let the reader fill in the blanks? Learn the tricks and techniques for getting description right in your fiction!
Writer's Craft: How to Create a More Realistic Fictitious World
Summary:
Join award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake as he lets you in on some of the secrets he uses to create worlds that suck readers in and question whether or not the world is a fantasy.
Description:
Have you ever wondered how sci-fi and fantasy authors create such vibrant, detailed worlds that suck their readers in and wrap them in a blanket so real, you question why our own world is not more like theirs? Join award-winning author Maxwell Alexander Drake as he lets you in on some of the secrets he uses to create worlds during his seminar "How to Create a More Realistic Fictitious World."
New York Times bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole gives you the “mission checklist” to make sure your novel is ready to publish.
Description:
New York Times bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole gives you the “mission checklist” to make sure your novel is ready to publish. He’ll cover the basics from how to know if you want to do one more draft, on through how to produce and package your book for sale. If you think you’re ready to pull the trigger on publishing, or if you want to make sure you’ve got all the pieces in place, this seminar will provide you with answers to all your questions, and some you didn’t even know you should ask.