To sign up for one or more, please register here: Registration
You will be sent a confirmation email and paid invoice.
August 4th to 17th
Speak and Be Heard: Writing Dialogue
Great dialogue starts with a deeply drawn character. As we build these fictional souls, we cannot leave out how they communicate and how it varies from person to person, emotion to emotion.
We’ll discuss a character’s dialogue profile, including how they handle themselves with friends, loved ones, enemies and strangers. We’ll discuss things like accents and regionalisms, slang (among other things) and the ways they impact HOW a person speaks.
And finally, we’ll talk about the rhythm of writing dialogue, and how we can vary that from scene to scene, to get the most from every word.
August 11th to 24th
You Can’t Copyright Tropes – But You Can Make Them Your Own
Tropes are both the building blocks of our writing and the magical potion that can take “been there, read that” to “omgincomprehensablewordsofhappy.” How do we take something that’s been done before and make it our own?
First, we need to work out why certain tropes attract readers and what their expectations are. Then this workshop will discuss subverting tropes and reinventing approaches, without losing emotional buy-in from the reader.
August 18th to 31st
Throat Punch: Writing Effective Angst
Some people are angst junkies. They like their stories chock full of heart-ripping drama and trauma. Others like their angst just a delicate sprinkling on their story, nothing too intense. What do these two extremes have in common? Angst (at whatever level) only works when it fits your characters, and your story, and the resolution rewards your reader for their journey to the end!
In this workshop, we’ll talk about internal and external trauma, how much is enough/too much, what tone you’re going for and how to use angst effectively, and most importantly, how to write a satisfying ending.