Upcoming Classes
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY, PART 1
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
Refine your skills as a writer without breaking the bank!
The Small Craft Advisory Series is a comprehensive and flexible program of classes designed for adult learners with life experience and stories to tell.
Developed from Sandra Scofield’s essential primer, THE SCENE BOOK, each two-hour, online seminar includes in-depth discussion of the elements of narrative craft and exercises focused on participant writing. NO workshop!
Part 1 addresses the most critical skill for prose writers—scene writing—along with characterization, dialogue and setting.
Sign up for the entire 9-class series or drop in as needed.
$55 per class for entire series ($495 total) /$65 per drop in
Required reading: THE SCENE BOOK, by Sandra Scofield; weekly short story or essay
1: SCENE BASICS
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
It’s nearly impossible to tell a compelling story without scenes! In this class, we’ll discuss the components of the most essential building block in prose narrative.
2: SCENES—EVENT & EMOTION
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
What happened? And what does it mean? We’ll do a deeper dive into the way event and emotion work in tandem to create memorable, meaningful scenes.
3: SCENES—BEATS, PART 1
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
Resonant scenes depend on clear events. But events themselves can be broken down further into beats of action. Getting a handle on beats is the simplest way to make your scenes come to life!
4: SCENES—BEAT SHEETS
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
We’ll create a sample beat sheet and discuss ways to revise and sharpen beats so character action (and motivation) are clearer for readers. Then we’ll each create one using our own scenes.
5: SCENES—TURNING POINTS & PULSE
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
Unless you’ve got a solid sense of pulse (character motivation) the turning points in your scenes will often be unclear. We’ll work on capturing motivation, conflict, and change in individual scenes.
6: SCENES—REVIEW
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
We’ll review what we know about scenes and how they work, and consider scene writing in relation to overall story conflict and structure.
7: CHARACTERIZATION, 1
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
This class will address ways to create unique, complex characters through using indirect and direct methods of characterization, including action, appearance, and thought.
8: CHARACTERIZATION, 2—DIALOGUE
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
Good dialogue shows character development and reveals emotional subtext. We’ll analyze and discuss a variety of approaches to getting at the things people do (and don’t) say.
9: SETTING & SENSE OF PLACE
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction (Online)
A clear sense of place is one that accesses not only geographical features, but also elements of memory, cultural identity, and regional character. Setting is so much more than landscape!