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.
Registration deadline for series: Tuesday, September 30 (drop-in sign up one week prior to each class.)
$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
Weds, October 8–December 17, 6–8 p.m.
SERIES SIGN UP!
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.
Weds, October 8, 6–8 p.m.
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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.
Weds, October 15, 6–8 p.m.
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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!
Weds, October 29, 6–8 p.m.
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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.
Weds, November 5, 6–8 p.m.
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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.
Weds, November 12, 6–8 p.m.
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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.
Weds, November 19, 6–8 p.m.
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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.
Weds, December 3, 6–8 p.m.
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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.
Weds, December 10, 6–8 p.m.
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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!
Weds, December 17, 6–8 p.m.
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