- Cost: $39. Ten percent of webinar proceeds to benefit World Central Kitchen.
- Recordings will be sent to all participants within twenty-four hours of the webinar.
- Registrations will be accepted up to twenty-four hours in advance of each workshop.
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
How Point of View Can Solve Your Writing Troubles
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Choose the Setting for Your Short Story: Location, Weather, Atmosphere
Part of the Focus on Short Fiction Series
JH: With a short story, you don't have a lot of time or space to develop your setting. Rayne Hall shares tips and exercises on how to get the most out of your short fiction setting.
Where does your story take place?
Consider giving your story an unusual, quirky setting. This will make the piece memorable and vivid. What’s the weirdest possible place where the events could plausibly happen?
If this is a romantic story about a first date, how about these two people don't go to a predictable meal in a restaurant, walk in a park or movie in a cinema, but a Ferris wheel ride at the funfair, rollerblading in a deserted car park, or picnicking on a mountain top?
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Grow Up Already: Creating Character Arcs
A strong character arc will weave its way through the turning points of the plot.
A character arc is the internal struggle and progress a character goes through over the course of a novel that changes them in some way. It's usually connected to the internal conflict so that what they do (the plot) forces changes in who they are (the character arc). It can sometimes be confused with character motivations (a character worries over something so they act to prevent that something) but why a character acts is different from how they change because of their actions. Motivation drives the actions. Growth is the result of the actions.
But should the writer know where the character is heading/motives before the first draft? Is it bad if you don’t?" Heck no.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Internal Medicine: How Much Internalization is Too Much?
Readers want to know what's going on in a character's head, but they don't need to know every last thought.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Getting Your Short Story Published: What You Need to Know About Submission, Rights and Payments
Part of the Focus on Short Fiction Series
JH: Writers are on their own when it comes to the business side of short stories. Rayne Hall explains what you need to know when submitting and publishing your short fiction.
We’re in a ‘golden age’ for short stories, with more opportunities for short story authors than ever before. This doesn’t mean that getting your tales published is easy, or a way to earn riches fast.
You need to be sure that your stories are good, and you need to submit them to the right markets.
Where To Submit Your Story
If your story falls under a category (a ‘genre’), focus on markets specializing in that genre, because there your chances of acceptance are greatest.
Monday, May 08, 2023
The Power of Small Problems: Elevate Your Plot with Little Conflicts
Little problems can be just as devastating to your characters' plans as full-blown issues.
When you're creating your characters and their lives, don't forget to add in the little things that can cause them trouble, even if it's not earth-shattering trouble.
In other words, pile on the problems.
Monday, April 24, 2023
The Difference Between a Writing Problem, and a “Not for Me” Issue
Sometimes the problem is with the reviewer, not the book.
Monday, April 17, 2023
Living in My Head: Crafting Natural-Sounding Internal Thoughts
A close narrative distance will make the internalization feel similar to first person (without the "I" of course). A more distant one will include tags such as he thought. Some will use italics, others will make it part of the narrative. The style is up to you.
((Here's more with Where Do You Want Me? Choosing Narrative Distance in Multiple Third Person).)
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Give Your Story Meaning with Inner Conflict and Theme
Part of the Focus on Short Fiction Series
JH: No matter the size of your story, a theme can deepen it and make it stronger. Rayne Hall shares tips on finding and developing your story’s theme.
Do you want your story to be meaningful and memorable? Then give it a theme.
Although there are many ways of creating and exploring a theme, here's the one I find the easiest as well as the most powerful.
'One Purpose/Ideal/Value' versus 'Another Purpose/Ideal/Value'.
For example:
- Love versus Safety
- Patriotism versus Friendship
- Faith versus Integrity
- Honesty versus Compassion
Monday, April 10, 2023
The Real Problem With Passive Voice in Fiction
Passive voice in a novel can put your readers right to sleep.
Before we dive in, a little heads up that I'm over at Writers in the Storm today, chatting about how to use clichés, metaphors, and similes to bring your story world to life. Come on over and say hello.
Without understanding why a passive voice causes trouble, you might rewrite it when its actually the best thing for your story at that moment. It does have it’s uses after all.
So first, let's look at what passive voice means.
I used to be one of those folks who wrongly equated passive voice with all forms of the "to be" verb, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one. Because quite often, a “to be” verb is at the heart of a troublesome sentence, but a “to be” verb doesn't always signal passive writing.