November, 2011
Free creative writing course
Let’s say you’re a person who’s thinking about being a writer. You have little to no formal training and want to explore some topics in creative writing in a fun and friendly atmosphere. Or maybe you have some experience with creative writing and want to remind yourself of some of the basics. If you are such a person, or could put yourself in such a person’s shoes, I’d love some feedback on what’s below.
I’m putting together a syllabus for a course I’d like to volunteer to teach in my new community. Not long ago, I taught a community education course in my old town using this eight-week schedule. It met for about two hours once a week in the evening. Specifically, I’d love thoughts on . . .
1) What would be your ideal number of weeks for a course? Ideal number of hours in each weekly session?
2) What would be your ideal proportion of writing vs. critique vs. lessons? (Below there are seven weeks of lessons and one critique session. Writing exercises are part of the first seven weeks. We also look at passages from published books to illustrate the lessons.)
3) Any topics you’d like covered that aren’t mentioned below?
week 1: Description
An important concept for a writer to understand is the difference between showing and telling and when to use either. We will explore this concept as well as the use of all five senses in descriptive writing, how to select setting details to create a particular effect, and the concept of proportion.
week 2: Characterization
Most readers will fall in love with a story because they fall in love with its characters. We will discuss ways character is revealed, including selection of descriptive detail, using the mirror, words, actions, other characters, contrasts, and choices characters make.
week 3: Dialogue
A significant portion of a publishable story must be dialogue. This week we will look at proper dialogue format, speech tags, beats, and writing off-the-nose. We will review two common pitfalls of writing dialogue: Tom Swifties and As-You-Know-Bob (aka maid-and-butler), and we will discuss the choices of using profanity and/or dialect in characters’ speech.
week 4: Language
There’s no way around it, the most beautiful story and most memorable characters will mean little if your language isn’t readable. “Omit needless words!” (the 10% rule) is our mantra for this week. We will look at such common problem areas as overuse of adverbs, weak verbs, distracting repetition, misplaced modifiers, disagreement between subject/verb and pronoun/antecedent, lack of parallel structure, improper comma use, cliche. We will look at purple prose and the language of melodrama. We will also look at examples of the excellent use of simile, metaphor, and hyperbole to make writing more effective.
week 5: Story
The plan for a novel must consider long-term goals for plot and character. We will look at novel structure and what must go into a novel’s beginning, middle, and end in order to satisfy a reader. Topics include character arcs, the hero’s journey, the promise and the pay-off, and creating frustration.
week 6: Business
We will look at examples of the cover letter, the synopsis, and proper manuscript format and discuss the properties of each. We will also touch on such practical issues as beginning a platform, searching for an agent, furthering your writing education, and e-publishing/print-on-demand.
week 7: Potpourri
Topics include point of view (types and “camera distance”), hooks, cliffhangers, in medias res, backstory, symbol, motif, theme, and echo.
week 8: Critique
Completely optional but highly encouraged! Students may submit up to five pages of writing, properly formatted, for critique. These pages may be a cover letter, synopsis, and/or opening page(s) for a novel and must be received by the instructor and classmates no later than [insert deadline]. At home (yes, homework!) and previous to our final meeting, we will read each others’ pages and write comments in the text. At our final meeting we will share our feedback . . . and maybe a little party food.
Thanks for any and all feedback on this!
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writing courseTraveling epiphanies
One of my favorite ways to connect with mywriterself is to travel, and my favorite vacations are ones that are busy. Many people prefer spending a week relaxing at the beach or cruising a new social scene, but I enjoy vacations where I’m exploring nature and/or history. It’s not unusual for me to plan an itinerary where I overnight in several different places.
My especial favorites are national parks, ancient ruins, and working cathedrals. For me, there is no way to feel closer to the divine than to stand on the rim of the grand canyon or to walk through the ruins at Tintern Abbey. I want more than anything to tour the Holy Land and to see the older placeseastern and westernwhere civilization was born.
But I’ve had epiphanies closer to homestanding on a beach, walking a city street, hiking a trail, running around a lake, taking a drive on a country road.
During travel I reopen the mental space (no computer, no phone, no TV) to contemplate the vastness/smallness of the world, of human experience, of something mystical binding it all. Sometimes I feel like if I reach out just a little further I’ll come to an understanding, and it’s in this nearness where I find the urge to write, the urge to capture a feeling of insight that passes almost as quickly as it comes.
I don’t think I write whole novels in this poetical-spiritual headspace. My novel writing is a little too practical for that. But I do hope that somewhere in the climax of each book, a reader will feel that epiphany, that glimpse of understanding that inspires me to write.
After all, isn’t reading a novel simply another form of travel?
Denali National Park, Alaska, 2011
Where have you traveled and found inspiration?