events calendar

Announcement: Writing the World^TM is pleased to present memoirist and writing instructor Marilyn Pate!
Marilyn will present Writing the Memoir I & II in both Tucson and Huachuca City!
Don't miss this excellent presentation!

Note: In 2010, we will teach two seminars per day in Tucson and one per day in Huachuca City.
All seminars cost $30 and run about 3 hours.
If you choose to attend both seminars in Tucson on a given date, the cost for both is $50. Seating is limited.
Student handouts, coffee, tea and light snacks provided on site.
For seminar descriptions, scroll down or click on any seminar title below.

(Note: The remaining Tucson schedule in gray is tentative and is subject to change. The remaining Huachuca City schedule is firm.)

Note: No WTW seminars in December. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Seminar Descriptions

The Art of Observation I -- The ability to write intimately is essential to enabling your reader to see what you're seeing, hear what you're hearing, feel what you're feeling (physically and emotionally), etc. Observation, the ability to sense beyond the societal, physical and emotional veils with which we all contend, is essential to that intimacy. The veils identified. Techniques for sensing beyond the veils. Special focus on honing the physical senses.

The Art of Observation II -- Continuation of the discussion of the ability to write intimately. Focus on honing the emotional senses. Notes on sensing our connection with what we observe and our place in the grand scheme. Discussion of the states of consciousness and relaxation exercise included. Attendees should expect to have their writing spirit revived.

The Business End of Writing -- Manuscript preparation, the query and cover letter, the synopsis, finding an agent or publisher (including self-publishers), marketing, and maybe even some tax tips.

Conveying Emotion Through Dialogue -- Learn to convey the emotions of the characters and subliminally manipulate the mood and emotions of the reader through the intimate nuances of the language itself as well as dialogue and punctuation. Includes a limited discussion of narrative, the sounds of letters and words as they relate to conveying emotion, spontaneity, and four in-depth, specific techniques for conveying emotion through punctuation and sentence structure.

Creating Realistic Characters -- What causes the reader to immediately recognize and identify with a character type? What makes the individual character stand out from other, even similar characters? Why should "cardboard" or "flat" characters' dialogue be more colorful than that of more important characters? Here you'll learn to assign the character traits, quirks, and idiosyncracies that enable your characters to come to life for your reader! Includes a list of character traits.

Writing Dialect -- The old wisdom on writing dialect is a paradox: "Until you know how to write it well, don't write it at all." In this class you'll learn to write dialect like a master, which is to say you'll learn to think your way through it. Includes a comprehensive list of suggested words and spellings to use when writing dialect as well as rationale for and against using phonetic spelling, how much is too much, etc.

Writing Realistic Dialogue -- Learn various techniques that enable you to further suspend the reader's sense of disbelief through the use of realistic, non-linear dialogue and its nuances. Learn the natural give-and-take flow of dialogue, how to convey the emotions of the characters and manipulate the emotions of the reader.

Writing Flash Fiction -- Write a complete short story with a setting, characters, conflict and resolution, in 99 words or fewer. Learn the importance of saying more with less, the art of implication (suggestion), etc.

Writing Great Beginnings -- How can you grab the reader from the first sentence of your story or novel or memoir? We will explore ways to turn a phrase, look into dramatic, emotional, and dramatic-emotional sentence structures, and learn techniques that will not drag the reader into the story, but have him leaping into the story of his own accord.

Writing the Memoir I -- Your story is unique. It is the treasure you take with you when you pass away unless it is written or recorded. In this session you will learn how to start (memoir mechanics), how to focus on what is most important, how to put your life in context with times and places and how to use the five senses to make your memoir sparkle. Note: Students should bring to the session at least a mid-size legal tablet (no itty bitty note pads) or a three-ring binder with lined paper, an automatic pencil with extra lead (no pens, please), a sense of humor and a packet of tissues. Tears are often a side effect.

Writing the Memoir II -- This is a continuation of Writing the Memoir I. In this session you will learn more about focusing on events and occurrences that are more important, more about putting your life in context with times and places, more about using the five senses to make your memoir sparkle. Note: Students should bring to the session at least a mid-size legal tablet (no itty bitty note pads) or a three-ring binder with lined paper, an automatic pencil with extra lead (no pens, please), a sense of humor and a packet of tissues. Tears are often a side effect.

Writing Electric Narrative -- Learn to create mental movies; use narrative as an adjunct to dialogue; set scene and tone; the use of action verbs, adjectives and adverbs; using narrative as quasi-dialogue; and common snags in writing narrative.

Writing Poetry I -- Our focus is on poetic techniques that are characteristic of all well-written poetry, no matter the sub-genre. The poet's task is to relate the poem itself and convey the spirit of the poem. Topics include the use of meter or not; the use and purpose of particular line lengths and line breaks; purposeful word choice; stanza use and construction; end and internal rhyme, either, or neither; definitions of free verse, blank verse, and various traditional forms; the use of punctuation in poetry; and the nuances of our beautiful language.

Writing Poetry II -- Brief lecture with focus on imagery, metaphor and simile, on writing old things in a unique new way, and live reading techniques. We'll revisit the importance of structure and sound. This session also include practical application time, with writing and (time allowing) an in-depth study and critique of student poems. (Students are not required to bring poems, but we hope you will.)

Point of View & Narrative Voice -- We will define Point of View once and for all and clarify Narrative Voice. A lot of strong narrative tips in this one, including the natural tense for narrative, what other instructors really mean when they say "Show, don't tell," and how to immediately recognize (and repair) "passive" constructions. All of this and much more.