Sunday, November 7, 2010

workshops: Ariel Gore; Jessica Morrell

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True Tales & Likely Stories
Weekend Writing Intensives with Ariel Gore

December 17 – 20 in Santa Fe, New Mexico
January 7 – 9 in Portland, Oregon

Jump-start your writing life, get feedback on stories you’ve been working on, breathe new energy into a project, or just explore the memoir possibilities. This weekend intensive is appropriate for new and seasoned writers interested in fashioning stories from real life. Writers will receive an assignment via email one week before the workshop begins. We’ll spend these inspiring days workshopping stories and generating new material.
Click here for registration information and more details.

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Lit Star Training
with Ariel Gore

New Online Class Starts In January, 2011

A new session of Lit Star Training, the online writing workshop, starts January 8th. The session runs 8 weeks — January 8 – March 5 — and costs the usual $275.

Click here to make a deposit, which reserves your spot, and to read testimonials. *These fill up fast!*

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The Final Edit Workshop
Taught by Jessica Morrell

November 20, 2010
Location: Room 207, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
Times: 10:-5:00 Cost: $75
First comes the blank page and how to fill it, then comes the written page and how to fix it. Most often it is while revising that the real writing is accomplished. This workshop offers suggestions on how to be your own editor, with a special focus on readying a memoir or fiction manuscript for submission.

We’ll cover the three stages of revision: First Revision: Looking at the big picture and analyzing the overall coherence, structure, pacing, theme, and plausibility. This is where you question if you’ve written mostly in scenes, if the scenes are needed and if they’re in the correct order. Second revision: The aim of a second pass-through is to make the story seamless and to fine tune individual scenes and the ending and to track character development and arc. Final Revision: This is where you think like a copy editor and correct language, style, dialogue, and hone in on details. This draft is also for making certain that there is enough tension throughout. Additional topics include: pacing, middles, reversals, and plot points. We’ll discuss what editors notice and reject in manuscripts. Generous handouts will be provided including checklists for revision. The workshop will be geared to the specific needs of the group, so participants are encouraged to submit questions beforehand and bring along the first pages of a novel or memoir and synopsis for feedback from the group. Additional topics will be covered.

To reserve your place: Please send a check for $ 75 to Jessica Morrell, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 97282-1141. A confirmation e-mail will be sent so please include email address and phone number. For more information: contact Jessica at jessicapage@spiritone.com or phone 503-287-2150

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