I miss my students, classes and classrooms.
I miss teaching.
I miss all that I learn from every writer who crosses my path.
So I am going to do what so many people are doing these days with limited options for personal interaction.
I am going to test run a couple of writing presentations online.
The first presentation on TUESDAY JUNE 2 at 2 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) is FREE to the first dozen people who sign up. (I know some ZOOM sessions welcome many more participants, but I am going to keep the group small until I can figure out how to make this work in a way that benefits everyone).
The 75-minute session ‘Reverse Outlining – a novel approach to revision’ is designed mainly for people writing novels – for readers of all ages. But it might also work for anyone writing memoirs. I have presented this in a number of physical venues over the years, and participants seem to have found it useful.
It came about because while I am not an outliner – which in some circles makes me a ‘pantser’ – I do like systems that help me figure out what I have done and what I still need to do. It’s a process I have used on a number of my own projects, including my last book Three Good Things.
If this first presentation goes well, on alternate weeks following I hope to offer:
- How to Breathe Life into the Germ of an Idea
We all get great ideas. This presentation will help you mine your own imagination – and others’ – for ways to bring them to life. - The View from Here: The pleasures and perils of point of view
Establishing – and maintaining – an effective point of view can make or break a story. - Story Craft – considering plot and theme and (almost) everything else
Story is at the heart of all fiction – and most non fiction and memoir. Explore a handful of ways to develop a story that resonates for the reader.
For these – and subsequent presentations I will suggest a ‘voluntary donation’ – payable by eTransfer or by mailing me paper money – of $5 to $20, which I will ask you to send me after the presentation, if you have found it worthwhile. This will go towards the cost of the annual fee for the ZOOM account, and once that is paid off I will donate all other contributions to the Nanaimo Unitarian Shelter.
Yes. I will be providing handouts – some before and others after the presentation is over.
No. I will not be able to provide follow up critiques or manuscript evaluations.
Yes. I will happily consider suggestions for other presentations and subjects once I know this works for me and those signing up.
Updates on the Writer’s Zoom Room will be posted on my Facebook page. And if it does not work out, I will update you there.
Meanwhile, if you’d like an invite to the first presentation Reverse Outlining, drop me a note and you will hear from me when it’s time to register.