Santa Fe Writing Workshop
Story writers,
Would-be writers,
take note . . .
We call this workshop: The Story Initiative because it is unlike any writing workshop you’ve ever attended,
not just because of what it is, but because of what it isn’t:
- You won’t be getting your manuscripts torn apart by amateurs.
- You won’t have to defend the political correctness of your work.
- You won’t be asked to access your inner child,meditate, or heal your soul.
As a matter of fact, if you’re broken or malfunctioning in any way, bring it.
We don’t want to fix you. We want to teach you the secrets of great story
telling.We want to help you get published.
Using the same techniques actors and directors utilize in
bringing dialogue to life, we’ll flesh out scenes in fictional stories,
bringing the fun back to the art of writing. This scene-by-scene approach helps
awaken plotlines and characters that excite and interest you. It gives them
motivations, personalities, and actions all their own. You’ll learn to avoid
“plot paralysis,” or the fear of not knowing what’s going to happen next. By
learning to work story-building details into each scene, you’ll be able to
inhabit everything you write—controlling its direction and characters while
letting your imagination go wild. Your stories will begin and end with depth and
complexity.
The Weekly Writer's Workout:
This class is temporarily on hold. Contact me if you have an interest in joining us.
Special Four-Day Intensive:
This intensive writing workshop is six hours per day for four days beside a roaring fire in one of Santa Fe's original, quaint adobes. It will send you home with several short stories or a novel chapter of which you can be proud. We'll examine "plot paralysis" or why some stories start out great, then either come to a screeching halt or drift off into oblivion. We'll look at stories the way actors do, in terms of scene-by-scene analysis of characters and their motivations. You will learn story-building techniques that suggest action, flesh out characters, and create meaningful themes. You'll go home able to break a story down into manageable components that are fun and rewarding to write.
Your primary teacher is a New-York trained actress and improv artist as well as a professional writer, co-writer, and ghostwriter of books and articles for magazines, publishing houses, and personal clients. Visiting teachers include editors and publishers from literary magazines, such as the Santa Fe Literary Review, among others.
At this moment, no intensives are scheduled for the season. If you are interested in attending the next one offered, contact me through this website.
