Live Classes for April through June 2017
Being able to trust your revision process frees you to write whatever you like.
Here’s the latest roster of live classes for the Rambo Academy of Wayward Writers, with links to descriptions. Info that you may want to know:Logistics: Classes are taught online. You need internet connectivity and a microphone at a minimum; a webcam is preferred but not crucial.
Costs: Cost is $99 per class; $79 for former students. Newsletter and Patreon subscribers should identify themselves for the special discount rate that’s happening this quarter.
Scholarships: I am upping the number of Plunkett slots in each class to 2 or 3. A Plunkett scholarship is based on economic need. If the cost is preventing you from taking the class, you should apply by mailing me the name of the class and why you want to take it. I strongly encourage QUILTBAG and PoC applications. If you want to sponsor a Plunkett slot, drop me a line.
Wednesday, April 5
4-6 PM Pacific time
Character Building Workshop
Learn how to create interesting, rounded characters that your readers can identify with, whether hero or villain. We’ll cover how to write convincing interesting dialogue as well as how to flesh out a character so they come alive and help you move the story along. A combination of lecture, discussion, and in-class writing exercises will help you apply new technique immediately to your own stories.
Saturday, April 8
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Fantastic Worldbuilding with Fran Wilde
Learn how to build worlds that bedazzle and entertain — but that are still logically consistent and believable. Join Norton Award winning author Fran Wilde, author of Updraft, Cloudbound, and The Jewel and Her Lapidary for a workshop that will leave you ready to make magnificent worlds of your own.
Wednesday, April 12
7-9 PM Pacific Time
Flash Fiction Workshop
This workshop focuses on flash fiction, also known as short short stories. The workshop consists of a mixture of lecture, in-class writing exercises, discussion of how to turn fragments into flash, and an overview of flash fiction markets. Come prepared to write! By the end of the class you will have 3-4 “word lumps” and the knowledge required to turn them into actual flash fiction pieces.
Wednesday, April 19
4-6 PM Pacific Time
Story Fundamentals
This workshop focuses on the basics of creating short stories: plot, characters, setting, worldbuilding, raising tension, creating satisfying endings, and more. You should emerge from the class with a greater command of story basics as well as a hearty dose of encouragement for creating new stories.
Saturday, April 22
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Literary Techniques for Speculative Fiction Writers
This class combines lecture, discussion and in-class writing exercises designed to introduce a number of techniques to use in your own writing such as foreshadowing, alliteration, rhythmic device, allusion, etc, and ways to test them out in short fiction as well as discussion of when and where to use them. We look at several existing pieces to see how and why they work, and discuss why the author chose the techniques that they employed. The class concludes with a discussion of markets open to literary genre work and how to submit to them.
Wednesday, April 26
4-6 PM Pacific Time
Description and Delivering Information
How do you give the reader the evocative and interesting descriptions and information they need without boring them or making the story drag? How do you give them information without cluing them in that it’s important? Fine-tune your descriptive skills through lecture, writing exercises, and discussion.
Saturday, April 29
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Writing Your Way Into Your Novel
The process of novel-writing varies greatly, but one thing is always true: a butt must go into a chair and the words must be written. Come find out how to get past sticking points through a combination of lecture and writing exercises that will help you map out your course for navigating the sea of words and build a daily writing practice that will get you to the end of the book.
Wednesday, May 3
4-6 PM Pacific Time
Editing 101
Students have found that learning to trust their editing skills has made them more productive when producing early drafts. This class combines lecture, discussion, and in class exercise to help you develop a rewriting practice tailored to your own particular strengths and weaknesses as well as one that lets you know when a story is ready for submission. Topics include how to edit at both the sentence and story/book level, working well with writers, theory of ToCs, electronic publishing, copyright, and making a living as an editor
Saturday, May 6
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Moving From Idea to Draft
The question isn’t how to tell a good idea from a bad one; it’s how to learn to turn any idea into a story. Come with a story idea, no matter how vague. We’ll discuss multiple ways of plotting a story based on its unique inspiration, as well as engaging in class exercises designed to hone your plotting skills. Learn how to build a roadmap for your story that will help you complete it in a class that combines discussion, lecture, and in-class writing exercises.
Saturday, May 13
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Writing Steampunk and Weird Westerns
How to Write Steampunk & Weird Western will cover gathering and using historical details, ethical implications of both genres, basic mechanical concepts, economic underpinnings, creating texture, dialogue considerations, and more. Plus we’ll do some fun writing exercises. A combination of lecture, discussion, and in-class writing exercises will help you apply new technique immediately to your own work.
Saturday, May 27
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Story Fundamentals
See description for April 22 class.
Wednesday May 31
7-9 PM Pacific Time
Story Fundamentals
See description for April 22 class.
Saturday, June 3
9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time
Creating an Online Presence for Writers
To blog or not to blog, that is the question. Learn how to create an online presence that lets readers find you while not disclosing private information or spending all your time tweeting. Lecture, in-class exercises, and discussion all help you make the most of the Internet without becoming its thrall. You will receive a electronic copy of the second edition of Creating an Online Presence as part of the class.
