SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and
Threats) Analysis is a tool used every day in business strategy to identify the
critical internal factors that a company can use to take best advantage of any
situation. Sound familiar? Writers can use this powerful tool to do the same
thing. Using SWOT you’ll learn how to evaluate your characters strengths and
weaknesses against the external opportunities and threats posed by your plot.
Using this simple technique you will strengthen motivation by identifying those
places where internal strengths and weaknesses collide with external
opportunities and threats in ways that make stories great!
Flashbacks --
presented by MM Pollard April 22-May 12, 2013
Flashbacks present a problem with verb tenses.
Since a flashback is past, but you’re writing in past tense, how do you show
the flashback is more past than past? Confused? Trust me, you aren’t the only
one. Editor Laurie Sanders, BVS, says that the poorly written flashback is one
of the reasons she rejects manuscripts. Flashbacks are a device that a writer
must use with care, or she might lose her reader in that distant past, never to
see that reader again. We’ll consider
kinds of flashbacks, uses for flashbacks, and reasons not to use flashbacks as
well as the mechanics involved. Reward for doing your homework: MM’s
personal feedback on every assignment. Consider homework as opportunities for
mini-edits by MM.
Web Design
--presented by Catherine Chant May 6-17, 2013
At the end of this workshop you will have a
better understanding of what goes into making your author website more
appealing and inviting to a visitor and thus more effective for promoting you
and your work. This two-week workshop will cover the golden ratio of layout
design, web fonts and web-safe colors, using white space, user interface
considerations and website organization, web graphics for the artistically
challenged, and the importance of testing websites with multiple operating
systems and browser applications. This workshop is aimed at writers who have
websites already and want to make them better, or writers who are planning to
set up a website and want to know more about how the content should be
arranged, either because they plan to do it themselves, or they want to be more
informed when hiring a professional designer.
This workshop is the perfect follow-up to any class you've taken on HTML or
creating a web presence. When you know HTML or a piece of web software, you
know how to make a basic web page. The "Principles of Good Website Design
for Writers" workshop guides you through the NEXT STEP in the website
development process by showing you how to take that basic page and make it a
GOOD web page. One that invites visitors to stick around and read what you have
to say. PRE-REQUISITE: Students
should be familiar with the basics of setting up a website (domain name,
software, etc.). This class focuses on design principles and how to make your
website more user friendly, appealing and effective. It is NOT a coding class
on how to program your website or how to use website design software. The
workshop will include exercises designed to strengthen the concepts discussed.
Students do not need to have an active website to participate, but may find the
lessons more "hands-on" if they do. The instructor will offer feedback
on any student's website during the workshop if the URL is offered during the
class.
Beyond Google
--presented by Ally Broadfield May 6-June 2, 2013
Workshop
Description: There's nothing more frustrating than wasting your precious
writing time on a futile web search. Whether you are looking for a specific
piece of information or need to research an entire time period or subject, this
class will help you conduct the best search for your information needs. You
will learn how to utilize multiple online search resources, including search
engines, web directories, and databases. You will also learn how to refine
search terms, narrow or broaden your search, how to use Boolean logic, and many
other tips and techniques to make your research more efficient and successful.
A list of searchable web directories and websites covering multiple topics
based on the needs of workshop attendees will also be provided.
Romantic Suspense
seeks Paranormal -- presented by Leslie Wainger May 6-June 2,
2013
Writing romantic suspense should be easy, right? Take some romance, add some suspense, and voila! Except...not really. To stand out in this crowded genre you need to plot every step as carefully as your killer plots his next murder, and your couple's relationship has to be as romantic as Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. This course will start with the basics and go deep, preparing you to write a romantic suspense novel that makes readers stay up nights reading.
PLEASE JOIN US!Writing romantic suspense should be easy, right? Take some romance, add some suspense, and voila! Except...not really. To stand out in this crowded genre you need to plot every step as carefully as your killer plots his next murder, and your couple's relationship has to be as romantic as Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. This course will start with the basics and go deep, preparing you to write a romantic suspense novel that makes readers stay up nights reading.
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