Tag: Writing Classes

How Do You Tell Your Story?

Touring the Colosseum: Seattle Writing Classes.
Touring the Colosseum: Learning how to tell your story in Seattle Writing Classes.

How do you tell your story? It’s such a fundamental question, but it’s not always easy to answer.

A big part of succeeding in telling your story lies in knowing how to tell a story. What is a story exactly? According to Jon Franklin’s book, Writing for Story, a “story consists in a sequence of actions that occur when a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation that he confronts and solves.” Franklin’s definition is a great place to start, part of the reason I use it in my summer Seattle writing class.

Stories consist of a “series of actions,” not description, analysis or editorializing, but taut, discreet, dramatic actions. Most stories begin with a “complicating situation,” something that threatens the main character or throws him or her off balance, requiring the character to act so as survive the threat. Great and sympathetic characters struggle to overcome the threat, battling along the way, and so creating the drama of the story. By the end of the tale, the character needs to overcome the complicating situation to end the story with the proper resolution.

Having just returned from Italy, I have a number of fascinating stories to relate. As I sit down at the computer, the experiences are fluid and fresh: memories of touring the Roman Colosseum, seeing the famous frescoes of the life of St. Benedict at Monte Olivetta Maggiore, and hiking the spectacular Path of the Gods along the Amalfi coast. Early on, the memories have little structure to bind them together. As I write them down, I ponder Franklin’s definition and try to apply it to them. As I do this, I write an outline of the story in advance, which allows me to organize the story. This is one of the principal assignments in my summer Seattle writing class, Writing for Story, one of the keys to learning how to tell your story. Let me know if you’d like to sign up!

In Medias Res Openings in Seattle Writing Classes

In Medias Res Openings in Seattle Writing Classes.
In Medias Res Openings in Seattle Writing Classes.

In my summer Seattle writing class, we’ll discuss In Medias Res openings, one of the most effective ways of opening a story. To write in medias res, you’ll need a strong scene from the middle of your story. Pick the most vivid and dramatic moment in the story, for example, when you’re rappelling off a mountain, the canoe is about to go over the falls, or the killer is making his last stand, or the argument is reaching its climax. You’re looking, in other words, for a scene that has conflict and drama. These qualities are essential to any in medias res scene, because they will bring the readers quickly into the story.

After finding the scene, divide it in half. Use the first half of the scene in the in medias res lead and save the second half of it for right near the end of the story. By dividing it in half, you’ll create suspense within your story. The reader will get hooked on the first half of the in medias res scene and then read to the end of the story to see what happens. In the process, readers will finish the rest of story.

After putting first half of scene in lead, make transition to actual start of story. For example, tell how you came to make a rafting trip down the Salmon River. Readers will follow this discussion because it will reveal whether you survived going over the falls. From time to time, foreshadow the falls and give the reader hints about what is going to happen.

Once you’ve reached the point where the second half of the in medias res scene occurs, insert it without repeating the opening scene. Just use summary or a repeated detail to remind the reader of what happened at the start of the story. Then go through second half of scene. End with a conclusion that makes sense of the trip and gives the reader a sense of what you learned from it.

Social Media and Book Promotion

Mindy Halleck speaks to Seattle writing classes of The Writer's Workshop.
Mindy Halleck speaks to the Seattle writing classes of The Writer’s Workshop.

In my Seattle writing classes, I teach students the full range of narrative writing techniques as well as how to get published, including social media and book promotion. Now, obviously you have to write at a high level to get published, but you also need to be savvy about promotion. Mindy Halleck, an award-winning author and social media master, gave a superlative talk to my spring Seattle writing class about book promotion and author platform. These are subjects many writers would love to avoid, but as Halleck pointed out, you have to know something about them if you want to succeed as an author.

“If you want to be published,” she said, “you’ll want to learn what I have to say.”

Halleck insists writers need a brand, a website and a social media presence. She advises people to start small and build from there. While many people say this, usually publicists, Halleck’s opinion carries considerable weight because she’s also an author, who has to balance the need to write with the need to publicize her work.

“You need a platform if you want to sell books,” she told my Seattle writing classes. “You need an assortment of ways to engage your target market. The platform is the way you connect with readers. This matters whether you’re self published or traditionally published.”

Halleck is an award winning fiction writer, novelist, and social media and writing instructor. In 2014, after many years as a non-fiction author she released her debut novel, Return To Sender, a literary thriller set on the Oregon Coast in the 1950’s. In talking about social media to my Seattle Writing classes, she brought a refreshingly practical and pointed perspective to the discussion. She offers tips on all of this if you subscribe to her newsletter at MindyHalleck.com

For more on book promotion and narrative writing, please consider signing up for my summer Seattle writing class, Writing for Story.

 

How to Write a Dramatic Outline Discussed in Seattle Writing Class

 

Writing for Story: Seattle Writing Class.
Writing for Story: class text for summer Seattle Writing Class.

In my Seattle writing classes, I’ve learned that structure is the biggest challenge for most writers. While most writers understand sentence structure and paragraphing, they have trouble organizing paragraphs into a larger story. This is one of the things we’ll discuss in my upcoming summer Seattle writing class, Writing for Story. One of the best ways of structuring a story is to begin with an outline, This needn’t run pages and pages: sometimes even a simple three or four sentence outline can do the trick, such as the one I’ll explain below. By using this outline, whether for a story or book, you’ll discern out the larger shape of the story in advance. If you fail to do this, it’s like building a house without a strong foundation; it can easily collapse.

The dramatic outline allows you to chart the emotional peaks and valleys of the story so that you’ll know where you’re heading when you sit down to write. The five short statements below describe the major actions in the story. There is one statement for each major focus. This is not like the outline you wrote in English composition class; these statements highlight on the dramatic actions in story. They help you focus on what’s essential to the story, one of the things I address in my Seattle writing classes. This is a conflict—resolution outline, with the conflict introduced in the first statement, developed in the next three statements, and resolved in the last statement.

1) Complication – Make it simple and active. Have you chosen active verbs to show action? Is the main character included statement? How will you illustrate the main action? Do you have the source material for this? Is the action dramatic enough?

2) Development Action – Clear, cogent, related to complication.

3) Development Action – Clear, cogent related to complication, tied to previous development, tied to main character.

4) Development Action — Clear, cogent related to complication, tied to previous development, tied to main character.

For more on dramatic outlines and Seattle writing classes: Writing for Story.

Ten Top Tips for Pitching: How to Get Happily Published

Publishing has changed a lot over the years, but writers still need to pitch, something I discuss in my writing classes for The Writer's Workshop.
Publishing has changed a lot over the years, but writers still need to pitch, something I discuss in my writing classes for The Writer’s Workshop.

In my writing classes for The Writer’s Workshop, I always teach students how to pitch, including the Ten Top Tips for Pitching, the first step in getting happily published. There are so newspapers and magazines that neophyte writers often become overwhelmed. Where do they start? How should they approach publications? What’s the best home for their story? These are some of the questions I answer in my Seattle writing classes, travel writing classes, and online writing classes I teach for The Writer’s Workshop. I treated the first five tips in a previous posts. I’ll include the second five of these suggestions in this post. Here’s a guide to getting happily published.

1)      CONCENTRATE YOUR EFFORTS – Select a few publications and focus on them. Subscribe to them or read them regularly to understand the magazine’s style, content, history. This is one of the things I emphasize in my writing classes.

2)      WRITE A PITCH LETTER – Your letter should reflect all of your research of a publication. It should interest the editor, provide evidence of professionalism, and convince editor you are ideal for job.  As I emphasize in my Seattle writing classes, the letter should be short, about 250 words.

3)      FOLLOW UP WITH EDITORS – Email the editor within a few weeks of sending letter and/or manuscript. Did he or she get the pitch? Will it work for the magazine? Try to get a response. Once you get a response from a publication, keep going back to the editor. If you publish one story in the magazine, it will be easier to publish more.

4)      SPECIALIZATION – At least at first, zero in on a particular field, develop an expertise that will make you valuable to magazine editors. Specialize in areas you know from your job, hobby, interest or passion. As an amateur vintner, I use that expertise when writing about wine.

5)  PAYMENT – The amount of money you’ll make from a given article is often proportional to the publication’s circulation, from $25 for a local or specialty publication to several thousand dollars or more for a feature in a national magazine.

 

 

Ten Top Tips for Pitching:

Publishing has changed a lot over the years, but writers still need to pitch, something I discuss in my writing classes for The Writer's Workshop.
Publishing has changed a lot over the years, but writers still need to pitch, something I discuss in my writing classes for The Writer’s Workshop.

TEN TOP TIPS FOR PITCHING STORIES FROM THE WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Copyright The Writer’s Workshop

There are so newspapers and magazines that neophyte writers often become overwhelmed. Where do they start? How should they approach publications? What’s the best home for their story? These are some of the questions I answer in my Seattle writing classes, travel writing classes, and online writing classes I teach for The Writer’s Workshop. I’ll include the first five of these suggestions in this post and will include the rest in my next post. Here’s a guide to getting happily published.

 

  • DO SOME MARKET RESEARCH: Go to the library, book store or internet and read publications. Magazines and newspapers have distinct personalities, almost like people. Get to know them to find the right target publication.
  • READ WRITERS GUIDELINES – Google the publication’s writer’s guidelines. What is their audience? Socially conscious? Upwardly mobile? Cigar Aficionado will not want your story on the evils of second-hand smoke but Mother Jones might pick it up.
  • PUBLISHING HIERARCHY – The publishing world organizes itself in a distinct pyramid. There are a number of factors that go into this: circulation, payment, prestige of the publication. The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, National Geographic, etc. have all three things going for them. The competition is intense, making things difficult for newbies.
  • PICK A REALISTIC TARGET PUBLICATION – Local, regional, specialty publications are a great place to break in. Editors will be more willing to work with you on your first and later assignments.
  • PICK RIGHT DEPARTMENT – What part of the magazine is easiest to break into? Short profile? First person story? Book review? The writer’s guidelines will make all of this clear.

Best Wines for Thanksgiving

Wild Turkey and Wine Pairing from Travel Writing Classes.
Wild Turkey and Wine Pairing from Travel Writing Classes.

In my travel writing classes, I have the pleasure of visiting places that have had centuries to find perfect pairings for food and wine. We Americans are newer to this, but we keep getting better. Practice makes perfect!

It’s hard to beat champagne as a classic wine for Thanksgiving as it goes well with everything: turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, even pumpkin pie. Widely available Moët & Chandon or Veuve Clicquot Brut NV are excellent choices. They give dinner a celebratory, special occasion quality that I prize, if they cost a bit more. Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks and celebrating our family and friends and country. Champagne is a great way to do this.

Closer to home, domestic sparkling wines offer great value. I especially enjoy the crisp, food-friendly wines from Washington’s Domaine Ste. Michelle, such as Brut or Brut Rosé from the Columbia Valley. These pair well with Thanksgiving fare. California’s Roederer Estate makes consistently dry, appealing sparkling wine. Check out the estate’s Anderson Valley Brut Sparkling Wine.

Rosé is often considered a summer patio wine, but it goes well with turkey. There are many great affordable rosés from southern France, including Campuget or Domaine Sorin. My favorite French rosé is Domaine de la Mordoree, which I had the pleasure of visiting as part of one of my travel writing classes in Provence. It’s more expensive, but has a beautiful blood-orange color and a deep, savory, satisfying flavor. In Washington, Barnard Griffin makes a lovely Rosé of Sangiovese that is delicious and affordable.

There are many red wines that make great pairings. I recommend pulling out a bottle from the cellar, or the closet, or the store room, wherever you keep that special bottle from an occasion some years ago. Uncork it on Thanksgiving. You never know how long wine will last and it’s a great sorrow to open a bottle that’s past its prime. Bottles like this will memorialize the occasion. I have many bottles like this, gathered from my travel writing classes in Europe. I plan to open at least one this Thursday.

Let me know if this has been helpful or if you have other suggestions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nick O’Connell

Here are some additional suggestions from Eric Asimov:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/dining/drinks/review-thanksgiving-wines.html?em_pos=large&emc=edit_ck_20171103&nl=cooking&nlid=77347986&_r=0

Dramatic Scene in Seattle Writing Classes

Big Ben London and Seattle writing classes.
Big Ben London: Dramatic scenes and Seattle writing classes.

Dramatic scene is an especially effective way of organizing stories, one of the techniques I teach in my Seattle writing classes. In my Seattle writing classes, I explain how to use dramatic scenes to give life and movement to stories, whether fiction on nonfiction. It’s a technique that also helps you as a writer organize the story. You don’t need to go into detail about everything, but rather just the key moments that made the trip memorable.

On a recent trip to England, I used dramatic scene to highlight some of the adventures of the trip. Although travel stories tend to highlight the pleasures of a trip, I also like to write about the challenges and inconveniences. One of the biggest challenges was driving on the LEFT side of the road, with a clutch in my left hand. The whole operation was widely counter intuitive, with lots of honking drivers, speeding motorcyclists and phone-distracted pedestrians thrown into the mix.

As I tell students in my Seattle writing classes, it’s a good idea to always take a notebook with you to record your adventures. I took a reporter’s notebook and filled it with impressions of the trip, especially those involving driving. The hardest part was rewiring my brain to go left, not right, at key moments. This wasn’t so hard on a straightaway, but devilishly difficult on a roundabout. I followed the car in front of me, said a prayer, and plunged through it, occasionally earning a honk or other gesture.

It was a great pleasure to return the rental car to Heathrow airport and have someone else drive into London. Once there, we took the Tube and buses around, very convenient, but not the great material I found through driving on the wrong side of the road.

For more on writing with dramatic scenes, please sign up for my winter Seattle Writing class, The Arc of the Story.

Summary Openings Taught in Seattle Writing Classes

Charles Dickens and Seattle Writing Classes.
Charles Dickens and Seattle Writing Classes.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…

          This opening from Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities is a classic example of a summary lead, one of the techniques we’ll be learning in my fall class, Revising Your Life, which will teach you the five best ways of opening a story or book: summary, scenic, anecdotal, inventory and beginning at the end. Summary leads allow you to get to the point of your story quickly and easily. The trick is to make them appealing as well. Writers using summary leads often employ wordplay or humor to liven them up. The lead from A Tale of Two Cities does a great job of creating suspense, raising questions and leading a reader to keep going with the story. How could it possibly be the best of times and the worst of times? What does he mean by the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness? How can all of this be reconciled?

          The fall Seattle writing classes will also provide key insights into narrative writing, with an emphasis on research, interviewing, first person point of view and how to get your story happily published. The class takes place Wednesday evenings 7-9 p.m. Oct. 11 to Nov. 29 and one Monday Oct. 30. There’s still room in the class; let me know if you’d like to sign up!

Story Openings in Seattle Writing Class

Seattle writing classes discuss story openings.
Seattle writing classes discuss best story openings.

The story opening is the most important part of any story or book, one of the topics I’ll be discussing in my upcoming Seattle writing class, Revising Your Life. If your lead is not interesting, intriguing or entertaining, the reader may never get any further. Therefore, you want to spend as much time as necessary finding a strong lead. Rewrite the lead until it sparkles, presenting a lively, exciting opening to the story.

In my fall Seattle writing class, I’ll discuss the five best ways of opening a story or book: summary, scenic, anecdote, inventory and beginning at the end. Each of these techniques pulls the reader into the story quickly. The type of lead you use in a given story depends on your material and the audience you want to reach. Scenic leads lend themselves to active stories; summary and anecdotal leads often work best with more reflective stories. But there’s no rule about it; go with what works best!

SUMMARY LEADS

These leads allow you to get to the point of your story quickly and easily. The trick is to make them appealing as well. Writers using summary leads often employ wordplay or humor to liven them up.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens

“The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once famously observed that “Hell is other people.” And he worked from home. Imagine if he had been one of the millions of us who are forced to navigate the psychic minefields of the modern corporation.”

Summary leads are quite effective, though they are just one strategy for a lead. In my fall Seattle writing class, Revising Your Life, I’ll also discuss how to use scenic leads, anecdotal leads, inventory leads, and starting as the end as strategies for getting a reader interested in your story immediately.