Village Books & Paper Dreams - Fairhaven
Mon-Sat: 9am-9pm
Sun: 10am-7pm
Sun: 10am-7pm
Village Books - Lynden
Building Strong Characters - October 16, $95
Writing Compelling Dialogue - October 23, $95
Creating Evocative Settings, Atmosphere, and Mood - October 30, $95
Working with Story and Plot I - November 6, $95
Working with Story and Plot II - November 13, $95
Maximizing Your Uniqueness as a Storyteller - November 20, $95
Take all six workshops in The Writer's Toolbox Series and SAVE!
Join local author Roby Blecker for this linked series of practical exercises that will provide you with tools for your writing toolbox. Our goal will be to emphasize and improve your craft as a writer. Rather than general theory, the series gives you writing practice at your level and challenges you to move in and beyond that level with confidence. If you have a work in progress or if you are just thinking about ideas to work on, this series will provide you with the means to take the next step. These workshops can be taken as a whole, or you can select from the individual workshops to suit your needs and schedule. One-hour lunch break provided each session. Space is limited--register early!
6 sessions
Explore the creation and handling of protagonists, antagonists, minor characters, and a "chorus"--any or all of which can figure in your fiction. Work with descriptions, motivation, concealing and revealing, and the ways in which your choices affect the overall piece. Bring examples of characters you've created or want to create to class.
1 session
Every successful author of fiction gets asked this question. This class will look at the sources for ideas and the ways to turn those ideas into mouth-watering stories. Roby Blecker is a writer and editor, and has been helping others perfect their craft for over 27 years.
2 sessions
Very few works of fiction contain only one character, and how characters interact with one another often requires them to use direct speech. Explore the differences between realism and reality in characters' voices, vocabulary choices, avoiding "info-dump" while still conveying information, and the power of character silences.
1 session
Where you place your characters in time and space can have great effect on your fiction, and can also be the spark that hooks readers into your story. Look at how to create mood by showing, rather than telling, and examine the differences between mainstream fiction, genre fiction, and historical fiction in terms of their critical impact on your piece.
1 session
Interested in writing? Sign up for our monthly Just Write enewsletter today!
Village Books and WCC Community and Continuing Education have established a writing instruction collaboration called Chuckanut Writers. Writing classes, seminars, and conferences will inspire and encourage writers at all stages of their writing journey.
In the information economy, there's a near-endless demand for skilled writers and editors. But most aspiring wordsmiths don't know where to start. Where do you find work? What do you charge? What kinds of projects should you take on? This course answers those questions and more as you learn to build the foundation of a thriving freelancing career.
2 sessions
We'll explore the differences between story and plot; learn to move the story along by means of planned plot points, creating scenes, and deciding how each contributes to the whole; use the variable results from reliable or unreliable narrators; and explore the same scene different ways.
1 session
It's often said that everyone has a book in them, but many never write that book because they don't know how to get started writing fiction, perhaps after years of writing reports, memos, or emails. This class will provide the basics for someone who wants to dip their toe into creating fiction for the first time.
3 sessions
Create vital story arcs and apply them to your beginnings, middles, and ends; learn techniques to use if the story goes off track; and move from the opening to the closing by sustaining tension and creating a continuing sense of discovery in the reader. Also identify your "darlings" and decide whether or not to kill them. Prerequisite: Working with Story & Plot I.
1 session
In this sixth class of The Writer's Toolbox Series we'll look at how each earlier class affects the work which you've been creating for the past month by putting it all together. Prerequisite: one or more of the preceding workshops in The Writer's Toolbox Series to register for this final class.
1 session
No matter your profession or area of expertise, you've built up a treasure trove of valuable knowledge throughout your career. So why not share that knowledge? Professional nonfiction can build thought leadership, drive leads to your business, and grow your audience. This course teaches you how to get your expertise out of your head and onto the page.
1 session
