Yes, you read the title right.
I’ll be teaching a workshop at Conflux this October.
Why?
Because I’ve been lucky enough to find answers to many the questions I’ve had over the last few years in regard to story, structure and reader expectations, and I’d like to pass some of them on.
I’ve compiled as much of my research as I could into a workshop designed to benefit almost any writer, even those who already know everything (like I thought I did). ;-D
So, what’s this workshop about?
Did you ever get the feeling your story wasn’t working? Or not working well enough?
Perhaps you gave it to some beta readers and their reactions didn’t inspire confidence despite the fact they said they liked it?
I’ve had that feeling, and no matter what I changed, people weren’t reacting the way they were supposed to (i.e., by demanding the sequel).
The prose itself was tight, the characters believable, the world intensely real (at least to me), and the story amazing (I might be showing a little bias).
The point is, the story I saw in my head didn’t translate to the page, and I didn’t know how to fix that.
In short, I didn’t have a story that met readers expectations in the ways it was supposed to.
At every level of schooling I ever attended, right through to university, I was told a story needed a beginning, middle and end, but nobody told me what those parts demanded or how to go about identifying problems or areas that weren’t working.
And that’s what I intend to teach in my workshop – the elements of story – the things that nobody else will teach you because most people aren’t even aware they exist.
So if you’ve got the time, come along and take the workshop.
It’s free for Conflux members and ridiculously cheap if you’re not.
You can find more details on the Conflux website: Planning and Structuring a Novel: A Conflux workshop.