RBWG Classes Spring, 2018
Because we are committed to keeping our classes small and because we can only continue to do this if participants commit to and pay for all classes, we ask that you pay for the full class amount up front. If you are interested in a class and cannot pay for it up front, just send Maribeth an email and we’ll work out a payment plan. As always, we are open to suggestions about classes you’d like to see offered. Please send suggestions to Maribeth at fischer.maribeth@gmail.com.
To register and pay:
Click here for scholarship information.
To register and pay:
- Please register first with Maribeth at fischer.maribeth@gmail.com to make sure that the class is running (at times we do not have enough participants to make the class work) or is not already filled. Maribeth will respond to you within a day.
- To pay, mail a check to: Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild, P.O. Box 1326, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.
Click here for scholarship information.
Mixed Genre
The Writer's Toolbox: different sessions, different instructors
This semester we are offering classes on Fridays and Saturdays. Sign up for one session or take them all. You pay only for the specific session(s) you want. If you have a scholarship, you can take up to six of these workshops. Email Maribeth about this.
WHEN: 10:00 a.m -12:30 p.m
WHERE: Lutheran Church behind Big Fish Grill – Rehoboth
COST: $55 per session for RBWG members, $65 for non-members (those with scholarships can take 5 classes per scholarship)
Saturday Sessions
Session One: April 7--Great Beginnings ~ Sarah Barnett
"It's always best to start at the beginning." ~ Glinda, the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz.
Out of the many ways you could begin a story, how do you choose one that will help you tell that story and entice the reader to come along with you? In this class we'll look at the opening lines and paragraphs of novels, short stories and essays and consider what makes a good beginning. And we’ll practice applying some successful techniques to our own writing.
Session Two: April 14--Pushing Boundaries III ~ Brandy Yates
For this third installment in the Pushing Boundaries series, we will further explore and examine ways to explode audience expectation. Our readers come to us expecting to find a list of elements present in our prose: character types, genre norms, a clear map as a plot structure. After all, our writing is tied up in a neatly packaged book, complete with protective cover. Nobody gets dirty. Nobody gets hurt. But, when we write outside these boundaries, we surprise and excite ourselves and our readers. It's time to take off those writing gloves! This class may be taken individually, if you haven't joined us before, or as a part of the series, to further develop your prowess as a storyteller.
Session Three: April 21--How I Write: Or Smart Ways to Plot & Plan Your Novel ~ Crystal Heidel
Do you want to write a novel and don’t know where to start? Or have you started, are stuck, and don’t know how to proceed? I’ll show you how I plot and plan my novels using note cards, cheat sheets, and more. You’ll learn how to stay organized, keep your novel on track and get to the place we all want to get to: The End. You’ll receive handouts, complete fun exercises, and learn a few tips along the way.
Session Five: May 5--Writing a Non-Linear Narrative ~ Ellen Collins
Most of the time we think of stories as moving sequentially from a beginning to a middle to an end. But more and more writers, including many of those who create the scripts for popular series such as Breaking Bad and Bloodline, are adopting a “non-linear” pattern. This might involve the use of flashbacks or having different characters look at the same central situation from different times and perspectives. It might be a story told from its end to its beginning, or it might start “in medias res,” and move backward and forward. In this class, we will look at examples of some of these techniques and write a brief “random time” story.
Session Six: May 12--Top 10 Tips for Writing Fiction Picture Books ~ Michelle Meadows
The author of nine picture books with Henry Holt & Company, Simon & Schuster, and Scholastic, RBWG member Michelle Meadows will share tips on writing successful picture books – with a focus on fiction stories. Picture books are books in which the words and illustrations are equally important in telling a story. Michelle will share personal experiences, lessons learned, and examples related to characterization and plotting. Come ready to take notes! Participants will deepen their understanding of storytelling and the picture book structure.
Session Seven: June 2--Let’s Not Get Too Sentimental ~ Gail Comorat (Poetry)
As poets, we write about what we know which usually involves our families, and too often we drift into the overly sentimental. How do we write about our parents, spouses, children, or even our pets without making them sound too precious? In this class we’ll read poems about these very subjects and look at ways the poets avoid the trap of “emotion in excess.” We’ll also look at some sentimental poems and talk about “trigger” words the writers used to make their poems too obvious. We’ll find ways to “luxuriate in the specifics” in our own poems without wandering into the deadly trap of getting too sappy.
Friday Sessions
Session A: April 20--Make a Scene POSTPONED until Summer ~ Judy Catterton
"Are you writing a police procedural, a detective story, a murder mystery or anything involving a crime, criminals, or a character who lives on "the dark side?" In this class you will have an opportunity to "workshop" a scene you may already be working on or to develop a new one. Maybe it's a police interrogation, a courtroom proceeding, a prosecutor preparing a witness, a defense attorney interviewing a client at the jail? What actually goes on in the jury room when a jury is deliberating? What does it feel like to be a witness testifying in a serious criminal case? How might a writer describe the interior thoughts of a lawyer in a courtroom? Or maybe you are developing a character who is a sociopath, a petty thief, or just a devious human being and you would like to create a description that is both nuanced and authentic."
Session B: April 27--The Essentials of Pacing Part I~ Maribeth Fischer
Pacing is a tool that controls the speed and rhythm at which a story is told and the readers are pulled through the events. It refers to how fast or slow events in a piece unfold.
Pacing is part structural choices and part word choices, When driving a manual transmission car, you choose the most effective gear needed for driving uphill, maneuvering city streets, or cruising down a freeway. Similarly, when pacing your story, you need to choose the devices that move each scene along at the right speed.
—Jessica Page Morrell, Crafting Novels & Short Stories
Is your novel written all in scenes? All in summary? Does everything come to the reader at the same pace? Understanding when to slow the action in your novel, essay or story and when to speed up are crucial decisions that will affect the reader’s choice whether to keep reading your work or not. Pacing, in other words, is essential, and too often, it is not something writers pay enough attention to. In the first of this two-part class, we will discuss pacing and analyze it in your own work. You should bring a draft (10-15 double spaced pages) of an essay, story or chapter that you want to analyze in this two-week class in order to get a sense of your own patterns (You will not be workshopping your drafts).
Session C: May 4--The Essentials of Pacing Part II~ Maribeth Fischer
How does one include enough of the backstory in a novel, essay or story, without weighing the reader down? When should one use flashbacks and how are flashbacks written differently from scenes in the present tense? How does one move seamlessly from present to past back to present without losing the reader? Are there rules? And what about flashforwards? In the second part of this workshop on pacing, we will discuss more essential tools and analyze how we are using these elements in our own work. Writers should again bring a draft of something they are working on to the class.
Session D: May 11 Cutting out Characters, Piecing Together Plot: Collage Inspired Short Stories or Creating Art from Art ~ Brandy Yates
Have you ever opened up a brand new document on your computer or flipped to a crisp white page of a beautiful new journal to find that you just have nothing to say, nowhere to start, and, suddenly, the clearest space in your usually full mind? This fun and easy approach to completing a story using art as a starting place is as breezy as a walk in the park. We'll use the medium of collage to create characters, setting, and, of course, conflict. All materials are provided. No prior experience in art needed for this easily accessible class.
Session E--May 18: Good Humor: Using Wit to Lighten your Writing ~ Sarah Barnett
Steve Martin said he put tomatoes in his shoes, so that he could feel funny. We won't go that far. We will look at stories and essays, both serious and comical, that use humor effectively and we’ll experiment with adding touches of humor to our own writing.
Experiments in Creative Writing I: Prose — Maribeth Fischer (6 Weeks)
Fridays 1:00 a.m-3:00, April 13, 20, 27* May 4*, 11, 18
Lutheran Church of Our Savior (behind Big Fish Grille in Rehoboth)
Cost RBWG Members $270; non-RBWG members $300
*These classes will start at 1:30 instead of 1:00 and go until 3:30
You know you want to write something--short story? Novel? Essay? but you aren’t really sure what. You might not even have a specific subject in mind. Still… you long to write something…
In this six-week course, we will experiment with various creative structures and techniques—a different one each week—any one of which could be the jumping off point into a more polished piece of writing. Examples of things we will explore: a “list” story/essay; a “How to” story/ essay; a “braided” story/essay. Along the way, we’ll study examples of great writing that use the structures and techniques we are trying to imitate, and we’ll experiment as well with unique methods of description. Participants will be invited to complete a short assignment each week and will receive personalized feedback from the instructor on every assignment.
*Participants should be comfortable with the workshop method--giving and receiving constructive critiques.
Publishing
Getting Published: Getting it Done! ~ Brandy Yates
Mondays 3:00- 5:00 p.m. April 16, 23, 30
Lutheran Church of Our Savior (behind Big Fish Grille in Rehoboth)
Cost RBWG Members $135; non-RBWG members $150
This three-week class is a step-by-step guide from finished product to placing your writing with the Literary Journal, Magazine, Independent Press, or Agent most likely to accept it. We will write fine-tuned cover letters and/or agent queries, address the nuts and bolts of tracking submissions, and research possibilities for placement options. You start with a finished piece, revised and shiny, ready to meet its best audience. We'll progress steadily down a clearly marked path toward publication, complete with well-lit road signs and plenty of stops for questions along the way. You'll finish with a list of places to submit your work along with revised materials and how-to knowledge to stop talking about getting published and get it done! This personalized approach to the publication process may be taken in addition to or without the Getting Published: How to Get Started class.
8 Elements for Great Book Cover Design ~ Crystal Heidel
Monday April 16, 5:30-7:30
Lutheran Church of Our Savior (behind Big Fish Grille in Rehoboth)
Cost RBWG Members $45; non-RBWG members $55
This workshop is geared towards any writer who is thinking about self-publishing (in any genre). Graphic artist and book jacket designer, Chrys Heidel, will walk writers through the essential elements of cover design that all writers should understand when thinking about the best covers for their particular book. The goal, of course, is to attract readers and not lose them before they even read the first page. Whether you plan to design your own cover, work with an artist friend, or hire a designer, these tips and tools--dealing with everything from why your name should not be larger than the title, to color choices, use of image and font style--will allow you to package, showcase and market your book in the most compelling way you can. (Writers who took this class redesigned their covers based on what they learned!)
The Writer's Toolbox: different sessions, different instructors
This semester we are offering classes on Fridays and Saturdays. Sign up for one session or take them all. You pay only for the specific session(s) you want. If you have a scholarship, you can take up to six of these workshops. Email Maribeth about this.
WHEN: 10:00 a.m -12:30 p.m
WHERE: Lutheran Church behind Big Fish Grill – Rehoboth
COST: $55 per session for RBWG members, $65 for non-members (those with scholarships can take 5 classes per scholarship)
Saturday Sessions
Session One: April 7--Great Beginnings ~ Sarah Barnett
"It's always best to start at the beginning." ~ Glinda, the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz.
Out of the many ways you could begin a story, how do you choose one that will help you tell that story and entice the reader to come along with you? In this class we'll look at the opening lines and paragraphs of novels, short stories and essays and consider what makes a good beginning. And we’ll practice applying some successful techniques to our own writing.
Session Two: April 14--Pushing Boundaries III ~ Brandy Yates
For this third installment in the Pushing Boundaries series, we will further explore and examine ways to explode audience expectation. Our readers come to us expecting to find a list of elements present in our prose: character types, genre norms, a clear map as a plot structure. After all, our writing is tied up in a neatly packaged book, complete with protective cover. Nobody gets dirty. Nobody gets hurt. But, when we write outside these boundaries, we surprise and excite ourselves and our readers. It's time to take off those writing gloves! This class may be taken individually, if you haven't joined us before, or as a part of the series, to further develop your prowess as a storyteller.
Session Three: April 21--How I Write: Or Smart Ways to Plot & Plan Your Novel ~ Crystal Heidel
Do you want to write a novel and don’t know where to start? Or have you started, are stuck, and don’t know how to proceed? I’ll show you how I plot and plan my novels using note cards, cheat sheets, and more. You’ll learn how to stay organized, keep your novel on track and get to the place we all want to get to: The End. You’ll receive handouts, complete fun exercises, and learn a few tips along the way.
Session Five: May 5--Writing a Non-Linear Narrative ~ Ellen Collins
Most of the time we think of stories as moving sequentially from a beginning to a middle to an end. But more and more writers, including many of those who create the scripts for popular series such as Breaking Bad and Bloodline, are adopting a “non-linear” pattern. This might involve the use of flashbacks or having different characters look at the same central situation from different times and perspectives. It might be a story told from its end to its beginning, or it might start “in medias res,” and move backward and forward. In this class, we will look at examples of some of these techniques and write a brief “random time” story.
Session Six: May 12--Top 10 Tips for Writing Fiction Picture Books ~ Michelle Meadows
The author of nine picture books with Henry Holt & Company, Simon & Schuster, and Scholastic, RBWG member Michelle Meadows will share tips on writing successful picture books – with a focus on fiction stories. Picture books are books in which the words and illustrations are equally important in telling a story. Michelle will share personal experiences, lessons learned, and examples related to characterization and plotting. Come ready to take notes! Participants will deepen their understanding of storytelling and the picture book structure.
Session Seven: June 2--Let’s Not Get Too Sentimental ~ Gail Comorat (Poetry)
As poets, we write about what we know which usually involves our families, and too often we drift into the overly sentimental. How do we write about our parents, spouses, children, or even our pets without making them sound too precious? In this class we’ll read poems about these very subjects and look at ways the poets avoid the trap of “emotion in excess.” We’ll also look at some sentimental poems and talk about “trigger” words the writers used to make their poems too obvious. We’ll find ways to “luxuriate in the specifics” in our own poems without wandering into the deadly trap of getting too sappy.
Friday Sessions
Session A: April 20--Make a Scene POSTPONED until Summer ~ Judy Catterton
"Are you writing a police procedural, a detective story, a murder mystery or anything involving a crime, criminals, or a character who lives on "the dark side?" In this class you will have an opportunity to "workshop" a scene you may already be working on or to develop a new one. Maybe it's a police interrogation, a courtroom proceeding, a prosecutor preparing a witness, a defense attorney interviewing a client at the jail? What actually goes on in the jury room when a jury is deliberating? What does it feel like to be a witness testifying in a serious criminal case? How might a writer describe the interior thoughts of a lawyer in a courtroom? Or maybe you are developing a character who is a sociopath, a petty thief, or just a devious human being and you would like to create a description that is both nuanced and authentic."
Session B: April 27--The Essentials of Pacing Part I~ Maribeth Fischer
Pacing is a tool that controls the speed and rhythm at which a story is told and the readers are pulled through the events. It refers to how fast or slow events in a piece unfold.
Pacing is part structural choices and part word choices, When driving a manual transmission car, you choose the most effective gear needed for driving uphill, maneuvering city streets, or cruising down a freeway. Similarly, when pacing your story, you need to choose the devices that move each scene along at the right speed.
—Jessica Page Morrell, Crafting Novels & Short Stories
Is your novel written all in scenes? All in summary? Does everything come to the reader at the same pace? Understanding when to slow the action in your novel, essay or story and when to speed up are crucial decisions that will affect the reader’s choice whether to keep reading your work or not. Pacing, in other words, is essential, and too often, it is not something writers pay enough attention to. In the first of this two-part class, we will discuss pacing and analyze it in your own work. You should bring a draft (10-15 double spaced pages) of an essay, story or chapter that you want to analyze in this two-week class in order to get a sense of your own patterns (You will not be workshopping your drafts).
Session C: May 4--The Essentials of Pacing Part II~ Maribeth Fischer
How does one include enough of the backstory in a novel, essay or story, without weighing the reader down? When should one use flashbacks and how are flashbacks written differently from scenes in the present tense? How does one move seamlessly from present to past back to present without losing the reader? Are there rules? And what about flashforwards? In the second part of this workshop on pacing, we will discuss more essential tools and analyze how we are using these elements in our own work. Writers should again bring a draft of something they are working on to the class.
Session D: May 11 Cutting out Characters, Piecing Together Plot: Collage Inspired Short Stories or Creating Art from Art ~ Brandy Yates
Have you ever opened up a brand new document on your computer or flipped to a crisp white page of a beautiful new journal to find that you just have nothing to say, nowhere to start, and, suddenly, the clearest space in your usually full mind? This fun and easy approach to completing a story using art as a starting place is as breezy as a walk in the park. We'll use the medium of collage to create characters, setting, and, of course, conflict. All materials are provided. No prior experience in art needed for this easily accessible class.
Session E--May 18: Good Humor: Using Wit to Lighten your Writing ~ Sarah Barnett
Steve Martin said he put tomatoes in his shoes, so that he could feel funny. We won't go that far. We will look at stories and essays, both serious and comical, that use humor effectively and we’ll experiment with adding touches of humor to our own writing.
Experiments in Creative Writing I: Prose — Maribeth Fischer (6 Weeks)
Fridays 1:00 a.m-3:00, April 13, 20, 27* May 4*, 11, 18
Lutheran Church of Our Savior (behind Big Fish Grille in Rehoboth)
Cost RBWG Members $270; non-RBWG members $300
*These classes will start at 1:30 instead of 1:00 and go until 3:30
You know you want to write something--short story? Novel? Essay? but you aren’t really sure what. You might not even have a specific subject in mind. Still… you long to write something…
In this six-week course, we will experiment with various creative structures and techniques—a different one each week—any one of which could be the jumping off point into a more polished piece of writing. Examples of things we will explore: a “list” story/essay; a “How to” story/ essay; a “braided” story/essay. Along the way, we’ll study examples of great writing that use the structures and techniques we are trying to imitate, and we’ll experiment as well with unique methods of description. Participants will be invited to complete a short assignment each week and will receive personalized feedback from the instructor on every assignment.
*Participants should be comfortable with the workshop method--giving and receiving constructive critiques.
Publishing
Getting Published: Getting it Done! ~ Brandy Yates
Mondays 3:00- 5:00 p.m. April 16, 23, 30
Lutheran Church of Our Savior (behind Big Fish Grille in Rehoboth)
Cost RBWG Members $135; non-RBWG members $150
This three-week class is a step-by-step guide from finished product to placing your writing with the Literary Journal, Magazine, Independent Press, or Agent most likely to accept it. We will write fine-tuned cover letters and/or agent queries, address the nuts and bolts of tracking submissions, and research possibilities for placement options. You start with a finished piece, revised and shiny, ready to meet its best audience. We'll progress steadily down a clearly marked path toward publication, complete with well-lit road signs and plenty of stops for questions along the way. You'll finish with a list of places to submit your work along with revised materials and how-to knowledge to stop talking about getting published and get it done! This personalized approach to the publication process may be taken in addition to or without the Getting Published: How to Get Started class.
8 Elements for Great Book Cover Design ~ Crystal Heidel
Monday April 16, 5:30-7:30
Lutheran Church of Our Savior (behind Big Fish Grille in Rehoboth)
Cost RBWG Members $45; non-RBWG members $55
This workshop is geared towards any writer who is thinking about self-publishing (in any genre). Graphic artist and book jacket designer, Chrys Heidel, will walk writers through the essential elements of cover design that all writers should understand when thinking about the best covers for their particular book. The goal, of course, is to attract readers and not lose them before they even read the first page. Whether you plan to design your own cover, work with an artist friend, or hire a designer, these tips and tools--dealing with everything from why your name should not be larger than the title, to color choices, use of image and font style--will allow you to package, showcase and market your book in the most compelling way you can. (Writers who took this class redesigned their covers based on what they learned!)
