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THE BIG PICTURE
can art save lives?
Tinker Toys for writers
self-guided tour to internal coherence
taking stock of what you've got
THREE WHYS & A WHAT
questions to ground you at the outset, or midway, depending on your methods
controlling the lay of the land in a full length text
MOTIVATION
an arsenal of strategies
show up every day
jump to the juicy part
read to write
Brian Eno's tiny engines of creativity
to help you survive the middle
STRUCTURE
telling it all up front, but not really
using the shapes of natural objects, artworks and artifacts
sonnets, sonatas and other structures
bookbinding for writers
find and heighten what's already there
getting there from here
CONTEXTS
it's the most important part
allusion, homage & inspiration vs. plagiarism
using the shape or structure of natural objects, artworks and artifacts
emulate your idols
build meaning and beauty by leaning on other artworks
a life rendered in 4 sentences; a seed to engender work on any scale
how much and how to
REVISION
getting out the magnifying glass
to start powerfully, revisit your opening
artifice, compression and reader agency
taking cues from life, and breaking them
get out of your verbal rut
see what you have without getting mired in editing
radical revising
PEERS & GROUPS
HOW TO be in a writing workshop
how to give feedback
SERIES: SUMMER 2022: 22 PROMPTS
SERIES: 30 PROMPTS IN 30 DAYS
Can you get to a draft, or revise a draft, or just get a great start on a book, in a month?
SERIES: RIPPLE TO OCEAN
Prompts based on the readings of the Beloved and Moby-Dick Slow Marathons.
CHARACTER WORK
fulcrums for change
a trauma, a treatment — a two-fold revelation of character
gait can tell us everything about who a character is
what haunts your character, and what do they talk about when they're avoiding talking about what haunts them?
both is better
how body language can provide narrative content
don't describe, move
we're 60% water, after all
tapping your darkest secrets for narrative energy
1+1=1?
how to follow a John Gardner prompt without mentioning a barn
inadvertent can be important
avoiding cliched metaphors in character description
idiosyncrasy begets authenticity
make your villain better
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SETTING
world building that builds readers' agency
setting's not about surfaces, or even mood, it's about story
from deliriums to ghosts to the uncanny
VOICES
artifice, compression and reader agency
the shape of sentences matters
narrators and personae
& how to make them distinct
DEVICES
fine or foul, it sets the tone
is a play the thing? an anecdote?
macro & micro
but avoiding dates
more of the same is better
variations accrue meaning
inventory what matters
exploded lists, irony and inversion
the light after the dark
what's for dinner?
introduce a motif
getting control of symbolism
serious silliness
omissions and elisions: tools to create suspense and engagement
When How-To tells a Story