Advanced Fiction Writing
Advanced Fiction Writing - With Personal Attention
April 5-6, 2008 (Saturday &
Sunday) Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare
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Executive Summary
This is an advanced writing program conducted in an intimate group setting. It is designed to give you the personalized attention and knowledge needed to help you break through and get published.
Registration is strictly limited to a maximum of 36 attendees. This weekend course is being held in an easily accessible, “fly in, fly out” location near Chicago’s O’Hare airport.
Venue: Advanced Fiction Writing With Personalized Attention will be held at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare. This full service "fly in fly out" property is easily accessible to Chicago’s O’Hare airport and provides complimentary 24 hour shuttle service to and from O’Hare Airport. SEAK has secured a special group rate of $119/night. Rooms are limited and this rate expires on March 13, 2008. To make your reservations, please call 1-888-642-7344 and refer to SEAK’s three digit character code SKI. You may also book your reservations online using the SKI code by visiting www.crowneplazaohare.com
Submissions: Each attendee will be asked to submit the first chapter of their work (up to 15 pages), their query letter and a one or two page synopsis for review and feedback from our coaches and use in the class sessions.
The course leader is New York Times best selling author Robert Dugoni, Jr. Bob is a superb teacher and will provide the attendees with invaluable advice on how to take their writing to the next level and get it published. Each attendee will also receive substantial personalized attention, specifically:
» Written feedback on the first chapter of
your
work from accomplished novelist and writing instructor John Hough,
Jr.
» A private 15 minute one-on-one coaching session with accomplished
novelist and writing instructor John Hough, Jr.
» Written feedback on your query letter and synopsis from literary
agent Sorche Fairbank
» A private 15 minute one-on-one coaching session with literary
agent Sorche Fairbank
Conference Cancellations:
Conference cancellations received in
writing before February 1, 2008, will receive a full refund. Persons
canceling after February 1, 2008, will not receive a refund.
Faculty
Robert Dugoni, is the New York
Times Bestselling author of The Jury Master and Damage Control
(Warner/Hachette), as well as the critically acclaimed expose, The
Cyanide Canary, (Simon & Schuster) - a Washington Post 2004 Best
Book of the Year Selection and the Idaho Book of the Year. The Jury
Master was chosen by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine as one of
“The Best of the Best” first novels of 2006 and sold to publishers
in twelve foreign countries. Bob is also a two-time winner of the
Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Award for fiction.
Bob graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a degree
in journalism and worked briefly as a reporter for the Los Angeles
Times before obtaining his doctorate of jurisprudence from the UCLA
School of Law. He has practiced as a civil litigator in San
Francisco and Seattle for twenty years. In addition to writing Bob
is an accomplished speaker and teacher. Visit his website at
www.robertdugoni.com.
Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank
established Fairbank Literary Representation in 2002, when she first moved to Cambridge, MA. Since then, Ms. Fairbank has had the pleasure of working with a wide, dynamic, and varied list, representing multiple best-selling authors, Pulitzer Prize finalists and winners, Edgar recipients, award-winning journalists, and of course her favorite kind of client the first-time author. In addition to her agenting duties, Ms. Fairbank can be found teaching courses and giving seminars and lectures on the elusive art of the query letter. Updated information on Fairbank Literary can be found at www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/SorcheFairbank/.John Hough, Jr.
is the author of the novels A Two Car Funeral, The Guardian, The Conduct of the Game, and The Last Summer. He is also the author the non-fiction works A Peck of Salt, A Dream Season, and A Player For a Moment. He is a former speech writer for United States Senator Charles Mathias and a former writer for the New York Times while serving as the assistant to James Reston. John is an experienced writing teacher and coach. He resides on Martha’s Vineyard.
Schedule
S
aturday, April 5, 2008Schedule:
7:00-8:00 Registration & Continental Breakfast
NOTE: Students should bring to class an additional copy of their
presubmitted first chapter of their work and synopsis and be
prepared to discuss them and have their work critiqued.
8:00-8:30 Introduction of Instructor, Robert Dugoni:
Bob will explain how he went from a journalist to a lawyer to a
best-selling novelist. He’ll discuss the pitfalls along the way,
living with and learning from rejection, and how he taught himself
to write novels. Questions and Answers
8:30-9:30 Executive Summary of How to Write Publishable Fiction:
Learn the fundamental relationship between good stories and
journeys, as well as critical writing concepts such as to outline or
not to outline, and using writer’s block positively. Bob will also
teach his four stages to writing to help lessen anxiety, as well as
discuss the qualities all good writing has in common. Questions and
Answers
9:30-9:45 Break and Networking Opportunity
9:45 - 12:00 Advanced Story Structuring:
From your initial query letter to your published novel, the writer
must convey that she understands classic story structure. Using in
class exercises and assignments, students will use story structure
to understand the holes in their story’s plot and how to fix them.
Students will also be better equipped to make educated choices on
such things as the opening chapter, to make critical judgments about
the middle of their book, and how to ensure that the ending brings
into collision the forces the writer has set in motion to deliver an
emotionally charged and intelligent ending. Questions and Answers
12:00-12:45 Lunch with Faculty (provided)
12:45-1:45 Continued Advanced Story Structuring:
Students will continue to learn classic story structure and apply it
to their own works in progress. By the end of this portion of the
class, students will have ideas for improving their query letters
and synopses. Questions and Answers
1:45-3:00 The Most Common Writing Mistakes The Class is Making
and How to Avoid Them:
John Hough, Jr. will present a succinct analysis, based upon the
class’s submissions, of the most common writing mistakes the class
is making. John will offer practical advice on how to eliminate
these mistakes. Questions and Answers
3:00-3:15 Break and Networking Opportunity
3:15-4:00 Character Evolution in Story Structure:
Students will learn the stages of character evolution in traditional
story telling, why their protagonist must evolve, and where the
character’s evolution traditionally fits within classic story
structure. They will learn how to use characters to create problems,
solve problems, or impart information seamlessly. Questions and
Answers
4:00-5:00 Critique of Student Synopsis/Outlines:
Students will have the opportunity to read their synopsis/outlines
aloud to receive feedback from the instructor and their classmates.
Questions and Answers
6:30-7:00 Continental Breakfast
7:00-8:30 Creating Memorable Characters:
Learn techniques to create memorable primary and secondary characters through the utilization of physical and psychological attributes, clothing, mannerisms, and dialogue. Using examples from well-known fiction and non-fiction, including authors Stephen King, Stephen Hunter, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the instructor’s own work, students will study the techniques for making:
1. Heroes not wimps. A well-rounded protagonist is heroic, yet still vulnerable and capable of change.
2. Villains not caricatures. An antagonist is frightening when he/she is real. That means creating well-rounded villains and avoiding cardboard stereotypes and cliches.
3. Sidekicks and mentors: Learn how to make a secondary character stand out using markers, without the character overtaking the story from your primary characters. Questions and Answers
8:30-10:00 The First Three Pages:
Your first chapter should set the tone of your novel. Using examples and student work, Bob will discuss what makes a strong opening sentence, how to write a beginning that grabs the reader’s attention, and his do’s and don’ts of the first three pages. Bob will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of prologues and second scenes and where to go once you’ve written a killer opening chapter. Questions and Answers
10:00-10:15 Break and Networking Opportunity
10:15-11:15 The Biggest Mistakes Attendees are Making in Marketing Their Work and How to Avoid Them:
Literary agent Sorche Fairbank will identify and explain the biggest mistakes the attendees have made in their submitted query letters and synopses and will provide suggestions to eliminate these mistakes. Questions and Answers
11:15-12:15 Creating and Sustaining Tension and Suspense to Keep the Reader Turning the Page:
Bob will teach techniques for identifying the emotional highs and lows of your novel and how to build tension toward each by posing story questions, holding onto the answers to the questions posed, setting up the protagonist for failure, planting seeds of doubt, and building tension within and at the end of scenes. Questions and Answers
12:15 -1:00 Lunch with Faculty, provided
1:00-2:15 Power Editing Your Manuscript to Make it Better:
Learn Bob’s five steps to power editing your manuscript.
1) Making judgments about your protagonist and antagonist.
2) Evaluating secondary characters.
3) Tightening the manuscript by being relentless in moving the story forward.
4) Reviewing word and sentence choice - adjectives and adverbs vs. verbs, original similes and analogies; active vs. passive voice.
5) Polishing your work to eliminate typos and misspellings, and other mistakes that make the reader lose trust. Questions and Answers
2:15 -2:30 Break and Networking Opportunity
2:30-3:30 The Seven Deadly Sins Your Manuscript Will No longer Have. Critique of Student Manuscripts & Concluding Remarks. Bob will review the seven primary mistakes inexperienced (and experienced) novelists make and use student manuscripts for discussion, emphasizing suggestions to bring the students work closer to publication. Questions and Answers
What Past Attendees Have To Say:
“Well put together
and very informative.”
“Very excellent, John and Bob were wonderful, their comments were
insightful and useful.”
“I was very impressed with the time and effort all three speakers put
into this workshop. I never expected as much personal attention as I
got. Bob and John even spent time with us after hours.”
“Useful, specific tools.”
“Extremely helpful, not just motivational but also instructive.”
“I was very impressed at the amount of work [the instructors] put
into their feedback, I appreciate how giving they were of their
time.”
“A number 1.”
Advanced Fiction Writing: With Personal Attention
Date: April 5, 2008 - April 6, 2008
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $1,995