PART ONE - FREE WRITING WORKSHOP

I am posting the short version for the first lesson of my free writing workshop on my blog site. If you are interested in receiving the rest of the series, please sign up HERE. If you have previously signed up for the workshop and you do not receive Lesson One via email today, please contact me. 

The series will last for four weeks, there is no homework other than what you decide to complete, and the structure is designed so you may move at your own pace. 

It is summer after all!

So... if you are climbing the Swiss Alps you may do the lessons on your phone or tablet or save them until you come down from the mountain.

OVERVIEW 

Part One - Learn the twelve steps of the Secret Language of Stories and apply the plot analysis to books and movies.

Part Two - Create a 2-3 page plot outline for your own original novel, screenplay, short story or picture book using the structure of The Secret Language of Stories. 

Part Three - Use your plot outline to get started writing your own original story.

Part Four - Make a road map for completing your journey.   

LET'S GET STARTED...

Part One - The 12 Steps of THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STORIES

1) Learn about the structure of The Secret Language of Stories.

2) Study my plot analyses for one or more of the following:

     A. Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves (A        non-fiction picture book by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.)

     B. City of Bones (A young adult novel by Cassandra Clare).
     C.  I Am Legend (a 2007 film starring Will Smith based loosely on a      1954 Novel by Richard Matheson of the same Title.)
     D. Romeo and Juliet (a play by William Shakespeare).

3) Create a notebook with dividers for each of the 12 steps, or you may create a computer file. One page per section is enough to suffice for now.
4) Begin filling in each section with examples from books, movies, and plays. This list will continue throughout the four weeks and hopefully beyond. Don't feel like you need to completely analyze one entire book or movie. That might be a stretch if you're just getting started.

That's it! Simple, right?

If you would like to continue receiving Parts 2-4 of this series and you have not already done so, remember to sign up HERE. 

If you have comments or questions, I would love to receive them at my email.

FREE WRITERS WORKSHOP

It's officially summer vacation and my FREE ONLINE WRITING CLASS is just around the corner. It will begin on Saturday, June 14, 2014 and last for four weeks. Lessons will be delivered via a series of  newsletters and you may unsubscribe at anytime. If you are interested, sign up HERE. You should receive a confirmation email from Mail Chimp. If you don't, please send me an email to follow up.

The workshop will be based on The Secret Language of Stories - The story plotting analysis I use to structure my novels as well as to teach creative writing to kids and adults. For a preview check out my SLOS blog page.

There are several reasons I'm offering the workshop in this format:
1) People keep asking me when I'm going to offer another writing workshop. I work during the school year and only have summers available, but folks are out of town so it makes it difficult to pin down dates.
2) I wanted to create something as flexible as possible. If you don't have time to do a lesson, just save it for the following week. There are no time constraints since it is all online.
3) I'm offering the workshop for free so I can get feedback and fine tune the information. Your input is your entrance fee. Any questions or comments you send to me may be published in upcoming newsletters and books.

It's free, it's easy, it's summer, so kick back and have some fun!! Sign up HERE!