No, I haven't abandoned this blog. I've been finishing up two novels and a screenplay, and developing several new courses.
Online:
How to Write Fast (http://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/workshops )
Dates: January 6 – January 31, 2014
Crank up the efficiency and get that novel, short story, article or script DONE. Through exercises, evaluations, tips and technologies, you can learn to write faster. Discover how to break through blocks, get ideas, develop plots, draft and polish in less time without losing quality.
Endings That Buzz (http://ce.savvyauthors.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventId=2039 )
Dates: February 3 – 16
Answering the story question with clarity, emotion, and power (http://ce.savvyauthors.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventId=2039 )
Endings are your last chance to make a good impression. A great ending can close the sale with an editor, satisfy a reader, and get people talking
Learn the four essentials of a strong ending. Find out how to reach "The End" and what to do if you paint yourself into a corner. Test your finale and discover how to finish your story in a way that will resonate with readers.
This class will be interactive as students bring questions and will work with the instructor and peers to find, enhance, and polish endings. We will also work backward, developing engaging endings and working through the essentials of building the stories they deserve.
How to Write Fast Again (http://lowcountryrwa.com/workshops/all-workshops/#MAR)
Dates: March 3–28, 2014
Face-to-Face
Write Flash Fiction! (http://www.writerscenter.org/2014classes.html#andrews1)
January 6–February 24
Don't have time to write a novel? Well, fewer people have time to read one. That's why flash fiction is hot, with over 300 paying markets looking for well-formed stories of 1000 words or less. Learn how to write, market and sell these tiny tales.
Keynotes, Presentations, and Talks: Constructing a Speech that Delivers!
(http://www.writerscenter.org/2014classes.html#andrews2)
January 18
Speeches generate excitement, opportunities, and even affection. They can help you find new audiences and build your career. Many of the ingredients – storytelling, humor, understanding your audience, and pacing – are the same as fiction writing, but they need to come together in a different way.
This session will cover the purpose of speeches (for you, your host, and your audience) and the options you have for structure. Students will learn what they need to know about the audience, the essentials of logistics, the effective use of audiovisuals, dos and don’ts, and the most effective elements to open and close the speech successfully. The workshop will include forms that will help students prepare for their speaking opportunities. In addition, the instructor will draw on his own experiences and elicit those of students to develop a personalized set of tips for attendees.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Why Write Flash Fiction?
My thoughts on the benefits of writing flash fiction (stories of 1,000 words or fewer) are posted over on Savvy Authors.
Monday, October 21, 2013
More thoughts on the "prep sentence"
I've long advocated writing a sentence about what you intend to achieve the next day as a way to catapult yourself into productive writing. For revision, this is straightforward. Something like "review next three scenes for conflict/emotion" works. But composition requires a sentence that provides guidance on what to write. The sentence has to be strong enough to engage your imagination so you subconscious works overnight.
While teaching this week, I got pushed by a student to say more. I pulled a paragraph from a previous HTWF post:
The origin of my one-sentence prep is nineteenth century novels. I talked about this in a different context on my How To Write Fast Blog:
Make sure something happens - Sounds simple, right? For scenes with little dialogue, this tends to occur naturally, but it is amazing how often dialogue does not move a story forward. And this is especially true if your characters are clever and charming. I do two things as a test. First, I title the scene. This forces me to think about it holistically as opposed to as a series of exchanges. Next, I add a subtitle that begins, "In which..." Anyone who has read a lot of older novels is familiar with these subtitles. "In which our heroine Beatrice steals Alexandra's locket." Beware of subtitles where a character "finds out" something or "insults" another character. Ask what finding out leads to. If she finds out her best friend has betrayed her, is she forced to flee Coventry? Ask about the results of that insult. Does Harold challenge Christopher to a duel at dawn?
Then I added this:
So... your sentence indicates something happens. Yes, active verbs are a must. A sense of conflict can be helpful. Mostly, I look for a sentence I respond to viscerally. Even better, I like a sentence that piques an emotion and makes me want to get writing right away. (That doesn't always happen.)
When I'm really stuck, I make the sentence the answer to a question like one of these:
- What has to happen
- Who am I leaving out
- What's the worst thing that can happen?
- What's my villain's next move?
- How will he/she break his/her heart?
On bad days, I may need to write 3-4 answers before it's time to give up.
I hope this helps.
Peter
While teaching this week, I got pushed by a student to say more. I pulled a paragraph from a previous HTWF post:
The origin of my one-sentence prep is nineteenth century novels. I talked about this in a different context on my How To Write Fast Blog:
Make sure something happens - Sounds simple, right? For scenes with little dialogue, this tends to occur naturally, but it is amazing how often dialogue does not move a story forward. And this is especially true if your characters are clever and charming. I do two things as a test. First, I title the scene. This forces me to think about it holistically as opposed to as a series of exchanges. Next, I add a subtitle that begins, "In which..." Anyone who has read a lot of older novels is familiar with these subtitles. "In which our heroine Beatrice steals Alexandra's locket." Beware of subtitles where a character "finds out" something or "insults" another character. Ask what finding out leads to. If she finds out her best friend has betrayed her, is she forced to flee Coventry? Ask about the results of that insult. Does Harold challenge Christopher to a duel at dawn?
Then I added this:
So... your sentence indicates something happens. Yes, active verbs are a must. A sense of conflict can be helpful. Mostly, I look for a sentence I respond to viscerally. Even better, I like a sentence that piques an emotion and makes me want to get writing right away. (That doesn't always happen.)
When I'm really stuck, I make the sentence the answer to a question like one of these:
- What has to happen
- Who am I leaving out
- What's the worst thing that can happen?
- What's my villain's next move?
- How will he/she break his/her heart?
On bad days, I may need to write 3-4 answers before it's time to give up.
I hope this helps.
Peter
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Free Tools for Writing Productivity
Free Tools for Writing Productivity is my guest blog today on Savvy Authors http://savvyauthors.com/blog/index.php/free-tools-for-writing-productivity-by-peter-andrews/
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Eight Tips for Bigger Stories (and Upcoming Online Courses)
I prepared this handout for a Bigger Stories presentation at Fiction Fest. Now I'm sharing it with you.
Applications and Tools for Writers
Tips for Bigger Stories
By
Peter Andrews
1)
Hook
yourself first - Make sure you react viscerally to the concept. If
you don’t need to write it, I don’t need
to read it.
2)
Push
your premise – Don’t be satisfied with the first idea that catches your
attention. Poke at it. Raise the stakes. Test different settings. Find the
character who will change the most.
3)
Listen
to your characters – They may be willing to go further than you are. And they
probably offer a distinct point of view at no charge.
4)
Escalate
– Raise the stakes. Increase jeopardy. Torture your protagonist.
5)
Read
your work aloud – Readers want fresh, authentic voices. Reading out loud makes
it easier to see if it sounds like you or someone you think you should be.
6)
Answer
the story question – An ending is disappointing if you can’t tell if the
protagonist succeeded. Oh, and make sure it is clear, one way or the other. Make it pay off.
7)
Make it
emotional throughout – Otherwise, write nonfiction.
8)
Be
courageous – Find what scares you and do it anyway. Don’t worry about being nice or reasonable. Don’t worry what
your mom will think when she reads it.
"Go big or go home." – Max Adams
"A writer is someone who has taught their mind to
misbehave." -Oscar Wilde
How to Write Fast
workshops
Lowcountry RWA 3/3/14-3/27/14
Black Diamond 11/4/13-11/17/13
Yosemite 1/6/14-1/31/14Applications and Tools for Writers
Savvy Authors 11/18/13-11/24/13
Write Flash Fiction!
Savvy Authors 12/2/13-12/22/13
Bigger Stories
Lowcountry RWA 5/5/14-5/30/14
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The Key to Writing Fast: Show Early and Often - Guest Post by Hillary Rettig
It is my pleasure to welcome a guest post by Hillary Rettig. Hillary is the author of The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block. Hillary has taught writing and work productivity at Grub
Street Writers, The Mark Twain House and Museum, TheLoft.org,
SavvyAuthors.com, and many other venues. For more information on Hillary
and her work, visit http://www.hillaryrettig.com/t
There are lots of techniques that will help you boost your writing tempo, but one of the best is probably to show your work early and often:
The reason "showing" is such a powerful productivity enhancer is because writers with perfectionist tendencies tend to be terrified of having their work seen and judged, and so they create a "wall" between themselves and potential readers. They hide behind that wall, endlessly writing and revising, but never finishing or submitting or publishing--and sometimes they don't even write at all, since not-writing is an even more effective strategy than not-finishing for remaining unseen and unjudged.
And the more these writers hide, the taller and stronger the wall gets, until the idea of publishing seems truly terrifying and insurmountable.
In contrast, showing early and often helps "soften" and eventually eliminate the wall. And that tends to speed up the entire writing process, from conceptualization and drafting through to revising, submitting, and publishing. (The core reason this technique works, by the way, is that it helps you heal from any shame and ambivalence you have around your work.)
And this is all, of course, congruent with 21st century marketing via social media. We're long past the days when writers sequestered their work until it was fully polished and edited. These days, readers want to share your process via social media, and maybe even be included in it.
So, show your work early and often. Just be careful whom you show it to, however, because you don't need callous or clueless feedback. (Maybe no social media at first, until you get more resilient.) And extra points for telling your "showees" what response you want: e.g., "I know this is a draft so I don't want detailed feedback on grammar and syntax. But let me know if the general idea works for you." Or, "I really dig this metaphor I came up with!!! Just wanted to share it with you; no reply needed."
Eventually, you'll probably come to enjoy showing, and the resulting ongoing dialog with your community--and you'll probably also write faster than you ever dreamed possible.
There are lots of techniques that will help you boost your writing tempo, but one of the best is probably to show your work early and often:
- Show drafts.
- Show chunks (paragraphs and pages).
- And even show individual sentences and clauses. ("Hey, what do you think of this metaphor..." Or, "Super proud of this one...")
The reason "showing" is such a powerful productivity enhancer is because writers with perfectionist tendencies tend to be terrified of having their work seen and judged, and so they create a "wall" between themselves and potential readers. They hide behind that wall, endlessly writing and revising, but never finishing or submitting or publishing--and sometimes they don't even write at all, since not-writing is an even more effective strategy than not-finishing for remaining unseen and unjudged.
And the more these writers hide, the taller and stronger the wall gets, until the idea of publishing seems truly terrifying and insurmountable.
In contrast, showing early and often helps "soften" and eventually eliminate the wall. And that tends to speed up the entire writing process, from conceptualization and drafting through to revising, submitting, and publishing. (The core reason this technique works, by the way, is that it helps you heal from any shame and ambivalence you have around your work.)
And this is all, of course, congruent with 21st century marketing via social media. We're long past the days when writers sequestered their work until it was fully polished and edited. These days, readers want to share your process via social media, and maybe even be included in it.
So, show your work early and often. Just be careful whom you show it to, however, because you don't need callous or clueless feedback. (Maybe no social media at first, until you get more resilient.) And extra points for telling your "showees" what response you want: e.g., "I know this is a draft so I don't want detailed feedback on grammar and syntax. But let me know if the general idea works for you." Or, "I really dig this metaphor I came up with!!! Just wanted to share it with you; no reply needed."
Eventually, you'll probably come to enjoy showing, and the resulting ongoing dialog with your community--and you'll probably also write faster than you ever dreamed possible.
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