Creative Writing II with Johnny Worthen

Transcription

1 1 Creative Writing 2 Tuesday Nights (6 sessions) February 26th - April 2nd, :30 8:30 p.m. (we hope) Lifelong Learning LLWRC 825 Creative Writing II with Johnny Worthen 2 Week 1 Story Elements Class Goals 3 Students should come away from this class possessing a greater knowledge of the theory and mechanics behind their art, have more confidence that their writing matches their intentions, and have more enthusiasm for writing by possessing better skills in its creation and editing.

2 4 Class Structure Lecture Discussion Writing Sprints Critiques Reading Homework Writing Homework Online/Shared Resources Who is Johnny Worthen? U t a h W r i t e r o f t h e Ye a r Best-Selling Author A c q u i s i t i o n s E d i t o r, Omnium Gatherum Media A s s o c i a t i v e I n s t r u c t o r, University of Utah Multiple genre author Tr a d i t i o n a l l y p u b l i s h e d President of The League BOOKS IN PRINT Beatrysel D r. S t u a r t s H e a r t E l e a n o r, T h e U n s e e n B o o k 1 Celeste, The Unseen Book 2 David, The Unseen Book 3 The Brand Demand T h e F i n g e r Tr a p What Immortal Hand of Utah Writers SHORT FICTION ANTHOLOGIES TRAINING BA English MA American Studies 16 Novels Professional Editor Old & Wise Tie-dye connoisseur Little Visible Delight Old Scratch and Owl Hoots Secrets & Doors Heroic In Plain Sight It Came From the Great Salt Lake Apocalypse Utah Mirages and Speculations The Hunger: Utah Horror A Ye a r o f t h e M o n k e y s

3 Today s Plan 7 Class Basics Conflicts Choices Show vs. Tell Details More is more Less is more Introductions 8 Who are you? What s your writing experience? What are you looking for in this class? Approaching this Class 9 Use the assignments as general writing practice AND/OR Use them to construct a larger piece Come up with a single story idea and work it from the several assignments and critiques Find a story idea based on CONFLICT from Character / Plot / Theme / Setting / etc.

4 Conflicts 10 Classical Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature Man vs. Himself Modern Additions Man vs. Machine Man vs. Society Man vs. Fate Man vs. Supernatural Man vs. God Refined Subsets 11 Classical Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature Man vs. Himself Modern Additions Man vs. Machine Man vs. Society Man vs. Fate Man vs. Supernatural Specialization Man vs. God Only Seven Stories? 12 man against man man against nature man against himself man against God man against society man caught in the middle man and woman

5 Conflict 13 A Defining Element - more than genre An integral part of modern storytelling Necessary to keep interest One force set against another dissension Non-Fiction needs conflict too (Creative Non-Fiction) Even (Especially) Literary Fiction (man vs. self) The best fiction has multiple conflicts Man vs X... and Y and Z too! Freytag Story Pyramid 14 Climax Rising Action Falling Action Denouement Set-Up Inciting Incident Early Choices 15 Point of View First / Third / Limited / Omniscient / Multiperspectivity Tense Present / Past Voice and Style Author presence Genre

6 Characters (Cast) 16 Get to know the primary players of your story before you begin. So you can hit the page writing! "Character Worksheet" an interview to get to know them Show vs Tell 17 She was depressed. The days dragged by, not in hours or minutes but in breaths, heartbeats and sighs. Each new unwanted moment was a weight on her chest, flat and crushing that squeezed the life out of her lungs and darkened the muddy light that found its way to her weeping eyes from under the dusty, drab, and lifeless curtains. EXERCISE: More is More 18 SHOW It was cold. The ship was in danger. The woman was poor. Someone drugged him.

7 Central Key Details 19 It was the kind of place that sold rooms by the hour and lockers by the month. The room smelled of clove cigarettes, bad choices, and vomit. He spent the day shooting people and eating chocolate. She d weep at phone commercials. He put fifty grand under the hood and kept the rust on top. Not a description per say - a DETAIL EXERCISE: Less is More 20 IDENTIFY WITH KEY DETAILS The beach was crowded The boat was old The club was trendy It was quiet, too quiet Character Detail 21 Short Hand Defining (KEY) characteristic A simple handle to grasp complication For reader AND author Name attitude/voice/scar/limp/nationality/smell

8 Examples 22 Delores Umbridge, Willy Loman, Eleanor Anders She was born rich and never forgot it. He wouldn t pick up dropped change because he didn t like how his pants creased when he bent over. She was seven foot three and single, of course. EXERCISE: Less is More 23 IDENTIFY WITH KEY DETAIL - Come at this from an unexpected angle She liked sex He was untrustworthy She was afraid of change He was very stupid. Homework for Week 2 24 Read: The Waking, by Theodore Roethke Study: Standard Manuscript Format (learn it, love it) Character Worksheet (if you don t know your characters yet) Write: 1 PAGE detailed description (character, setting, or event) Show mood Look for Key Detail