Writing Instruction




Barry B. Longyear's
now
The Write Stuff
Online Writing Seminar
Course Outline
Copyright © 2001-8 by Barry B. Longyear





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The Write Stuff
     Course Outline:

Part I:
Finding Your Stories

    The best and most fulfilling stories you will ever write are not the result of market surveys or guesses about what readers read or editors want.  Your best stories will be those drawn from who and what you are, the total of everything that you have experienced and will experience.

CHAPTER 1. THE WRONG STUFF
       Bad choices, bad advice, cockeyed theories, and other ways to sabotage a writing career. Things to stop doing.
 
 CHAPTER 2. GREAT EXPECTATIONS
        Self discovery, your unique writing potential, and do you have the courage to write your own stories?

CHAPTER 3. FINDING YOUR WRITE STUFF
        Collecting your "vibes." Discovering the parts of you that will form your unique writing machine and its fuel.

CHAPTER 4. WHY IS THE WRITE STUFF THE RIGHT STUFF?
        The mother of all homework assignments. Going through the vibes as parts of a story. Collecting and assembling the parts and fuel to your unique writing machine.

CHAPTER 5. THE MACHINE
     Writing what you know, finding out what you know, making more stuff that you know, focus killers, and a special laxative for removing writer's block.     



Part II:
Generating Ideas


    "Where do you get your ideas?" is probably the most common question authors are asked. Every human is sitting in an ocean of ideas.  The trick is in realizing that and then developing methods to see the ideas, capture them, allow them to mutate and mature, and then use them.

CHAPTER 1. THE IDEA BANK
        Checking and Saving. Experience as literary treasure, and the "do you have what it takes" test.

CHAPTER 2. MAKING IDEA DEPOSITS
          Day-to-day Receipts, earnings on investments, loans, and stuffing that mattress.

CHAPTER 3. LIVING ON THE INTEREST
          The ideas will present themselves as needed, sitting back and trusting the process, reinvestment.
 



Part III:
What Is A Story?


    A story is a machine of events, conditions, and circumstances, and there is as much difference between reading and writing as there is between driving a car and designing and building one.  Here we learn the parts of a story and how they should work together.

CHAPTER 1. PARTS AND ASSEMBLY
            What is a story? An overview of the parts of a story and how they relate to each other. A look at why writers write and readers read,.
    
CHAPTER 2. CHARACTER
            What is a story character? What is characterization? Where do they come from?

 CHAPTER 3. CHARACTER GOALS
            The core of every story, what they are, different kinds, how they function, and that thing called motivation.

CHAPTER 4.  THE SETTING
            Where and when to go, conveying it to yourself and the reader, setting changes  and transitions.

CHAPTER 5.  OBSTACLES

        It stands between the character and the character's goal. Story obstacles and obstacles  for the hell of it. What does a story worthy obstacle need to do?

CHAPTER 6. BUILDUPS
          Call it a plot if you want. Character contests with obstacle. Methods, things to do and to avoid.

CHAPTER 7.  RESOLUTIONS
            Character wins or obstacle wins, stories that fail to resolve, "right" and "wrong" endings, hiding the dessert: twists.

CHAPTER 8. CHARACTER CHANGE

            Who am I? What am I doing here? What is the story machine designed to do? Is that what your story does?

CHAPTER 9. WHO IS TELLING THE STORY?
            Points-of-view, the different forms and uses, benefits and dangers, and do not cheat the reader.
  
CHAPTER 10. GETTING TENSE
            When is the story being told and why it makes a difference. Things to try, how and why they work, and some major don'ts.

CHAPTER 11. OTHER PARTS
            Titles, hooks, backfill, bright and dark moments, plants, story divisions (sentences, paragraphs, scenes, chapters, volumes), narrative frames and flashbacks, purposes and lessons, and trailers. What they are, how they work, things to do and things to avoid.



Part IV:
The Research

       
    "Write what you know."  In this section we learn strategies for researching settings, occupations, and characters, as well as organizing the information to enable it to be at your mental fingertips when needed.  The secret is to use real people in real places, regardless of the actual existence of either.

CHAPTER 1. GOING THERE
            Dangers of not doing the work,  cautions in referring to real places, persons, and events, the research iceberg and how not to inflict all of your research on the reader.

CHAPTER 2. REAL PEOPLE
            Stories are about people.  How to make them real to yourself, and therefore, real to the reader

CHAPTER 3. LOOK AT ALL THAT STUFF
            What to do with all that research. The Alphadex, maps & spreadsheets, uses in series, and how to find what you need when you need it.




Part V:
The Writing


            Everyone is born a natural storyteller.  Beginning with being punished for telling lies, embarrassing our elders with inappropriate words, and scorn from our friends for being different from them, obstacles get placed in the storytelling path.  The final shot in the head comes in high school and college with the creativity assassinating research paper.  How to get out of your own way and get the words on the paper.

CHAPTER 1. HOW TO GET IN YOUR OWN WAY
           Looking for snags, writing for the wrong reasons, beating the muse to death, and the sheer waste of your most valuable commodity: Time. All manifestations of the fear of writing.

CHAPTER 2. OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF WRITING
            Discipline: What is it? Self doubt and the possibility of making a mistake. Changing you to enable you to change things.

  CHAPTER 3. RIGHT REASONS FOR WRITING RIGHT STUFF
            The shape your head is in is up to you. How to allow your story to capture you. Guaranteeing yourself success (Sufficient reasons for writing the story).

  CHAPTER 4. PICKING A LIFE
            When does your machine work best? How many balls are you juggling? What about maintenance ( exercise, diet, mental exercise, mucho moderation)? Family, friends, social life, work, and is there anything left over for the story?

CHAPTER 5. FIRING YOUR EDITOR ON THE SHOULDER
           Judge Not. Until the writing is done, then judge the hell out of it.  If you need more help, get it.

CHAPTER 6. IT'S MAGIC TIME
            Where to start: Idea, character, background, title, plot? Starting from the story situation. Characters who want to go their own ways. Trust the process and unleash your demon.


Part VI:
The Rewriting


          The object is to write your story your way and do the best you can to have the story feel and say what you want in the way that you want.  In this part we learn things to do and not to do in judging our own efforts, discovering story problems, and repairing them.

CHAPTER 1. LETTING IT COOL
            Emotional distance necessary to allow judgment to become engaged. Get Started on the next one. Putting the out-of-body experience to work.

  CHAPTER 2. ASSAYING THE ORE
        Reading as a reader. The Cringe Test. The Maximum Cringe Test. Sparing family and friends the "Whaddya think?" ordeal. Useful and useless input.

CHAPTER 3. CHECKING THE PARTS LIST
         Checklist: Is it a complete story? Are all the parts there?  

CHAPTER 4. CHECKING PARTS PERFORMANCE                
          Going through each part, from character to story resolution, to see if it fits, is clean, and works properly.

CHAPTER 6. MORE PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS
            Show and tell, speech tags, echoes, transitions, jumpy plot lines, POV shifting, story seams, stalls and breakdowns.

CHAPTER 7. CHICKEN FEATHERS
            Ways to sabotage yourself through cowardice: Distant POV, undeveloped characters, detouring around emotional situations, avoiding or disguising controversial subjects in hopes of improving marketability.

CHAPTER 8. LEARNING & DOING
            Leaving the nest. There's no risk in reading about learning. The learning never stops, but unless the writing starts and continues, the story will never be realized.




Part VII:
The Paint Box


INTRODUCTION
             
A, E, I, O, and You remember all that stuff you were supposed to learn back in school?

CHAPTER 1. FONTS AND FACES
              When to be bold; how to get regular.

CHAPTER 2. WORDS
             You can do stories without them, but miming your epic for each and every one of your readers is exhausting.

CHAPTER 3. WORD USE AND MISUSE
             There are things you do good, things you do well, and things you can do better.

CHAPTER 4. CLAUSES, PHRASES, SENTENCES, AND PARAGRAPHS
            
Words get together and the next thing you know they begin to organize. Then what have you got?

CHAPTER 5. PUNCTUATION
            
Missing a period really can be a big deal.

CHAPTER 6. THINGS OF TEARS, THINGS OF LAUGHTER
             Essay: Getting to things that matter.


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The Write Stuff
  
Online Writing Seminar

      
Ready for more?

             If you are ready to write your best stories, the complete seven-part course is $38.00 deliverable by Email attachment only. As soon as we get your payment, you will be sent The Write Stuff within three business days. If you do not receive your materials by then, Email me and let me know.
            Good luck with your writing,

                                                            Barry B. Longyear
           Online Payment: Click the PayPal icon. PayPal is a secure payment method and accepts most major credit cards.

To pay by check: Send your Email address along with a check for $38.00 (US) made out to Barry B. Longyear and mail to: PO Box 100, New Sharon ME 04955.


For an insight to a little of one writer's
education see: "Editor-On-The-Shoulder"



               Science-Fiction Writer's Workshop-I at Barry's Book & Movie Emporium

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