Unlock Your Character Workshop
In this workshop, we’ll use writing exercises and group discussions to delve into character backgrounds to uncover the foundations of who they are.
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Dialogue Bootcamp – Online Writing Workshop
Crafting dialogue doesn’t come naturally to every writer. Luckily, it’s a skill that can be learned and easily honed.
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Unlock Your World and Setting – An Online Workshop
In this workshop, we’ll delve into aspects of your world that writers often overlook, but have major impact on the story and add depth to your setting.
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Description Bootcamp – Online Writing Workshop
This asynchronous workshop is for writers who either struggle to describe people and/or settings or for those who need help honing this essential writing skill.
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Worldbuilding Bootcamp – Online Writing Workshop
In this workshop, authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford will guide you through short writing exercises that will help you dive into aspects of your world that writers often overlook, but that impact your story and characters in major ways.
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Character Bootcamp – Online Writing Workshop
Join us for a day of writing exercises and feedback that will help you dig into your characters’ background, giving you a solid foundation for their motivations and actions in your story.
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Writing Revolution: How To Create Believable Resistance Movements with Helen Gould
Stories about rebelling against an unjust system or a tyrannical ruler have always been popular, often becoming lucrative franchises (A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…). However, they also frequently portray a simplified narrative about how resistance works or avoid the nuances of what it means to fight an oppressive force.
This one-day workshop will establish an understanding of the building blocks that can be put in place for a realistic foundation for a dystopian society, oppression, and rebellion. Instructor Helen Gould will cover real-world examples of political resistance from around the world, discuss the morality of important issues like the use of violence, and explore what kind of characters you might need in a story about revolution.
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The Heroine’s Journey – The Other Ancient Story Structure
We’ve all heard about the Hero’s Journey, but how often do we hear about the Heroine’s Journey, Western culture’s other prominent story structure?
In this webinar, New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger provides a full break down of what aspects of the heroine’s journey make for compelling narratives and voracious readers, where these elements originate, why they’re successful, and how to write them.
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On Demand: Building Inclusive Worlds | Part 1: Foundations
For creative writers looking to decolonize their fiction and avoid harming marginalized people and cultures, crafting immersive worlds for science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative narratives can be especially challenging. Taught by a team of renowned authors and experts, this course explores and explains the foundational worldbuilding concepts of ideology, religiosity, cosmology, sociology, and more. Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or just starting your journey, this course will equip you with an advanced worldbuilding skillset plus the confidence to create inclusive narratives and worlds that resonate with a wide range of readers.
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Excerpt: Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown
In this book, the author breaks down the ways in which cultures (mostly Western ones) force sexuality on everyone, regardless of orientation. Creators who build worlds and futures should always interrogate their own culture’s “norms” in order to consciously create narratives that challenge, or are in sync with, said norms. The introduction to this book, excerpted below, is an excellent start to interrogating sexuality and the status quo.
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