fictionfire Day Course 5: 2nd October 2010
MAKING MEMORABLE SCENES
COURSE SUMMARY:
If you are interested in aspects of plot and story-structure, this day course will guide you towards making the scenes you write work as powerfully as possible to engage and hold your reader's attention. We'll look at published examples, deconstructing them to see how their internal dynamics make them effective - and we'll practise writing our own scenes. We'll cover areas such as pace, tension, mood, setting, using dialogue and placing scenes in your story's overall structure. Getting the individual scenes right will help you grow in confidence as a writer.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
9.40-10.00 Registration and welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits served.
10.00-12.00 Morning Session: What's on Your Mind?
We'll open with a discussion of scenes from novels which we have found memorable and explore why this is. We'll consider the importance of setting out to write your scene with a clear sense of intention, looking at what those aims may be. Our first writing exercise of the day will explore the power of descriptive writing.
12.00-1.10 Lunch-break.
1.10-3.00 Afternoon Session 1: Developing the Scene
In this section of the course we'll examine how character can be delineated and interaction developed in your scene and we'll consider the importance of point of view for the way the scene strikes the reader. We'll continue writing short pieces to explore these aspects and the various techniques available to you.
3.00-3.15 Break-time: tea, coffee and biscuits.
3.15-4.45 Afternoon Session 2: Placement and Pace
How your scene unfolds and where your scene sits in the overall structure of your story are both crucial. Here we focus on how your scene can play its part in the development of your plot and where you can place scenes for particular effect. We'll also look at how important it is that the internal rhythm of the scene works well for the reader. You need to choose what's appropriate for the type of story you're telling and for the stage that story has reached.
4.45-5.00 Summing-up and final questions.
These intensive sessions will involve discussion, writing exercises and analysis of a range of illustrative material. Please bring a pen and paper! You are also invited to bring along to share with us a scene which you have found particularly memorable - and to think about the elements within that scene to which you responded.
fictionfire Day Course 6: 16th October 2010
SHAPE UP AND MAKE YOUR PITCH
COURSE SUMMARY:
'It may be your labour of love, but it's their investment.' (David Armstrong)
You've completed your writing project - congratulations! Now you want to get it 'out there' to a readership. This day course is designed to help you meet the challenge of making your pitch. So that your submission is as polished as possible, practical exercises will guide you trhough crucial self-editing techniques and show you how best to present your manuscript. We'll explore how to write an effective query letter and synopsis which will make the agent or editor hungry to see more. The marketplace is crowded: here's how to make yourself stand out.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
9.40-10.00 Registration and welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits served.
10.00-12.00 Morning Session: Don't Rush - Revise!
Desperate as you are to send your work off for consideration, you need to rein in your enthusiasm and subject your work to rigorous critical scrutiny. In this opening session we'll discuss the importance of achieving distance from your work, and review the editing process, using exercises to illustrate the techniques you can employ and the pitfalls to watch out for as your work takes its final pre-submission shape.
12.00-1.10 Lunch-break.
1.10-3.00 Afternoon Session 1: Publishers, Presentation and Pitching
In this session you'll learn about how the publishing industry works, gaining insight into how agents and editors wish to be approached - and what puts them off. In spite of daunting competition, you can learn how to maximise your chances, by choosing the right people to approach, by considering your market, by presenting your manuscript effectively and by writing a compelling covering letter as part of your pitch-package.
3.00-3.15 Break-time: tea, coffee and biscuits.
3.15-4.45 Afternoon Session 2: Synopsis Hell, Submission Heaven
We'll continue to look at the elements of the pitch-package and how requirements can vary from agent to agent. We'll focus on the thorny issue of synopsis-writing. Just what is a synopsis? How long should it be? How can you make it work?
4.30-5.00 Summing-up and final questions.
These intensive sessions will involve discussion, editing and pitching exercises and analysis of illustrative material.
OPTIONAL: You may be at the stage of imminently pitching to agents for real. If so, you can email me at info@fictionfire.co.uk your one-sentence pitch statement for your book, a 300 word summary of the plot and the first 3 pages of the story (and yes, I know this is tough!). Send all this as a single file, using 1.5 line-spacing, to arrive at least a week before the course is held. Please ensure that none of your personal details are on the MS. With your permission I will photocopy this for discussion and analysis during the class: you will remain anonymous. Only choose to do this if you feel you can cope with peer criticism. However, if you feel uncomfortable sharing your writing and your ideas with others at this stage, please don't worry: we will have general writing exercises to do which avoid too much self-exposure!
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Each course will run from 9.40 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and will cost £95, to include two servings of tea, coffee and biscuits during the day and a useful course pack for you to take away.
To book, please visit my online shop if you wish to pay by Paypal. Alternatively, print off the course booking form and send a cheque. More details at the foot of this page.
Courses are held at Trinity College, Oxford: further details on my Course venue and directions page.
My Spring courses have now passed: thank you, all of you who attended. I really enjoyed meeting you and wish you all the very best of luck as you pursue your writing projects. I'm leaving details of these courses up on this page temporarily, so that you can get a flavour of what's involved on a fictionfire course. As with my courses in November 2009, which were 'Get that Novel Up and Running', designed to help new writers get started, and 'Blindfold into the Maze: Plotting your Novel', if you are interested in these courses being run at a future date, please let me know by contacting me at info@fictionfire.co.uk and I can register your interest.
IMPORTANT: Some people who have contacted me have not received my replies: please check your junk/spam folder in case my message is there and add info@fictionfire.co.uk and mail@fictionfire.co.uk to your safe list. If you have emailed me and have not heard back from me within a day, please ring me on 07827 455723.
Courses held in spring 2009:
COURSE 3: CHARACTER BUILDING
COURSE DETAILS:
'Without character there is no story.' (Julia Bell)
This day course is designed to help you create and develop characters for your fiction-writing. However clever your plotting, however powerful your theme, however beautiful your style, your story will not work if your characters fail to engage your readers' attention and emotions. We'll examine how to bring characters to convincing life, exploring the variety of techniques available to you. We'll look at how published writers have achieved their effects and engage in exercises to imagine new characters - and their stories.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
9.40-10.00: Registration and Welcome. Tea, coffee & biscuits served.
10.00-12.00: Morning Session: Types and Individuals
We'll explore the degree of roundedness of characterisation: whether characters are stereotypes, archetypes or fully-realised. We'll look at how even minor characters can come to life by clever use of detail and we'll find out just how much power lies in a name.
12.00-1.10: Lunch Break.
1.10-3.00: Afternoon Session 1: A Mile in their Shoes
How do you get inside the skin of a character? We'll examine the various ways of making your characters real and convincing, either by use of external aspects such as clothing, mannerisms, possessions, speech - or by portrayal of the internal world of the character: their attitudes, thoughts and feelings. We'll discuss famous literary characters and what makes them so memorable.
3.00-3.15: Break-time: tea, coffee and biscuits.
3.00-4.30: Afternoon Session 2: The Character Arc
Once you've created your characters, what are you going to do with them? Your story will not work if your characters do not develop in some way. We'll explore the idea of the character 'arc', where the dynamic relationship between character and plot becomes crucial.
4.30-4.45 Summing-up and final questions.
These intensive sessions will involve discussion, writing exercises and analysis of a range of illustrative material. Please bring a pen and paper!
COURSE 4: ESSENTIAL EDITING
COURSE DETAILS:
'A first draft is a work of construction; the seventh is the work of an artist.' (Barbara Kingsolver)
This day course is designed to show you the essential techniques of editing your own work and to help you see revision as integral to the creative process. Whether your work needs to go through three, seven or thirty-seven drafts, you need to be sure when you send it out that it's as polished as you can make it. The course will also arm you with a knowledge of how the publishing industry works so that you can pitch your story effectively. And you thought just writing the thing was enough ...!
COURSE STRUCTURE:
9.40-10.00 Registration and Welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits served.
10.00-12.00 Morning Session: The Critical Eye
We'll discuss the importance of achieving distance from your work and how you need to be detached and rigorous as you submit your deathless prose to scrutiny. We'll explore how you should respond to the opinions of others. We'll start to engage with the stages of revision, using a range of exercises.
12.00-1.10 Lunch-break.
1.10-3.00 Afternoon Session 1: The Nitty Gritty Nit-Pick
Following on from the morning session we'll continue to examine the editing process, focussing on checking your work for internal coherence, factual and grammatical accuracy. We'll find out what the pitfalls are and how crucial presentation can be in creating a professional impression.
3.00-3.15 Break-time: tea, coffee and biscuits.
3.15-4.30 Afternoon Session 2: Artistic Merit
Here the focus is on looking at your work in terms of its style, pace, structure, characterisation, dialogue and resolution. We'll discover that economy is key and that judicial cutting, though painful, is often the most crucial technique you can use. I'll show you the questions you should ask of your story when you've completed it and ways of honing the pitch you use to sell it in a competitive market.
4.30-4.45 Summing-up and final questions.
These intensive sessions will involve discussion, editing exercises and analysis of a range of illustrative material. Please bring a pen and paper!
LOCATION:
The courses will be held in the elegant, wood-panelled Sutro Room (which has excellent disabled access) at Trinity College, Oxford. Trinity, which was founded in the 16th century, is situated on Broad Street at the heart of the city, close to the Bodleian Library, the Sheldonian Theatre, Balliol, Exeter and Jesus Colleges. At lunchtime, you can choose from a wide variety of cafes, pubs and restaurants in the immediate vicinity. During the lunch-break or after your course ends, you may wish to explore Trinity's beautiful gardens, browse in the world-famous Blackwell's Bookshop, visit the newly re-opened Ashmolean Museum, or simply stroll around Broad Street, Radcliffe Square and St Giles, soaking up the atmosphere and appreciating the architectural glories of this historic city.
DIRECTIONS:
Trinity College is centrally placed, with excellent access on foot from the Bus Station at Gloucester Green and from the Railway Station. If you are coming by car, there is parking available on St Giles and at Gloucester Green. However, parking is limited and expensive so I would strongly recommend you make use of the Park and Ride system: http://www.oxford.gov.uk/transport/park-and-ride.cfm
See also http://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/contact/getting/ and http://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/maps for further detailed guidance.
HOW TO BOOK:
Postal Bookings:
Please print off the fictionfire Course Booking Form and send with your cheque to L Fergusson, fictionfire, 110 Oxford Road, Old Marston, Oxford, OX3 0RD. Remember to read the Terms and Conditions regarding these courses.
Online Bookings:
You can also make a course booking using Paypal - just go to the Online Shop page. Remember to read the Terms and Conditions. IMPORTANT - If you choose to book this way, please notify me of your booking via the Contact Form: let me know which course(s) you are booking, if it is for one person or more, your contact details (name, address, phone number, email) and the fee you have paid through Paypal. On receipt of this notification I will email you to acknowledge that you have registered for your chosen course(s). If you have not heard from me, please check your junk/spam folder in case my message has ended up there and add info@fictionfire.co.uk and mail@fictionfire.co.uk to your safe list. You can also ring or text me on 07827 455723.
(fictionfire is an organisation which contracts with the College for the use of facilities, but which has no formal connection with The University of Oxford.)