Workshops
Trinity Arts Writers Workshop
Workshop is part of our name. We are committed to share the talent and knowledge of our members.
Mini-Workshops will be conducted on a variety of topics related to the writing craft and the process of getting work published.
If you would like more information or you are interested in presenting a program contact the Mini-Workshop Committee Chairperson
Mini-Workshop Plan/Schedule - 2018
Copyright Issues
1802 - February 3rd
KAV Method
1803 - March 3rd
Sharon Johnson conducted a Mini-Workshop to share:
- Tips from LoneStar Ink, the writing conference she attended earlier this year. Speakers included, but were not limited to, Dave Farland and J. Scott Savage. She'll cover matters such as how to hold the readers attention, the "KAV" method, and how to work tension into a story line.
- Tips that will be helpful for writing a pitch on #PitMad.
Magazine Clipping
1804 - April 7th
Harry 'The Hat' Robbins led a fast paced program where each participant used magazine pictures, scissors, glue and poster board to generate: A story title, main characters, and first lines of an opening scene.
Bam! Bam! Bam! In about 40 minutes all finished their exercise including explaining their finished work.
What results?
Titles like: Leak, Let, She's Back and She's Pregnant. Characters like: Bridgit, Brock, Rage, Flo, Sando and Inga. Opening scene first lines like: It's 1:00 am, Inga met Sando only six hours ago but she's already convinced her SRA mission will succeed.
YouTube Trailer
1805 - May 5th
Susan Hodges presented a program on creating a YouTube Trailer. In one minute you create a buzz that excites the visual, auditory, and emotional of potential readers. It's a great hook and can result in sales
Story Structure
1806 - June 2nd
Sara-Meg Seese presented the June program on story structure. She covered elements of Aristotle's classic Beginning, Middle, End / Acts I, II, III then related them to a detailed Master Story Planning Worksheet.
Scene Development
1807 - July 7th
July 7th - Dennis Coburn moderated a free format session (Plot Luck style) on Scene Development. Participants discussed the role of SCENE as a unit of story structure, analyzed specific examples of their own work and exchanged ideas.
Scenes are units, building blocks of a story structure much like concrete blocks are units of a wall
Online Editing Service
1808 - August 4th
Sara Meg Seese talked about collaborative developmental editing, copy editing and formatting work she does through an online service, fiverr. She explained the gig pricing structure and shared the pros and cons of using the system, including the advantage of having them take care of billing, tax forms, etc.
Character Development
1809 - September 1st
Sept. 1st - Dennis Coburn moderated an exercise on Character Development. Participants chose a character from their own work to analyze and discuss with others. In a group setting, peers peppered the writer with questions to discover opportunities for character development including reactions, growth and emotions. They explored characteristics to stir emotional connection and increase reader investment.
Takeaway: Learn something about your character you didn't already know.
"the process of creating a believable character in fiction by giving the character depth and personality."
BASICS OF DIALOGUE
from a dramatist's POV
1810 - October 6th
Text - what is actually said in dialogue
Subtext - The emotions, memories, inferences, references, allusions, and/or innuendos that underly and support the text
October 6th - Sara-Meg Seese, presented BASICS OF DIALOGUE from a dramatist's POV. Using Dialogue analysis on a selection of her work HORSE WITH NO NAME, participants examined and discussed elements:
- Lead lines: open a new subject. Often, but not necessarily, a question.
- Response lines: continue the same subject
Stated lines: Provide facts (or presumed facts) that are not intended to be lead lines and do not carry significant subtext. LESS than 5% of all dialog is usually stated lines.
POV Development
1810 - November 10th
Field trip - A people watching - who-dunnit / offsite exercise on POV at Denny's
On Saturday November 10th, Dennis Coburn moderated an exercise on Point of View.
Participants joined a small group and chose a character in the restaurant. They agreed on a scenario with a few basic facts. Then each group member wrote a story segment from an assigned point of view.
