OLD Story Structure Safari

Instructor: Lisa Miller

April 2 - 27

Fee: $30

Beautiful words and exciting scenes aren't enough to propel the reader through a novel. Stories need structure, a plan, a focus from beginning to end.

Story Structure Safari will guide you through the dense jungle of information about story. Our trek will include excursions into the lands of Story Structure and Transformational Character Arcs and Plot.

We'll step back and explore the sweeping overview of several popular novels and movies to explain and reinforce the concepts. We'll also take some intimate hikes to zoom in on the work and knowledge of plot and story structure superstars.

Throughout the class, I'll share information from award-winning authors and writing experts including James Scott Bell, Nancy Pickard, Les Edgerton and Larry Brooks. They will discuss how they structure their stories for success. Editors, including Deborah Halverson, Lorin Oberweger, and plot consultant Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer, will talk about story structure strategies. Strategies that will strengthen your chance to sell.

Using a variety of techniques, you'll have opportunities to infuse these ideas into your story, creating a tantalizing experience for the reader.

Reactions of past students:

"I only wish I did this course 10 years ago. Heck, even 1 year ago would have made a difference."

"This has been one of the best classes I've ever taken -- Ever! I am so pleased that I am pretty much ready to finalize my outline and start writing. I struggled with Story concepts but now feel I have a much firmer grasp than I ever have. I've taken Robert McKee's Story workshop and others, but found them very theoretical - which is great, but it wasn't until I was able to practically apply these concepts through the exercises Lisa so carefully prepared that I understood what I needed to in order to plot/write my book."

"I LOVED the methodology you taught and from the moment that we had divided our novel into quadrants I was hooked. Before Safari, I had been stuck for a couple of months with my story idea but hadn't done anything with it besides research (even though I'd really tried) and in your class I realized it was because it was such a big story (first time I'd truly tackled a full-length novel) that the idea of writing it by the seat of my pants was very overwhelming. It was like dropping someone into a country they're unfamiliar with and then saying, "see you in X town" and then leaving them there without a map or a compass or anything. Safari gave me a map and a compass and a GPS device."

"Your feedback on things was priceless. The information and the timeliness of your responses were fantastic."

Martha Alderson:

Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer, helps writers find the plot and structure of their stories. Her Plot Whisperer blog, YouTube How to Plot a Novel, Memoir, or Screenplay series and upcoming book The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master are just a few of the tools she's developed to help writers.

James Scott Bell:

James Scott Bell is a bestselling suspense writer. His books on craft, Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure, Write Great Fiction: Revision & Self-Editing and the Art of War for Writers are three of the most popular writing books available today.

Larry Brooks:

Larry Brooks is a critically-acclaimed bestselling author of four psychological thrillers, in addition to his work as a freelance writer and writing instructor. His Storyfix blog and craft book Story :: Mastering The Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing break down novel and screenplay writing process into specific developmental criteria, from concept to character to sequence and theme, with a vision for how all the parts come together to become a whole in excess of their parts.

Deborah Halverson:

Deborah Halverson edited children's books for ten years—until she climbed over the desk and tried out the author's chair on the other side. Now she is an award-winning author of books for young readers, including the teen novels Honk If You Hate Me and Big Mouth and Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies. She also has a site DearEditor.com to help authors.

Les Edgerton:

Les Edgerton is a full-time writer with fourteen books in print including Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers On Page One & Never Lets Them Go. He teaches creative writing on the university level, through private coaching of writers, and on various on-line venues. He is the Editor-at-Large for Noir Nation International Journal of Crime Fiction. His latest novel The Bitch was awarded the Best Thriller of 2011 in the Predators and Editors Reader's Poll.

Lorin Oberweger:

Lorin Oberweger is a highly sought-after independent book editor and ghostwriter with more than twenty years experience in publishing. She offers writing seminars nationwide with Donald Maass and others, as well as Story Shaping Workshops, intensive one-on-one story development weekends for writers. In addition, she serves as Editor-in-Residence/Class Instructor for the renowned Writers Retreat Workshop.  An award-winning author, Lorin's poetry, short fiction, and articles have appeared in well over one-hundred periodicals.

Nancy Pickard:

Nancy Pickard is the author of eighteen popular and critically acclaimed novels. She has won multiple Agatha and Macavity awards for her novels. Two of her novels, The Virgin of Small Plains and The Scent of Rain and Lightning have been named Kansas Notable Books. The Virgin of Small Plains was the Kansas Reads Book of 2009. Nancy also puts her energy into teaching writers. She is the author of a how-to book for writers, 7 STEPS ON THE WRITER'S PATH.