Margie Lawson

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Advanced Craft

You know the feeling – when you start a book and immediately suspend disbelief to fall into the story world. As authors, we know that this isn’t easy to do. It takes more than a good scene. It takes a maestro of craft to pull it off.

This is a writing master class. If you’re past problems with POV, character development and stage direction, this class will help you understand the subtle nuances that can be the difference between a ‘good writer’ and a popular author.

What you’ll learn:

  • Anchor the reader in deep POV
  • Say it once, say it well
  • Triple-duty descriptions
  • Get rid of Same old/same old body language
  • Dialog tags – who needs them?
  • Write tight
  • Tell us what we don’t know
  • Trust your reader
  • Backstory slivers – no dumps here!
  • How to write fully rounded characters

Who should take this course:

  • Writers who understand the basics of Point of View, dialogue, characterization, etc.
  • ‘Journeymen’ – meaning those who have finished a story (be it novel, novella or several short stories) but have not yet published.
  • Any ready to take their writing to the next level

Lesson Plan

Lesson One:

  • Beginnings
  • First lines
  • Did I start in the right place?

Lesson Two:

  • Deep POV
  • Dialogue tags
  • Be the dude
  • Altering time for emotional power
  • Whose scene is it, anyway?

Lesson Three:

  • Backstory done right
  • Make your words do double-duty
  • Where to insert backstory

Lesson Four:

  • Trust your reader
    • Say it once, say it well
    • Tell us what we don’t know
    • Telling then showing
  • All the rest
    • Adverbs
    • Write tight
    • Write fresh
    • Cadence
    • Cliches
    • Description shortcuts

Every lesson comes with reference material; great blogs and articles explaining salient points.

Every lesson has Homework. We'll be posting our beginnings, giving, receiving feedback, and revising.

Teacher

Laura Drake Headshot

Laura Drake is a New York and self-published published author of Women's Fiction and Romance.

Her romance series, Sweet on a Cowboy, is set in the world of professional bull riding.  Her debut, The Sweet Spot, was a double-finalist, then won the 2014 Romance Writers of America® RITA® award. She’s since published 11 more books and is under contract for two more. She is a founding member of Women’s Fiction Writers Assn, Writers in the Storm blog, as well as a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.

Laura is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She's a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.

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Writers in the Storm

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Reviews

Every tidbid is delicious!

Rated 5 out of 5
August 15, 2021

I love reading Laura's writing. Having her as an instructor is a warm chocolate chip cookie. Yummy and you definitely need to lick your fingers. Have I overdone it? Seriously this is a great class, especially if you don't have the time for a longer one. You'll get a ton of extra information to go through again and again. And the feedback is, well, priceless. Thanks, Laura.

Avatar for Jax Bubis
Jax Bubis

Take Laura's Flash Class Too!

Rated 5 out of 5
July 15, 2021

I've taken both the Advanced Craft and Flash Fiction classes from Laura and learned so much. By the end of the Flash course, I had a brand new story ready for submission, and she helped me polish two more pieces I had been struggling with. All it took was Laura's insight and deft instruction.

Avatar for Debbie Willette
Debbie Willette

Practical insights

Rated 5 out of 5
January 18, 2021

Laura's lessons broke the instruction down in manageable 'bites' that were easy to digest and easy to apply to my own WIP. So grateful this course came along when it did. She made it easy to take the elements of each lesson and look at my own words with new eyes. Her encouragement and the interaction with the other participants was the encouragement I needed. Am looking forward to taking another course with her.

Avatar for Beverly Turner
Beverly Turner

What a great first LWA class

Rated 5 out of 5
July 31, 2020

Laura waded among us as we honed our first sentences, our POVs, our pacing, moving in and out of backstory (if it's needed), tight writing and more. I'm grateful for her teaching, her edits and for the affirmations and critiques from other participants. A great community and so much encouragement offered.

Avatar for Lisa Bodenheim
Lisa Bodenheim

Laura Drake's Advanced Craft class was what I needed when I needed it.

Rated 5 out of 5
July 30, 2020

Laura is an engaging instructor, insightful, and knowledgeable. She's accessible and interacts daily with participants. Feedback from Laura was invaluable for making my writing stronger and feedback to and from classmates was equally valuable. Without a doubt, I will take more of Laura Drake's classes.

Avatar for Annee Brizo
Annee Brizo

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