Starting July 5, I’m teaching a workshop on beginnings at Savvy Authors. I have a loose outline of topics I discuss, but the real advantage to the couse is that you will get a chance to post the first chapter or two (depending upon size) of your novels and receive specific feedback from me and your peers.
One of the difficulties with giving general advice is that there really isn’t any such thing as a general audience. You can tell people to eat a low-fat diet, but if you end up reaching a diet-obsessed person looking for more ways to lose weight he or she doesn’t need to lose, they’re going to get the wrong message.
Likewise, I can tell people to watch out for info dumps, but I might reach someone so scared of info dumps that she forgets to provide any real information. If I tell people to be concise with their word choices, someone who writes skeletal stories will hear and misunderstand. If I encourage description, a long-winded person might get even more out of breath.
But if you participate in a workshop, I’ll read what you write and respond directly to your style, helping you recognize who you are as a writer, while you decide who you want to be.
If you can’t make it in July, I will also be teaching a World Building workshop in January, Beginnings again in April 2012, and a couple more workshops in the fall of 2012. I say a lot of the same things in both workshops, coming from different angles, but the most important thing I try to do is pay attention to who you are, and help you reach for the next level.
Hope to see you in a class!