ONLINE CLASS WITH FLB (not associated with any school or university) 10 weeks starting 2/2/15 - 4/6/14 Suggested Reading: WIRED FOR STORY by Lisa Cron TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee I often throw around the statement “Writing saved my life.” But what does this really mean? Below, I’ll be talking about one very specific way that writing saved me, and how important it is to all humans. When I was a little girl I used to walk in circles around my backyard, twirling my curls around one finger and sucking my lip and, most importantly, telling myself stories. When I made a “mistake” I forced myself to start over from the beginning. Obsessive Compulsive or Aspiring Writer? You be the judge. Jokes aside, later I realized that this activity served a very specific purpose for me as a child—it alleviated my anxiety. But why? In WIRED FOR STORY, Lisa Cron argues that story was crucial to our evolution, providing templates for survival in a dangerous world. “Story is what enabled us to imagine what might happen in the future, and so prepare for it.” So by telling myself stories as a child I was “preparing” myself for my future. I was helping myself “survive.” But I wasn’t content just telling myself these stories. I wanted to become a writer and share my stories with others so I would feel less isolated and alone. But how can we “seduce” others to care about our stories? We need to write stories that guide them in their own lives, that teach them how to “survive” too. Cron says: “Recent breakthroughs in neuroscience reveal that our brain is hardwired to respond to story; the pleasure we derive from a tale well told is nature’s way of seducing us into paying attention to it.” “Nature’s way of seducing us.” What does this mean? You know that high you get from reading a great book that makes you want to turn the pages, keeps you up at night, makes you jittery all day to get back to the story? Lisa Cron links this to dopamine released by the brain as an evolutionary development to engage us with the story so we will learn something we need in order to survive. Not just any story can make the brain respond this way. What’s key here is a “tale well told.” But what does that really mean? What elements of story must be present in order to fully engage the reader so they receive the dopamine rush that keeps them reading? In this course, we’ll be looking at the twelve questions I use to outline my novels, and applying the ideas from WIRED FOR STORY to them to see if these questions serve an evolutionary (survival) purpose. Week 1: 2/2 What is the main character’s gift? What is the character’s flaw? Week 2: 2/9 What does the character want? What does the character need? Week 3: 2/16 What is the character arc? Week 4: 2/23 Who is the antagonist? Week 5: 3/2 How does setting help define or contrast with the story problem? Week 6: 3/9 What style of writing will you use to tell the story? How is the character reflected in the style and through the POV? How is the story problem reflected? Week 7: 3/16 What is the biggest crisis of the book? (Dark night of the soul). Week 8: 3/23 How does the climax demonstrate a push toward the resolution of the character arc? Week 9: 3/30 : What is the resolution? Week 10: 4/6 What is the theme? Can you state it as a cause/effect sentence? If...then... Can you state theme in terms of character arc (and survival?)? You will receive emails from me on these topics and you will email the group with your responses. You may turn in a maximum of 5 double spaced 12 pt font pages per week. We will not meet at any specific time but will respond to emails within the week time frame. Responses are through Track Changes in Word. The cost for the class is $500, which is $50 per week. You can pay me via paypal up until one week before. Ill send you a link. You must put down $100 to hold a spot. This is non refundable. I think you will see miraculous results with your manuscript, If you havent started writing one, I know you will be able to conceptualize a book in this time. The results of these classes have been amazing. Check out francescaliablock/teaching for testimonials. francescaliablock/teaching I may offer one or two discounted scholarships. Any questions? xoxo flb Elise Bonza Geither Cristina Rodriguez-Russell Michael Angelo Torres Elle Nash Eryn Brothers Laura Morgan Jennifer Crowder Lennon Marisa Sd Cécile Poulain Stephanie Valente Rebecca Kathryn Justina Aura Melanie Terrill Renae Chaves Cheyenne Tyler Loganson Mira Gutoff Britt Whitman Beth Navarro Brodie Foster Hubbard Mccabe Russell Justin Tomlinson Simone Wallace Anne Leon Deb Nielsen Ice-Thornton Lily Hoshi Jess Mullen Carolyn Elizabeth Kaisha Howell El Cecelia Meg Nm Francie Klopotic https://facebook/batlily?fref=ufi
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 20:33:47 +0000
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