WJ151 Novels in Progress: An Advanced Workshop (Cancelled)

This workshop is designed for writers who are well into a novel-in-progress, but want to work on problem passages, or develop a better feeling for how to shape and finish the overall project. Over three 2-hour sessions, Tim will use the participants’ own work to explore and discuss such topics as: - Finding and developing your story - Theme versus plot - Turning facts into fiction - Choosing and developing characters - What is voice and how to use it - How much history to tell in historical fiction - Writing dialogue - Settings: how they contribute to stories - Researching a story. A final hour will be spent on practical advice on the business aspects of writing. Hiring a publicist, tricks for using social media effectively, other promotional tools. Participants must submit a 10-page excerpt (double spaced in 12 point Times Roman font in pdf or docx format) which will be shared with the class. Excerpts may be from any part of the novel-in-progress. 

This course will be held online only due to changes in current governmental guidelines for in person events. Details on joining the course via Zoom will be emailed to you before the start of the class. If you would like to test out your internet connection from a computer device before the start of the class you can click on the computer icon above or here.

About the Instructor: Timothy Jay Smith developed a ceaseless wanderlust that has taken him around the world many times. En route he’s found the characters that people his work. He brings the same energy to his writing that he brought to a distinguished career, and as a result, has won top honors for his works in numerous competitions. Fire on the Island won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition, and his screenplay adaptation was named Best Indie Script by WriteMovies. The Fourth Courier, published in 2019 by Arcade Publishing, has received glowing reviews. Previously, he won the Paris Prize for Fiction for his novel, A Vision of Angels. Kirkus Reviews called Cooper’s Promise “literary dynamite” and selected it as a Best Book of 2012. In addition, Tim was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and his play, How High the Moon, won the Stanley Drama Award. More information about Tim can be found at www.timothyjaysmith.com. (Timothy will be donating his workshop fee to the National New Play Network, which encourages emerging playwrights to tackle socially relevant issues.)