Many people know the Clarion West Writers Workshop as the world-class summer boot camp for emerging writers of speculative fiction. We are now accepting applications for the 2012 workshop, with an absolutely spectacular lineup of instructors: Mary Rosenblum, Hiromi Goto, George R.R. Martin, Connie Willis, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant, and Chuck Palahniuk. The deadline is March 1. Scholarship assistance is available — we strive to help as many students as we can, so don’t let cost prevent you from applying. Don’t miss this chance to study with some of SF’s greatest writers!
And don’t miss the chance to attend one of our one-day workshops, held monthly (except for the Summer Workshop period) in Seattle. An equally stellar lineup of writers will teach full-day sessions on a focused topic. We’ve had terrific feedback on these classes — they are a great opportunity to learn in an intimate, supportive setting without breaking the bank, and will give you skills you can begin applying immediately to your work.
Here’s the winter schedule:
January 15 – Louse Marley
Avoiding Rejection
Agents often only read the first ten pages of a novel before deciding if they want you as a client. Slush readers for magazines decide within a few paragraphs whether your short story is right for them. We’ll practice techniques to make your manuscript grab the attention of an agent or editor from the first paragraph on. Students will provide a one-page sample of their writing for the instructor.
Louise Marley is the author of fourteen novels of historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Her most recent novel, Mozart’s Blood, draws on her personal experience as an opera singer as well as her historical research.
There is still some space available in this workshop, but you must register by January 8! Get your writing year off to a great start by learning more ways to engage your reader from the first paragraph!
February 5 – Richard Paul Russo
Bringing the World to Life (Without Killing the Story!)
How do you provide enough information about the physical, social, political, and other aspects of the story’s environment to fully engage your readers without distracting from or slowing down the story? Accomplishing this is one of a writer’s biggest challenges. Through discussion and written exercises, we’ll explore different approaches to scene-setting and description that bring the world of the story richly to life without losing the readers’ interest or engagement. Students are encouraged to bring story or novel scene ideas to use as starting points for the exercises.
Richard Paul Russo is the author eight novels and numerous short stories. He is a two-time winner of the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award, most recently for his novel Ship of Fools, which was also a New York Times Notable Book.
March 4 – Kat Richardson
Creating your Urban Fantasy World
This special-focus workshop will help you learn how to choose, establish, and write a setting (real, alternate, historical, or allegorical) appropriate for Urban Fantasy. You’ll learn how to block out and write action that utilizes whatever magic, occult, or paranormal system you’re establishing, and how to develop and write characters for Urban Fantasy by integrating their power(s) and skills–or lack of them–with their setting and interactions.
Kat Richardson is the bestselling author of the Greywalker paranormal detective novels. A keen fan of hardboiled fiction, Kat models her stories on the work of iconic detective writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, with added dashes of whimsy and horror, and the occasional ferret.
Registration is open now for these workshops, and will open soon for the April/May sessions (stay tuned for Exciting Announcements about those sessions coming soon!).
Enjoy your day.