Want to write a novel but you’re not sure where to start? Maybe you’ve started a few but they’ve run out of juice 20, 50, or even 100 pages in and you’re not sure what went wrong?
This workshop will guide you through the messy process of creating a novel. You’ll build a solid foundation for your novel, with exercises and readings to help you explore characters and place, understand story structure and plot, and point of view and voice. Novel Beginnings is especially helpful if you’ve had different classes on plot, character, and setting in the past, but are not sure how to put them all together in a longer, cohesive story. Beyond the technical elements of the novel, you’ll also explore tips and tools for your writing life.
  • Week 1: Finding Your Character
  • Week 2: The Heart of the Story
  • Week 3: Structure, Narrative Arcs, and Charter Development; Plotting ACT I
  • Week 4: The Long Middle: Plotting ACT II
  • Week 5: Knock-out Endings: Plotting ACT III
(And if flashbacks to those 9th grade English papers that required formal outlines make your skin crawl, not to worry! The deep dive into story structure and plot will give you a flexible and inspiring method of plotting and outline that works whether you’re a plotter or a pantser.)
The workshop will include: weekly readings, in-class and out-of-class writing, and group workshop and discussion in a supportive and inspiring environment. Everyone will read the same novel over the course of the workshop to use for analysis and craft discussion.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
5 Mondays: July 30; Aug 6, 13, 20, 27
6:00-9:00 pm
Wordcrafters Workshop, 438 Charnelton, Suite 102, Eugene

Cost: $199
Wordcrafters Registration

 

About the Instructor
Daryll Lynne EvansDaryll Lynne Evans began her writing career as a playwright with the Performing Arts Conservatory in Colorado, where she also taught theatre and play writing to youth. She has an MFA in fiction from Purdue University, where she taught creative writing and worked with Sycamore Review. She has presented writing workshops as part of the Loose Leaf Writing Series in Lafayette, Indiana, and for the Mid-Valley chapter of Willamette Writers in Eugene, and had been a presenter at Wordcrafters, Willamette Writers, and South Coast Writers conferences.