Free Lessons
The lessons below are my version of short story "boot camp," dealing with the essential elements for telling a good story. All any writing instructor can do is say, “this is what I've done, and it worked for me. Feel free to try it.” I approach all of my teaching this way, with a big up-front disclaimer and encouragement to try anything – anything and everything – as a workable alternative if what I've done doesn't work for you. Writing isn't mathematics; there isn't a system. If it works, use it. If it doesn't, try something else. The important thing to remember is that no method, however outrageous, is wrong. If it works (and doesn't involve hurting others), it isn't wrong. My learning experience has been largely experimental, as is the case with many of us. Trial and error. In each lesson I present different methods of approaching different aspects of the topic. Each represents something I've tried and either used or rejected. Just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean you'll have the same result; I'll throw them all out there in case one of them is something you hadn't thought of yet. Mix and match elements from different methods as you see fit. My teaching example is a story I wrote specifically for these lessons called "Lightning Rod." I'm using my own work because it contains examples of many writing techniques, and I know intimately and exactly how I used them. If I were teaching construction, I wouldn't walk into a house someone else had built and try to show you how they built it. I might get some things right, but I'd get more things wrong. Browse through these lessons in any order. You'll likely find them more helpful (with the exception of the first character lesson) if you read the story first, but feel free to dive right in if you prefer. You're not going to hurt my feelings.
Click here to read the short story "Lightning Rod" Click on the lesson title below to view it. Dialogue
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