The Mini Workshops
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| Mini Workshops are 1-week in length and are offered through Savvy Authors A brief outline of topics and what is covered is given below. |
GROWING MORE WORDS: ADDING UP TO 5,000 WORDS TO YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO MEET PUBLISHER GUIDELINES
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
You know your market, you’ve written your story, avoided the worst case scenarios of writer’s block or smite them with your pen (far
mightier than the sword) but now you have yet another problem.
Your tale falls short of the required minimum word count the publisher wishes. And this can really happen if your first choice publisher’s
guideline was met but they passed on the project. The next publisher – or even the one after that – has an entirely different word count
minimum and it’s higher than what you’ve currently got.
Does that mean you need to junk the idea of ever finding a home for this story? NO! It means you simply have to grow a few
words…well, maybe more than just a few, but in the grand scheme of things, it really is just a few.
So how do you do it? Funny you should ask.
In a mini-workshop lasting a spare week, you can find ways to beef up your word count without bogging down your manuscript. Trust
me on this. I’ve had to do it myself a couple times. Particularly when a publisher changed their guidelines while I was diligently writing to
the old ones.
WITH MACHET IN HAND: HOW TO CUT UP TO 5,000 WORDS FROM YOUR MANUSCRIPT
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
Ever reach the end of your story and find that rather than stay within the word length the publisher’s guideline specified, you’ve gone
over it? WAY OVER IT?
It’s happened to me and more than once. I’ll have been keeping track of things all along the way and then the inspiration – or the
downhill run, if you prefer – to the finish gets me in its grip and I shoosh past the maximum number of words and off the course entirely.
Well, as far as word count goes. The story now has all the details, the intricate nuances I would like and reads like a dream…but a
dream that has inched into nightmare status if I want a sale.
And let’s face it – we want a sale. If the story was told for our own benefit, we wouldn’t have bothered with correcting the spelling, the
grammar, or perhaps even with typing the thing in the first place. We would have stared into space and let it unfold in our minds.
But we wrote it all down to share the enjoyment of all those nuances and to make something on it. So rather than trust to Fate, a
quixotic creature at best, and hope that a publisher is willing to put another chunk of paper into the bound book and a reader is willing
to pay for that extra chunk of paper at the bookseller’s, we have to fix things.
This is a mini-workshop – one week long (though it could be stretched to two weeks to give attendees more time to trim their
manuscripts) – in which ways to trim, blend, reword, and hack, hack, hack at the manuscript to bring it back in line with the specified
word count those publishers’ guidelines demand will be reviewed and attempted.
Participants would ideally have a completed manuscript that they are in the progress of editing, not just for word count but possibly for
clarity or buffing up the finished project to a nice shine. It’s all right to have fewer than 5,000 words that have to be trimmed. You can
even have more than that. The whole idea is discovering ways to hone your prose so that no word is wasted but worked to full capacity
and efficiently.
FROM FARTHINGALES TO FLAPPERS: WHAT’S IN YOUR HISTORICAL HEROINE’S WARDROBE?
A 7-Day Mini Workshop in Historical Research Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
With the focus on the correct apparel for a historical heroine of any period from the 16th century to the early 20th century, this week
long mini-workshop goes on a shopping trip, decking characters out in era specific clothing.
During the week there will be four lectures focusing on where to find information on hats, day dresses, ball gowns, undergarments,
shoes, boots, outerwear, plus perfumes, cosmetics, hairstyles (and wigs)…everything a heroine might don during her adventures
whether she be a Cinderella yet by the hearth or a Modern dancing the night away in a Twenties Speakeasy.
There will also be lists of sources supplied and searches urged in three Challenges (Assignments). Participants would be new writers or
writers in need of detail for time traveling characters or those considering a genre jump into the historical field.
SABRES TO WINCHESTERS: ARMING YOUR HISTORICAL HERO
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
Where making sure your heroine is wearing the appropriate gown and undergarments is an important element of a historical novel,
insuring that your hero has the equipment he needs to best the bad guys is equally important.
Therefore, this mini workshop will take participants from the dashing era of sword wielding men to the range wars of the late 19th
century. It will also cover military uniforms from private to colonel (because everyone knows the general is the heroine’s father!), the kit
worn by explorers, adventurers, mountain men, dandies, dukes, and other dashing types of gentlemen…or not so gentle men.
The week will consist of four lectures and three Challenges (Assignments) for participants. And participants can be beginning level
writers through novelists looking to expand into time travel or the historical genre. Lists of research sites and materials will be supplied.
TICKETS TO RIDE…BACK IN TIME: BASIC HISTORICAL RESEARCH FOR NOVELISTS
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
If you’ve been considering writing an historical novel but are worried that the research may kill you, fear not. We’re here to give you the
itinerary to get you started on your trip back in time.
In this mini workshop we’ll talk about choosing a time period and what you’ll need to know before you begin writing and what you’ll need
to know somewhere during the writing of your novel.
We’ll give you a nudge in the right direction with some lists of sources to check out and a list of questions to help guide you when it
comes to all the fascinating paths historical research can lead you down…and away from your focus. In one week, you’ll get bread
crumbs to follow for this will be just the start of your adventure.
Participants can be beginning novelists to more experienced writers looking for backstory, time travel elements, or tempted to get their
feet wet in a genre jump into historical fiction. The workshop consists of four lectures, two Challenges (Assignments) and one day of
Q&A.
TWISTING HISTORY: WRITING THE ALTERNATIVE HISTORICAL NOVEL
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
Whether your goal is to write in the Fantasy genre or spin a Steampunk tale, if you are setting your tale in Earth’s historical past
chances are you’ll be warping it to your own needs. In other words, you’ll be writing an alternative historical novel.
These are storylines where William the Conqueror dies at Hastings rather than Harold, so the Saxon line continues and the Normans
lose big; where the American Colonies are French rather than British, or the local tribes win the day; where Hitler never rises, Napoleon
becomes a farmer in Sicily and in France they eat cake; where the asteroid misses Earth and the dinosaurs never die out. They are
tales where reality and legend blend together or theories, machines and marvels from the future become everyday elements a century
or two before they actually did.
Storylines where “WHAT IF” gets milked for all it’s worth and imaginations are urged to run rampant!
But which “what if” questions should get asked first, or last, or asked at all? That’s what this mini workshop looks at and explores.
The only requirement is that participants be willing to share, imagine, and go beyond what they’ve ever envisioned before. There will be
three lectures, three Challenges (Assignments) and a Q&A session to end the week.
WHAT’D HE SAY? CANT AND HISTORICAL SLANG FOR BEGINNERS
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
In an age where much of daily conversation is couched in slang and sound bites and advertising slogans, it may appear odd that in the
past these would have been considered vulgar language and much frowned upon.
But there is nothing that gives the flavor of an era better than a few dropped bits of cant or period slang in a historical novel. However,
doing the same with words we now consider archaic or “big” does the same thing.
This mini workshop looks at ways to carefully drop in just enough to flavor your historical story without leaving your reader clueless
about what is being said.
The emphasis will be on British and American slang of the late 18th century through the Roaring Twenties. The trick for the writer eager
to commune with a voice from the past is to pick and choose what to use and to have a good reason for using the chosen words or
phrases.
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
You know your market, you’ve written your story, avoided the worst case scenarios of writer’s block or smite them with your pen (far
mightier than the sword) but now you have yet another problem.
Your tale falls short of the required minimum word count the publisher wishes. And this can really happen if your first choice publisher’s
guideline was met but they passed on the project. The next publisher – or even the one after that – has an entirely different word count
minimum and it’s higher than what you’ve currently got.
Does that mean you need to junk the idea of ever finding a home for this story? NO! It means you simply have to grow a few
words…well, maybe more than just a few, but in the grand scheme of things, it really is just a few.
So how do you do it? Funny you should ask.
In a mini-workshop lasting a spare week, you can find ways to beef up your word count without bogging down your manuscript. Trust
me on this. I’ve had to do it myself a couple times. Particularly when a publisher changed their guidelines while I was diligently writing to
the old ones.
WITH MACHET IN HAND: HOW TO CUT UP TO 5,000 WORDS FROM YOUR MANUSCRIPT
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
Ever reach the end of your story and find that rather than stay within the word length the publisher’s guideline specified, you’ve gone
over it? WAY OVER IT?
It’s happened to me and more than once. I’ll have been keeping track of things all along the way and then the inspiration – or the
downhill run, if you prefer – to the finish gets me in its grip and I shoosh past the maximum number of words and off the course entirely.
Well, as far as word count goes. The story now has all the details, the intricate nuances I would like and reads like a dream…but a
dream that has inched into nightmare status if I want a sale.
And let’s face it – we want a sale. If the story was told for our own benefit, we wouldn’t have bothered with correcting the spelling, the
grammar, or perhaps even with typing the thing in the first place. We would have stared into space and let it unfold in our minds.
But we wrote it all down to share the enjoyment of all those nuances and to make something on it. So rather than trust to Fate, a
quixotic creature at best, and hope that a publisher is willing to put another chunk of paper into the bound book and a reader is willing
to pay for that extra chunk of paper at the bookseller’s, we have to fix things.
This is a mini-workshop – one week long (though it could be stretched to two weeks to give attendees more time to trim their
manuscripts) – in which ways to trim, blend, reword, and hack, hack, hack at the manuscript to bring it back in line with the specified
word count those publishers’ guidelines demand will be reviewed and attempted.
Participants would ideally have a completed manuscript that they are in the progress of editing, not just for word count but possibly for
clarity or buffing up the finished project to a nice shine. It’s all right to have fewer than 5,000 words that have to be trimmed. You can
even have more than that. The whole idea is discovering ways to hone your prose so that no word is wasted but worked to full capacity
and efficiently.
FROM FARTHINGALES TO FLAPPERS: WHAT’S IN YOUR HISTORICAL HEROINE’S WARDROBE?
A 7-Day Mini Workshop in Historical Research Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
With the focus on the correct apparel for a historical heroine of any period from the 16th century to the early 20th century, this week
long mini-workshop goes on a shopping trip, decking characters out in era specific clothing.
During the week there will be four lectures focusing on where to find information on hats, day dresses, ball gowns, undergarments,
shoes, boots, outerwear, plus perfumes, cosmetics, hairstyles (and wigs)…everything a heroine might don during her adventures
whether she be a Cinderella yet by the hearth or a Modern dancing the night away in a Twenties Speakeasy.
There will also be lists of sources supplied and searches urged in three Challenges (Assignments). Participants would be new writers or
writers in need of detail for time traveling characters or those considering a genre jump into the historical field.
SABRES TO WINCHESTERS: ARMING YOUR HISTORICAL HERO
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
Where making sure your heroine is wearing the appropriate gown and undergarments is an important element of a historical novel,
insuring that your hero has the equipment he needs to best the bad guys is equally important.
Therefore, this mini workshop will take participants from the dashing era of sword wielding men to the range wars of the late 19th
century. It will also cover military uniforms from private to colonel (because everyone knows the general is the heroine’s father!), the kit
worn by explorers, adventurers, mountain men, dandies, dukes, and other dashing types of gentlemen…or not so gentle men.
The week will consist of four lectures and three Challenges (Assignments) for participants. And participants can be beginning level
writers through novelists looking to expand into time travel or the historical genre. Lists of research sites and materials will be supplied.
TICKETS TO RIDE…BACK IN TIME: BASIC HISTORICAL RESEARCH FOR NOVELISTS
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
If you’ve been considering writing an historical novel but are worried that the research may kill you, fear not. We’re here to give you the
itinerary to get you started on your trip back in time.
In this mini workshop we’ll talk about choosing a time period and what you’ll need to know before you begin writing and what you’ll need
to know somewhere during the writing of your novel.
We’ll give you a nudge in the right direction with some lists of sources to check out and a list of questions to help guide you when it
comes to all the fascinating paths historical research can lead you down…and away from your focus. In one week, you’ll get bread
crumbs to follow for this will be just the start of your adventure.
Participants can be beginning novelists to more experienced writers looking for backstory, time travel elements, or tempted to get their
feet wet in a genre jump into historical fiction. The workshop consists of four lectures, two Challenges (Assignments) and one day of
Q&A.
TWISTING HISTORY: WRITING THE ALTERNATIVE HISTORICAL NOVEL
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
Whether your goal is to write in the Fantasy genre or spin a Steampunk tale, if you are setting your tale in Earth’s historical past
chances are you’ll be warping it to your own needs. In other words, you’ll be writing an alternative historical novel.
These are storylines where William the Conqueror dies at Hastings rather than Harold, so the Saxon line continues and the Normans
lose big; where the American Colonies are French rather than British, or the local tribes win the day; where Hitler never rises, Napoleon
becomes a farmer in Sicily and in France they eat cake; where the asteroid misses Earth and the dinosaurs never die out. They are
tales where reality and legend blend together or theories, machines and marvels from the future become everyday elements a century
or two before they actually did.
Storylines where “WHAT IF” gets milked for all it’s worth and imaginations are urged to run rampant!
But which “what if” questions should get asked first, or last, or asked at all? That’s what this mini workshop looks at and explores.
The only requirement is that participants be willing to share, imagine, and go beyond what they’ve ever envisioned before. There will be
three lectures, three Challenges (Assignments) and a Q&A session to end the week.
WHAT’D HE SAY? CANT AND HISTORICAL SLANG FOR BEGINNERS
A 7-Day Mini Workshop Presenter: Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson
In an age where much of daily conversation is couched in slang and sound bites and advertising slogans, it may appear odd that in the
past these would have been considered vulgar language and much frowned upon.
But there is nothing that gives the flavor of an era better than a few dropped bits of cant or period slang in a historical novel. However,
doing the same with words we now consider archaic or “big” does the same thing.
This mini workshop looks at ways to carefully drop in just enough to flavor your historical story without leaving your reader clueless
about what is being said.
The emphasis will be on British and American slang of the late 18th century through the Roaring Twenties. The trick for the writer eager
to commune with a voice from the past is to pick and choose what to use and to have a good reason for using the chosen words or
phrases.
| For Dates and Registration visit |
| 2010 DATES October 4th: WHAT'D HE SAY? CANT AND HISTORICAL SLANG FOR BEGINNERS November 8th: TWISTING HISTORY WRITING THE ALTERNATIVE HISTORICAL NOVEL |