Happy Friday!
I’ve had a fascinating week refining my manuscript. I’m down to the small stuff, word repetitions (I love the word “suddenly” and use it as often as possible. LOL), and condensing sentences. The manuscript is over 90,000 words so to distract myself, I’m giving an interview next Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at noon EST/9:00 am PST.
CELTX is hosting, and this is where you can register:
https://go.celtx.com/write-to-the-core-registration
Registration is free, and three hundred writers have signed up so far!
Here’s what my sponsor, Dara Squires has to say about the Word of the Day process:
“As a writer myself, I found working through the practice inspirational for finishing that darn book of poetry that’s currently an albatross around my neck.”
Then, at 7:00 pm EST that evening, I’ll be giving a new webinar:
Word of the Day 2: Use Voice to Mesmerize Your Readers
In the last webinar, we reviewed the powerful techniques that easily connect us to that inner mental place where we can be free and create without restraint. Originality is the key to greatness but takes a lot of work. To be able to access this creative space on a daily basis is what the Word of the Day techniques make possible.
But creativity isn’t enough to succeed, especially in dramatic writing. What’s also needed is the writer’s craft. There are many tools to be learned, but the first one is how to develop a “voice” for your screenplay or TV script as well as the individual characters. In fiction, we have access to several vantage points to write our story from, and a choice of narrator, but dramatic writing is more limited because of the format.
Join me on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, from 7:00-8:30 pm EST for a stimulating conversation about writing better scripts by finding your “voice.” I’ll also reveal an exciting new series of webinars that I will be giving with my colleague, Elizabeth Wiseman.
The “exciting new series” will be a bi-weekly webinar on Wednesdays starting February 11, 2022 at 7:00-8:30 EST with Liz called the Writer’s Room. This group is for writers who want to keep their momentum going with the input and energy from the other attendees by using the WOTD techniques on actual stories.
Bring problems instead of pages. If you’re feeling blocked and don’t have pages to read then bring those problems instead. Whatever is hindering your progress, your fellow writers can help you work through it by collectively clustering the piece and breaking the problem scene or chapter wide open. This also presents the opportunity for refresher notes on any concepts you’re struggling with like theme or voice, that you might not have even realized was a problem.
Having a deadline to present is the ultimate motivator for writers. So join us on February 11th to get started. This workshop will meet on alternate Wednesdays from 7-8:30 pm.
Lastly, I’ve been doing research for another project and thought all of us writers would profit from reading how Melville nailed his story. Enjoy!
The True-Life Horror That Inspired Moby Dick
Here’s to your successful writing,
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
