2015 Willamette Writers Conference

Participants must have a completed novel-length manuscript that they are willing print out, bring to the class, and analyze for its overall structure on a scene by scene basis. More and more, agents and publishers are looking, not for a diamond in the rough, but a fully formed story that will need minimal editing to bring it to market. Give your manuscript an edge against the competition by exploring the deeper structure of your full draft and considering the range of options that will make your plot memorable and your conflicts so deep and rich they will command the attention of agents and editors. Participants will come away with 1) An understanding of what makes a scene work in the context of their book. 2) A method for laying out scenes for book length fiction 3) Several strategies for analyzing the plot arc, character development, theme development, and emotional strength of their story 4) A file folder with the first 10 scenes of their novel laid out in post-its ready for further revision This workshop is designed to feed into the following proposal for a workshop though the two can be taken separately