Blog No. 319
It is technically (or more accurately, literally) a new year right now. 2019 is happening, but if you’ve paid any attention, you’ll know my end of the year is the closest post to January 10th, so I’m not quite there yet. That’s a good thing, though. That means that I get to spend this post talking about the Workshop happening on January 19th at Gertrude’s Writing Room. I may also say a little something about how Neon Heart is coming, but really, the only update I have is that I’ve managed to finish the second draft. It was a bit cleaner on the front end then expected (which is terrifying) but the back half was a trash-fire-mess, so I think I had used up all my good writing in the beginning. Third draft will be starting soon, but I’m talking about workshops, here!
The title for the workshop is Monsters, Aliens, Short Stories, & Friends. If that doesn’t tell you what it’s about, I’ll tell you now. Vanessa Shields, the founder of Gertrude’s herself, invited us to do the workshop and suggested our relationship as the focus. Going over what Christian and I do, have learned, and what people often ask us about, we decided to do teach people about our individual preferred genres (and how to write in said genres), how to write short fiction (since that’s where the bulk of our books lie, and about our relationship (or teamwork) as writers who work together a lot. It’s a bit of a sticking point with folks, explaining that we don’t actually write together. I can see where the confusion comes from. We have two books together, we do most events together, we tend to write at the same time in the same place, and we alpha and beta read each others stories constantly. It’s a little difficult to separate each other from our writing since we give suggestions, reviews, opinions (requested or not) and edits on each others work.
Since we’ve been working on our own projects over the last couple of years, we’ve been able to better develop our individual styles, but there is a trace of us in the other’s writing, It’s been a very beneficial relationship for the most part. We have butted heads plenty of times, but thankfully we both seem to be the type of people who let things go and don’t worry about the petty details. The largest part of the workshop is going to be about what we do together and how we manage it. The rest is going to be broken up into sections involving the genre fiction and short stories. We’re going to give a crash course on how to write horror and science fiction. We’ll talk about differentiates them from each other and other fiction and what the key elements are. We’ll also get into how to write a short story (with those genres in mind), how short stories can help your writing, and we’ll even get into a little practical exercise.
There is a lot to cover, but it’s a whole three hour workshop. Honestly, the length initially seemed intimidating, but when Christian and I broke down what we wanted to cover, we had to cut things out. With 20 – 30 minutes spent on the practical writing exercises, we may have to trim some stuff. There is still work to be done for it, but the biggest hurdle was getting all our topics figured out and extrapolated. Most of what we have left to do is figure out who’s going to talk about what (so we aren’t constantly interrupting each other) and gathering some materials both physical and information (like quotes and references and such). Rest assured, it’s going to be a lot for three hours. We may have to do another one later in the year to make sure we cover everything we’d like.
If you’d like to attend, you have to register over at Gertrude’s Writing Room. There is a facebook event page, but that won’t get you a spot in the class. I believe there are a maximum of ten spots at $50 each. It’s on January 19th from 1 – 4pm at Gertrude’s Writing Room on 628 Monmouth. You’ll get a notebook, pen, and it includes snacks and beverages. As a bonus, Christian and I will have a gift for everyone who attends the class as well. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but if you think about what it could be, you’ll figure it out. Workshops for the Uninitiated
Ben Van Dongen 