Fiction Writing Workshops

I'm teaching in north eastern Greece in September - would you like to join us?

The workshop is in Kairos Gardens, Eleftheres, Greece from 4th to 11th September 2010. The nearest big airport is Thessaloniki (SKG) which is about 2 hours away, and there's a smaller airport at Kavala (KVA) which is about 40 minutes away.

Included in the workshop is all accomodation, and breakfast and dinner (as well, of course, as the tuition, of which there are more details below). Not included: travel to and from the workshop, lunch, drinks with dinner or at other times.

Classes run for 3.5 hours each morning for six mornings. Afternoons are free to write, swim or otherwise just relax. Also included in the price is an hour or two individually with me to discuss your writing issues (you can bring a sample of your work if you like, for me to look at and discuss with you.)

Cost €850.00

To find out more about the accomodation, click here. Contact me to book a place (places are limited to only 8 people to ensure individual attention).

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Details of the Workshops

I will be covering all you need to know about fiction writing (both short stories and novels. This course is NOT for screenwriters as I have no experience in that discipline). You'll learn about:

	CREATIVITY - We'll be doing creativity exercises and techniques to give you the tools to create on demand.
	PLOTS - what they are, how to get an infinite supply of good ones, and how to structure them.
	SCENES - How to construct them properly - it's essential to get this right.
	CHARACTERS – how to create interesting, compelling and above all, REAL characters who will intrigue and attract your readers. How psychological studies are writers’ best friends, and how to use your own real life experiences to create your characters. The importance of the character arc in writing.
	DIALOGUE – How to write dialogue that sounds natural, but isn’t (because it can’t be). How to use dialogue tags effectively. Should you use accents or not? How to show tone and emotion through dialogue. How to create drama and tension through dialogue.
	DESCRIPTION – how to use detail to paint that picture in your reader’s mind. How to invoke the five senses and colour to enhance your description. Also: adjectives and adverbs – when and how to use.
	SHOW-DON'T-TELL ‘Showing’ is usually the worst sin a writer can commit – how to avoid it when you should, and when it’s actually okay to use it.
	FORESHADOWING – how to use it to keep your reader hooked, and how to use it to fool your readers.
	SACRED CONTRACT – you have one with your readers whether you know it or not – how to set the terms of it, and why you absolutely MUST keep to it. What’s the Deus ex Machina, and why should you never, ever, use it.
	WRITER'S BLOCK – What causes it (hint – it’s actually your subconscious trying to help you!), and how to cure it. I will be introducing EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) – the most powerful and simple way of erasing writer’s block. To the best of our knowledge, nobody else in the whole world is using EFT for writers – this is your unique chance to get the power of this tool to turbo-charge your writing.
	POINT OF VIEW - or, Who’s telling the story? It’s essential to get this right, but many writers don’t. I will clearly and easily guide you through this maze so you’ll always be clear (and therefore so will your readers, which is the important thing) about who’s telling the story. Point of View is also one of your most powerful tools in making the reader care what’s happening, if it’s used correctly – and one of the quickest ways of turning the reader off, if it’s not.
	EDITING – There’s no good writing, only re-writing. How to edit your work to make it stronger and tighter. The power of avoiding weak words. How to identify which words you overuse, and eliminate them.
	PACING – Too fast exhausts your readers, too slow bores them – how to get pacing right. Tips and tricks to manipulate the pace of your story.
	GETTING PUBLISHED – how to improve your chances of publication, including how to write query letters.
	AND MORE – the hero’s journey, avoiding passive voice, using coincidence in story, being a writer, the courage of a writer and more.

This will all be taught through the medium of explanation, exercise, and feedback. The one-to-one feedback is essential so you can learn to see where you're going wrong, and even better, how to fix it.  

So, to sum up: This writing holiday will give you:

• Terrific fun, a real break away from your normal work-life.

• The opportunity to spend time with like-minded people – who knows, you might even make new friends.

• Time spent in a stunningly beautiful location, whether you choose the Greek experience or the Colorado one.

• Time to write, and just ‘be’.

• And above all, a solid grounding in creative writing will allow you to return home with the knowledge, tools and confidence to pursue your writing dream.

Here is what other writers have said about my teaching:

	Tracy Culleton is a very good teacher. She is very professional and has a huge knowledge in the art of writing. She taught us a lot and was very inspiring and structured in her lessons, all in an easy and humorous tone. She took a serious interest in us as writers to be, and gave us individual advice. Torill H. Lauritsen
	Tracy Culleton is an ideal facilitator for new and aspiring authors. Sympathetic, with a relaxed and easy personality, she is extremely approachable and explains the more technical areas of writing in an understandable and accessible way … I would recommend her highly. Vanessa O'Loughlin, Inkwell Writers' Courses
	Sorry it has taken so long, but I wanted to say how great the Inkwell course was on 5-9-09. You can take pride in being a great teacher and an inspirational facilitator. I came away feeling "I can do it!" and believing that I am a 'real' writer. You allowed me to see something in me that I had not been able to before the course and for that, I thank you. Kind regards, SJ

I combine a thorough knowledge of the creative writing craft with the ability to share that information in an accessible way. I'm also a good diagnoser, so to speak, of authors' work (see the testimonials about my critique service for more on this), and so course participants go away with a very clear direction about their writing.

All of this is combined with a fun and engaging delivery style, to make the classes enjoyable too. I believe that following your dreams is very important - but it doesn't have to be deadly serious.

How To Do Courses With Me

If you would like to organise a course in your area - contact me and let's talk about it. If you organise a course, then you'll get your place for free. Sound like a win-win??

Or, I'm collecting a database of people interested in attending workshops in my home-area of South-West Ireland. If you'd like to be notified when I organise these, please let me know and I'll contact you when they're arranged.

Inkwell Writers

If you're based in Ireland, or fancy a trip here, you could do a lot worse than doing one of the writers' workshops run by Inkwell Writers. These courses are all run by top authors, publishers and agents, and are run most professionally. I recommend them very much. (Well, I would seeing as I'm one of the tutors! But in all seriousness, I've seen how well they're run, and know the calibre of the tutors, so I genuinely do recommend them.)

They have a terrific variety of courses organised for the next year or so - check out their website to see what's available.

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