1. Michael Grais, Writer/Executive Producer/Producer

MICHAEL GRAIS has written and/or produced internationally acclaimed movies (among them, Poltergeist, Stephen King’s Sleepwalker and Great Balls of Fire) whose gross revenues have exceeded $500 million dollars (from romantic comedies to thrillers) for seven Academy Award winning producers/directors.

Michael will explain how to make your novel more attractive to the film community, identify the genre, and introduce you to the structure that works for fiction as well as film. And, if you're interested in how things really work . . . and don't work . . . in Hollywood, you'll get a chance to ask him during the Open Season on Hollywood session.

Read more about Michael's impressive credits and his academic background on his website at http://www.michaelgrais.com.

2. Nancy Davis

NANCY DAVIS has both a journalism degree and a Master’s Degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop and has won awards for her journalism, short stories and poetry. Her works have appeared in The Virginia Review, Candlelight Review and Stillpoint, among others.

She admits it . . . she's a cultural mongrel. Nancy grew up in Austria, Greece and the South.

Nancy will show you how the journalist's lens can help you to bring your characters into focus, and will perform surgery on your language, the novel’s largest organ.

3. Sheryl Dunn

SHERYL DUNN won two awards from the Canada Council for the Arts for her psychological thriller, In All the Wrong Places (both literary and crime fiction categories.)

A Canadian lawyer, Sheryl switched careers—and countries—but not priorities. Her novel shakes, rattles and rolls conventional wisdom about justice . . . it makes you think.

Think of the novel as the human body:

• the writer is the brain
• the basic structure is the skeleton
• scenes and sequels are the bones
• the heart, nerves and muscles of the novel are its characters
• and the language is its largest organ, just as the human skin is the body's largest organ.

Sheryl will dissect the bones of the novel, its scenes and sequels. She will spoon-feed you with the Do’s and Don’t's of language, and take the fear out of dialogue.

4. Workshop Agenda

Be sure to bring a notebook, pens and pencils (with erasers) because we'll be giving you some fun and quick writing exercises during each workshop.

DAY 1 – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6

8:30 – 9:00 COFFEE and SIGN UP…to receive your materials and completed critiques

9:00 – 9:15 INTRODUCTIONS

9:15 – 11:15 NOVEL IDEAS, CHARACTERS, AND STRUCTURE (Michael Grais)

11:15 – 11:30 COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 12:30 DEM BONES, DEM BONES - SCENES AND SEQUELS (Sheryl Dunn)

12:30 – 2:00 LUNCH (not provided…bring a bag lunch if you’d like)

2:00 – 3:00 THE MAGIC OF THE WORD - Word, Sentence, Paragraph (Nancy Davis)

3:00 – 3:15 COFFEE BREAK

3:15 – 4:00 DEIFY AND DEFY THE RULES OF LANGUAGE (Sheryl Dunn)

4:00 – 5:00 ROUNDTABLE (Michael, Nancy and Sheryl)
This is your chance to clarify what you have learned so far and to get help on any problem you've encountered with your writing. Don't be surprised if you get three different answers.



DAY 2 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

8:30 – 9:00 COFFEE

9:00 – 10:45 LAZARUS – RAISE YOUR CHARACTERS FROM THE DEAD (Sheryl Dunn)

10:45 – 11:00 COFFEE BREAK

11:00 – 12:00 THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS BACKWARDS (Nancy Davis)

12:00 – 1:30 LUNCH (not provided)

1:30 – 2:45 ROUNDTABLE (Michael, Nancy, and Sheryl)

2:45 - 3:00 COFFEE BREAK

3:00 – 4:00 DIALOGUE THAT MOVES US (Sheryl Dunn)

4:00 – 4:45 OPEN SEASON ON HOLLYWOOD AND WRITING (Michael, Nancy and Sheryl)

4:45 – 5:00 WIND-UP

5. Workshop #1 - Novel Ideas and Structure (Michael)

So, you want to write a novel, you are writing a novel, or you have written a novel.

Want to find out if your concept is marketable?

Michael will

• ask you to describe your project to the class -- that's why it's a good idea to write down your concept and bring it with you (see Blog #16 for information on how to describe your novel),
• tell you if your concept will attract the attention of movie/TV producers and studios,
• explain how to make your concept even more attractive than it is already.

Want to find out how to structure your novel or improve its structure?

Michael will show you

• how the Three Act Structure in film works equally well in a novel,
• how to apply this structure to your novel

Want to make your characters more interesting and appealing?

Michael will

• describe what the film industry looks for,
• show you how to use archetypes,
• lead you away from the run-of-the-mill archetype to your true destination: a compelling and memorable character.

Be prepared to laugh!

6. Workshop #2 - Dem Bones, Dem Bones - Scenes and Sequels (Sheryl Dunn)

Let's hope Dem Bones are not dry bones!

• You’re writing your novel, Poltergeist, and thinking about the sequel, Poltergeist II…
• You may not know what a sequel is and how to weave sequels into the cloth of your novel (worry about Poltergeist II later)
• Or, you’re having problems with Act II…that darn middle of your novel is too short
• Or, your own novel bores even you and you don’t know how to fix it.

Find out how

• to create scenes that move your novel and the reader…and to create enough of them to make a novel
• to link your scenes together
• to end your scenes with a hook . . . and without using cheap tricks
• sequels help you to pace your novel, to create a roller coaster ride for the reader
  

7. Workshop #3 - THE MAGIC OF THE WORD - Word, Sentence, Paragraph (Nancy Davis)

Get a facelift for your novel's skin, its words.

• Words are powerful
• Words make literature beautiful
• You’re a writer, partly because you love words

Release the poet within and strengthen your writing by

• tapping into all five senses
• creating visual images with metaphor, or just plain talk
• grabbing a lifeline before you go overboard
• describing characters well
• using The Rhythm Method

Nancy will draw on literature (e.g., No Country for Old Men, Conrad McCarthy; White Oleander, Janet Fitch; Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad), and so-called popular fiction (John Le Carré.)