Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Dreams vs. Goals
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

Is there a difference between dreams and goals? Does it matter if we speak in terms of “dreams” or “goals” when it comes to our writing? In other words, is it your dream to be a published author (or to finish a manuscript or to start/finish a second…third…fourth manuscript, whatever it is) or have you set realizable goals to accomplish it?

Another way of putting it, which I see writers blog about all the time, is:

Do you want to be a writer or do you want to write?

Come prepared to participate in this open-discussion format workshop.

.

*Fellowship time from 9:00 to 9:30. Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, with a time for introductions from 11:30 to noon.

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To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

And we hope to see you on Saturday, January 14, 2012.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Beyond the First Draft
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

You’ve finished your first draft. Great! Now what?

The revision process—both starting, doing, and completing it—can seem like one of the most intimidating parts of the writing process to those who’ve never done it before, or who haven’t done it often. But the revision process can actually be one of the most rewarding tasks in the novel-writing process. And it’s something every writer not only needs to know how to do but needs to become familiar and comfortable with if one is serious about pursuing publication.

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

.
Feedback during this workshop is not only welcome, it’s vital—as we all have different experiences and ways of doing this.

.

*Fellowship time from 9:00 to 9:30. Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, with a time for introductions from 11:30 to noon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Clarifying Ideas and Organizing Your Writing
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

I know, I know, it sounds like I’m trying to cover two workshops in one . . . but these two are entwined and cannot be talked about without each other. One of the hardest things about getting our first drafts finished, especially for those of use who tend to reside on the Seat-of-the-Pants end of the writing-planning spectrum, is that we get to points at which we don’t know exactly what our story is about or where it’s going, what we’ve already written, or what we wanted to write. That’s what this meeting will be about—easy ways to clarify our ideas and organize our writing so that when it comes time to write, we’re not at a loss for words.

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

.
Feedback during this workshop is not only welcome, it’s vital—as we all have different experiences and ways of doing this.

.

*Fellowship time from 9:00 to 9:30. Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, with a time for introductions from 11:30 to noon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Imagination, Inspiration, Innovation
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

Where do stories come from? Where do we get ideas? How can we tap into our creativity and learn to silence the analytical side of the brain so that we can do what we really want to do—write our stories?

Most adults have lost the ability to “make believe” or to live in the world of imagination—even those of us who write fiction. We should consider the ability to create stories not just a gift, but a reflection of the Infinite. It is the thumbprint of God on us. It is a tiny glimpse into the power behind the creation of the universe and the infinite diversity of what surrounds us. Inspiration, imagination, and innovation are all aspects of the storytelling
ability and are all vital to each other and to us as writers—and we’ll see how these three strands weave together to allow us to create imaginative and inspired fiction.

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

. . . .

*Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, with a time for introductions from 11:30 to noon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Pulling the Pieces Together–Synopses, Query Letters, Proposals, and One-Sheets
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

Even if you’re not yet to the point at which you’re ready to start sending queries to editors and agents, it’s never too early to learn how to put together the peripheral materials that are required to become a professional (published) author. This month, we’ll be looking at those different pieces and discussing how to pull them together so you’re not left scrambling, or scratching your head, at the last minute.

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

. . . .

*Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, with a time for introductions from 11:30 to noon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Make a Scene!
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

A sign of a novice writer is that
he begins scenes too early
and ends them too late.
~Writing Proverb

How do we structure scenes? When should a scene begin? End? How long should a scene be? Because scenes are the building blocks with which we build our stories, learning how to create, mold, and structure a scene to capture and retain readers’ attention is one of the most important aspects of the craft of writing.

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

. . . .

*Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, with a time for introductions from 11:30 to noon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
Showing vs. Telling
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus
As fiction authors, we’re always instructed to SHOW rather than TELL in our writing, but what does that really mean? In this workshop, we’ll look at the three main areas that are most vulnerable to telling (backstory, character descriptions, and senses/feelings) and learn how to incorporate this information into our writing by showing it.

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

. . . .

*Fellowship time from 9:00 to 9:30. Workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, but may run long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
“I’m Ready for my Close-up” Part 2: Deep POV
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

We hear all the time about Limited viewpoint, about Deep Point of View (POV). But what does that mean? How do we achieve it? Is it something that comes naturally, or can it be learned?

Topics covered will include (time permitting):

• Point of View begins with character–Whose story is this?
• How many POV characters should I have?
• Genre considerations
• Three degrees of POV
• Avoiding head-hopping
• Character vocabulary
• Unreliable narrators
• Character descriptions
• Showing vs. telling to take the reader deeper

*Fellowship time from 9:00 to 9:30. Meeting begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, but may run long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.

Where?
Belmont United Methodist Church
Room 122
2007 Acklen Avenue
(Corner of 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue)
Nashville, Tennessee

What?
“I’m Ready for my Close-up”: Character Development & Deep POV
Led by MTCW President Kaye Dacus

Where do characters come from? How much do we need to know about our characters before we begin writing? How can we make our characters unique and original—and keep them from coming across just like everyone else’s? And how can we get deeper into the characters’ viewpoints so that we can achieve that ever elusive “deep POV”? Topics covered will include (time permitting):
• Where do characters come from?
• Culture, social status, and family history
• Mannerisms and quirks
• What’s in a name?
• POV begins with character
• Avoiding head-hopping
• Character vocabulary
• Showing vs. telling to take the reader deeper
• And more, if we have time . . .

*Fellowship time from 9:00 to 9:30. Meeting begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and should end by 11:30, but may run long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about how to join MTCW, click on “Joining MTCW” here or at the top of the page.