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WOW! Women On Writing
Classes & Workshops
Spotlight Course: Literary Devices Workshop
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Greetings!
We all need a writing mentor, and I can't think of a better one for fiction writers than Gila Green. Her students register for her courses time and time again because she has such a unique way of analyzing their work. Her brand new class, Literary Devices, starts next Monday, September 5th. This is a writing workshop where you will submit fiction or creative non-fiction stories to be workshopped by the instructor. She'll change the way you view your own work, and push you to be the best writer you can be! Also, be sure to check out all of our upcoming classes in the section below. We have several starting soon, including Independent Publishing (starts tomorrow, Aug 31!), How to Write a Craft Book (starts this Saturday, Sept 3), Screenwriting and Playwriting (next Monday, Sept 5), and our popular Mastering POV course (next Tuesday, Sept 6). Happy writing! Angela & Marcia  Angela & Marcia Classroom Managers WOW! Classes & Workshops
classroom@wow-womenonwriting.com
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Seek a Mentor
By Gila Green
Writers need mentors. You may retort: My spouse, friend, sibling, neighbor (a reputed English teacher) reads my work. Wrong. Don't make the mistake of requesting critiques strictly from friends, relatives, and other writers on the same rung of the ladder. Seek a mentor. Find a writer who is light years ahead of you in experience, in publication, in knowledge (yes, all three) and don't let that writer get away. Oceans cannot separate people today. Well, at least, not writers. You're a writer: write to them. Follow their careers and ask them questions about their own works. Do not wobble because doubts plague you. Why would she be interested in me? I feel like a fool for even asking. Stare down your insecurities with a fierce inner eye and let the words spill out: May I ask your advice on my work, next step, contract, agent, or publisher? I don't need to hit you over the head with an etiquette hammer. If the writer responds like someone who has just heard, "Do you mind if I bump the line?" Move on. It's a small writer's world and you don't want to start your career off acquiring a name for yourself as that overbearing scribbler.
Sold, you're thinking. How do I find one? Look for a writer who displays sparks of interest in your writing. Go out and meet writers and (gulp) show them your work. Scour the newspapers and find out where writers are lecturing and reading. Don't allow money to limit you, although registering for a course your potential mentor is offering is an ideal way to develop a relationship.
Really listen to what the writer is telling you. Believe me, there's little false encouragement in the professional world and if an award-winning or widely published writer tells you that your work is publishable or nearly so, she's not just "being nice." It goes without saying that the tiniest morsel of encouragement generally brings with it a hailstorm of time-consuming questions, so false encouragement is as common as leftover pizza at a class party. Has anyone ever thrown out a pizza box with one cheesy triangle still stuck to the cardboard?
Does every writer desire a protegee? Not any more than every lawyer wishes to guide the next generation of lawyers or every doctor wishes to continue instructing young medical students. Look for a writer who relates not only to your current work, but to your own vision of your future work. Most importantly, seek someone who doesn't know the meaning of the term spoon-feeding or mommy coddling. Choose a guide who is relentlessly pushing you forward, forcing you to dig deeper into yourself. The ideal mentor holds a mirror up between you and your writing until you wince, redden, laugh out loud, suck in your cheeks or look away every time you confront your own texts. A mentor doesn't need to hold the keys to your writing--those are deep within--she needs to force you to pick the locks.
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Literary Devices Workshop 
Workshop Length: 8 Weeks
Price: $175
Start Date: September 5, 2011
Limit 8-10 Students
Course Description: In this course we will go beyond the simile and metaphor and learn how to layer our writing with literary devices. Through short readings and in-class assignments, you will learn how to create suspense, tension, change the pace, deepen and control your writing through the use of devices from repetition to personification. This class is suitable for anyone working on a novel, short story, memoir, essay or life story.
Course Objectives: - To add layers to your writing and take your work beyond a flat two-dimensional offering.
- To encourage you to expand your writer's toolbox beyond the simile and metaphor and become comfortable with repetition, juxtaposition, foreshadowing and more.
- To increase your confidence and skills as a writer.
- To understand the link between literary elements such as pace, tension and tone and literary devices.
Visit the Classroom Page for a complete listing and what you'll be learning week by week. 
About the instructor: Originally from Ottawa, an excerpt from Gila Green's new novel King of the Class is short-listed for the Summer Literary Seminars Award (2011). Her stories have appeared in tens of literary magazines in the US, Canada, Australia, Israel, and Hong Kong. Her short story collection, White Zion, was a finalist for the Doris Bakwin Award (Carolina Wren Press, 2008). Her stories have been shortlisted for WordSmitten's TenTen Fiction Contest (2008); The Walrus Literary Award (2006, 2007); the Eric Hoffer Best New Writing Award (2008); and Ha'aretz Short Fiction Award (Tel Aviv, 2006). Gila has an MA in Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University (Israel) and a Bachelors of Journalism degree from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada).
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Upcoming Classes & Workshops
All the classes operate online--whether through email, website, chat room, or group listserv, depending on the instructor's preferences--so you do not need to be present at any particular time (unless a phone chat is scheduled and arranged with your instructor). You can work at your own pace in the comfort of your own home. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or email us at: classroom@wow-womenonwriting.com Enjoy!
August 30
Blogging 101 Today! You can still join in. | 5 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 20 Students
August 31
Independent Publishing: The Definitive Course On Achieving Self-Publishing Excellence and Profitability New! | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students
September 3
How to Write a Craft Book New! | 5 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 15 Students
September 5
Literary Devices: Fiction Writing Workshop New! | 8 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 8-10 Students
Introduction to the Craft of Screenwriting | 6 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 10 Students
Introduction to Playwriting | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students
September 6
Mastering Point of View (POV) | 8 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 15 Students
September 12
Creating an Effective Book Business Plan | 4 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 15 Students
September 14
Social Networking for Writers: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and More! | 4 Weeks | $100 | Limit: 20 Students
October 28
Intro to Book Reviewing | 4 Weeks | $100 | Limit: 16 Students
Click here to see all of our upcoming workshops |
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Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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