Have you ever sat down to write a story and realized you have no idea how or where to start? In this class, we’ll go over dozens of ways writers get their creative engines revved up and moving, from exercises in basic character formation and development to creating vivid scenes and scenarios for your characters to live and participate in. Basic story structure will be explored, as well as a strong emphasis on how to get from the beginning of a story to the middle and _finish_ your first drafts. Editing basics will also be covered. By the time this class is over, you’ll know how to make yourself start writing, and keep writing until your piece is done.About the instructor:
Holly Day has worked as a freelance writer for over 30 years, with over 7,000 published articles, poems, and short stories and 40 books and chapbooks, including the nonfiction books, Music Theory for Dummies,Music Composition for Dummies, Walking Twin Cities,Stillwater, Minnesota: A Brief History, Nordeast Minneapolis: A History, Tattoo FAQ, and History Lover’s Guide to Minneapolis; and the poetry books, A Book of Beasts (Weasel Press), The Tooth is the Largest Organ in the Human Body (Anaphora Press), Bound in Ice (Shanti Arts Publishing), and Cross-Referencing a Book of Summer (Silver Bow Publishing). Her writing has been nominated for a National Magazine Award, a 49th Parallel Prize, an Isaac Asimov Award, several dozen Pushcart awards, and a Rhysling Award, and she has received two Midwest Writer’s Grants, a Plainsongs Award, the Sam Ragan Prize for Poetry, and the Dwarf Star Award from the Science Fiction Poetry Association.