Portland workshops Publishing

The Ins and Outs of the Publishing World

Let’s Go Write presents

INS and OUTS of the PUBLISHING WORLD

A One-day-plus Workshop

Friday, December 4, 6:30 to 8:30 pm and Saturday, December 5, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

at Another Read Through, 3932 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227

★ You’ve completed your novel or memoir, or

★ It’s almost there, and

★ You’re contemplating sending it out into the great world

You’re looking for guidance – we can help! Our workshop will address:

1. Writing a query letter.

The query letter is your gateway to publication. We’ll discuss how to describe your book and yourself in an irresistible way. We’ll also touch on the book proposal, for nonfiction projects.

2. Finding an agent.

Do you really need one? There are so many of them – is there one for you? We’ll help with research tips and recommendations.

3. Finding a publisher.

The big five encompass numerous divisions and imprints, and these are most of the names you’ve heard of. But there’s more – a whole universe of small presses. We’ll provide a map with annotations to help you navigate this confusing realm.

4. Self-publishing – is this a better option?

Angela Sanders, special guest and expert in the field, will reveal all. How much work does it take? What are the costs and benefits? Should you roll the dice and do it yourself?

5. You have a contract!

Can you negotiate with an agent

or a publisher who sends you a standard

contract? We’ll show you some of the

things to look for.

The cost: $107, including lunch.

To sign up, email Debbie: dguyol@aol.com, or Charlotte: chardixon@comcast.net.

See you there!

How to Write a Book Portland workshops

Portland Workshop: How To Write a Book 2.0

Another workshop successfully completed! Next up comes Secrets of Publishing this fall. Stay tuned!

Our day-long workshops on March 21 and June 27 were great, with participants getting insights into the writing process and their individual projects. We’re planning an encore in winter or spring of 2016, so read on to see what we covered in past events.

Let’s Go Write presents

HOW TO WRITE A BOOK 2.0

A One-day Workshop

You have an idea for a book, or

You’ve started writing one, or

You’ve written a bunch – 50 pages or even 100 –

BUT:

You feel lost or confused, or

You don’t know how you’ll finish the book, or

You fear it will be a mess if you manage to finish it.

WE CAN HELP!

Our workshop will guide you through

1. Summing up the main idea:

Identify an idea that will see you through the long haul
Find a theme
Let your main idea sprout related ideas (you need a lot of ideas for a book)

2. Identifying characters and conflicts:

Fun ways to get to know your characters
And understand their problems

3. Figuring out beginnings and endings:

The inciting incident
Lay out fireworks and set them off

4. Finding a path from here to there:

Different ways to structure the book
The dreaded middle

5. Doing it your way:

Find time to write
Make a plan

THE DETAILS: June 27, 2015, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. $89 including lunch. We’ll meet at Tabor Space, 5441 SE Belmont St., Portland, Oregon 97215

To sign up, email Debbie: dguyol@aol.com or Charlotte: chardixon@comcast.net.

Testimonials!

“Your class was very helpful! I took a lot of notes and got a lot of ideas from what others were saying, even if it wasn’t about my story. . . . Thanks again for offering this to me. I would do it again.” Kathy

“Thank you for such a lovely day, both of you are delightful and offered us all so much inspiration. I’m excited to see where my story goes.” Susan

“Thank you so much for a wonderful workshop! It was very well organized and informative but with a nice, relaxed air. I learned so much from both of you and also from the other attendees.” Cheryl

“It was wonderful. You two are great workshop leaders/teachers and the group was such an inspiration to me. ” Leigh

“I enjoyed the workshop – the interaction with other participants and the information presented along with the handouts. A plan of action for my short stories is in the making!” Robert

Past France Workshops Pezenas

Pictures from Pezenas, our 2014 Workshop

The 2014 Let’s Go Write workshop was held in Pezenas, France, a charming town full of cobblestone streets, wonderful restaurants, and cute shops. Here are some photos:

View of the terrace from the farmhouse kitchen

An afternoon bowl of glace.

Pezenas door

Hard at it.

Yes, we do work hard, also!

The result of Happy Hour

Garden bounty

Albere meets his book-reading match

Past France Workshops Pezenas

Pezenas–Writing in the South of France

Let’s Go Write is pleased to announce our 2014 retreat/workshop in Pezenas, France. Read on for all the details!

We’ll stay seven nights, six full days, at a beautiful house in the town of Pézenas. Photos of the house are here. And here’s a site that nicely describes the town of Pézenas, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, near the flourishing city of Montpellier.

Every morning we’ll meet from 9:30 to 12:30 for the “class” portion of the experience. We’ll have a group cocktail hour around 6:00, so from 12:30 till then you can eat, sleep, write and explore as you wish. Time permitting, we may organize a couple of optional side trips to nearby points of interest. The region is rich with Roman and medieval ruins, Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, charming towns, beaches and vineyards.

Our subject for the week will be character. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, character is a crucial element of the piece. There are many ways to approach character exposition and development; we’‘ll look at as many as we can in a week.

Day One – Saturday, September 13: Arrive in Pézenas and settle in. Note that Saturday is market day so parking may be challenging. If you’d like to experience the full glory of the market, you may want to secure a room in a nearby hotel for Friday night.

We’ll have dinner together at a local restaurant and get acquainted. Drink some wine of the region, talk about life.

Day Two – Sunday, September 14: Meet your character: name, age, living situation; her ordinary world and how she interacts with it; what makes her tick; her living situation and backstory.

Day Three – Monday, September 15: Point of view – an endlessly fascinating topic. How does a character present herself, how is she perceived by other characters, how does an impersonal narrator present her?

Day Four – Tuesday, September 16: “Character is revealed through action” is a truism found in every writer’s handbook. Today we’ll work on revealing character through action. What drives the character? What does the character drive?

Day Five – Wednesday, September 17: And then there’s dialog. Your characters will spend a certain amount of time talking. How can you use dialog to reveal character?

Day Six – Thursday, September 18: Explore the dark side of your protagonist. Everyone has one – let’s find hers. We’ll also consider the antagonist. What people or forces thwart your character? Another character? Circumstances? Or a conflict within the character herself? How does your character respond to the forces arrayed against her?

Day Seven – Friday, September 19: Put it all together – your character lives!

Day Eight – Saturday, September 20: Time to leave. BUT WAIT – what if you’d like to stay longer? Let us know immediately and we’ll arrange a second week. Program, if any, TBA.

Other details: The price is $1800; we require a $250 deposit on registration. The program is limited to eight participants; the first six to enroll will get to stay in the mansion pictured above. If your spouse or partner wants to come along, there will be a small additional charge. The price of the program covers lodging, tuition, and breakfast. Lunch and dinner are flexible. We anticipate a mix of meals at home and in restaurants.

TESTIMONIALS Our students loved our sojourn in Céret, France, in September 2013. The writing was good too.

Renee Soasey says: “Debbie and Charlotte have a way of nudging and nurturing writers to new horizons, and they create an atmosphere of camaraderie into the bargain. I felt each of us at the workshop in Céret made real progress in our writing goals – and we had so much fun doing it! The town of Céret and our wonderful accommodations made a charming backdrop to indulge in not only writing, but fabulous wine and food topped off with laughter and friendly conversation. I can’t wait to do it again!”

Jenni Gainsborough says: “Céret was the perfect place for a writing retreat – so different from home, fascinating in its culture and history, it sparked creativity. Yet the beauty of its setting and its tranquil pace of life made it easy to focus on writing. And when I needed a break there was so much to see and enjoy and be reinspired by.

“The camaraderie of the group added so much – listening to other people’s work was inspiring and their interest in and insightful comments about my writing were so helpful and encouraging. And we had fun! Leisurely dinners with wine and conversation flowing freely were our reward for days of hard work.”

Contact Debbie or Charlotte if you would like to join us!

Ceret Past France Workshops

Pictures from Ceret!

View of Rooftops in Ceret

A typical French breakfast!

Relaxation

Pigeons in the window

Ceret Past France Workshops

In Your Dreams–Writing in the South of France

Our France retreat is officially full! However, we’re planning on doing it again in 2014. What exotic location would you like to visit? Tell us and we’ll put it in the running!

We’ll have seven nights, six full days, in the Catalonian town of Ceret.
The price of the program covers lodging, tuition, and breakfast. Lunch
and dinner are flexible. Part of the fun of spending time in another
place is pretending you live there – buying food at local markets and
preparing it. Sampling local wine and other products. But nobody has to
do this. We anticipate a mix of meals at “home” and restaurant meals,
but we’ll decide what happens when and who participates as we go.

Every morning we’ll meet from 9:30 to noon for the “class” portion of
the experience. We’ll have a group cocktail hour around 5:30, so from
noon till then you can eat, sleep, write and explore as you wish. In the
course of the week we’ll also organize a couple of strictly optional
side trips to nearby points of interest. Three charming Mediterranean
towns are only about half an hour away; incredible Cathar castle ruins are farther; Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals are sprinkled liberally throughout the region. We’ll try not to get carried away.

Day One – Saturday, August 31

Arrive in Ceret, get settled. The living quarters will be ready for
us as of 3:00 pm. Note that Saturday is market day in Ceret, and its
market is huge and crowded. Parking after 8:00 am is extremely
challenging. If you’d like to experience the fully glory of the market,
we suggest finding a nearby hotel for Friday night.
We’ll have dinner together at a local restaurant and discuss the plan
for the week, individual writing goals, etc.

Day Two – Sunday, September 1

The theme for the day is inspiration (if you need it). Simply finding
yourself in a foreign environment can seriously spark inspiration, but
we’ll also talk about various other sources: memories, fantasies,
dreams, landscape, art and architecture. Writing exercises for
inspiration.

Day Three – Monday, September 2

We’ll focus on character in fiction and nonfiction. What are your
character’s motives, problems, excuses, wants and needs? How can you use
dialog and action to develop character? Writing exercises – yes.

Day Four – Tuesday, September 3

Let’s think about plot, and talk about it too. We’ll look at various
definitions of plot and discuss its function in your narrative.

Day Five – Wednesday, September 4

A day devoted to setting and how it functions in the narrative.

Day Six – Thursday, September 5
A big-picture day, when we consider the basic elements of narrative:
scene, summary, commentary. How do we balance the elements? Can we do
without any of them? And what about theme?

Day Seven – Friday, September 6

The art and science of revision. Revisit your dreams, your writing
goals, the work you’ve done the past week. We’ll also cover fine-tuning
your work and matters of style.

Day Eight – Saturday, September 7

We must leave our enchanted village – preferably after more market-day excitement.

BUT WAIT – what if you’d like to stay longer? Let us
know immediately and we’ll arrange a second week. Program, if any,
TBA.

Other details: The price for one week is $1800; we require a $250 deposit on
registration. The program is limited to six participants. If your spouse
or partner wants to come along, there will be a small additional
charge.

Interested? Write dguyol@aol.com or charlotte@charlotterainsdixon.com for details on how to sign up.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Portland workshops

Portland Creative Writing Workshop!

Our first Portland workshop was a great success! Here’s a testimonial from a participant:

You two are a great combo. Somewhat like good cop/bad cop, but much more fun with your sense of humor showing. You both give very positive feedback and advice on how to make our writing better. The workshop was challenging, and yet relaxing. No pressure to be a literary master during each writing exercise.

Thanks again, Kathryn Hathaway

Stay tuned for information on future local workshops!

FINDING YOUR PLACE: Using Setting in Creative Writing

In this small workshop we’ll go on adventures to familiar and exotic places. Cityscape, garden, forest; office, apartment, airplane; foreign land or down the street. Find a setting for your story, or learn how to make better use of the location you’ve already chosen! We’ll explore how setting influences character and action in fiction and nonfiction. In-class writing exercises are also aimed at conveying setting both in few words and in many. Three hours, optional lunch with the group after class.

February 4, 9:30–12:30

Workshop will be held at Tabor Space, 5441 SE Belmont, Portland, OR 97215

Upon payment, you’ll receive a confirmation email from us. See you in February!

Just $45, limited to 12 students.

Diamond

Let’s Go Write in Diamond

Our first retreat in Diamond just ended and it was a great success, with rave reviews from the participants! We’re planning another, shorter, retreat in October so stay tuned to this page. Or better yet, join our mailing list to stay updated.

Writing The Fictional Landscape–Inspiration by Setting

Come learn and write in the evocative high desert setting of southeastern Oregon (location of the 2010 movie Meek’s Cutoff). We’ll use the landscape as our muse to explore the role of setting in fiction and memoir. Our approach develops character through setting, considers how place influences the story and examines the relationship between landscape and theme.

The retreat will offer three hours of instruction each morning, with afternoons free to write and explore the distinctive territory around the Hotel Diamond. We’ll eat dinner communally and gather afterwards to discuss the day’s progress.

First person to sign up gets a room with a private bath and queen-size bed!

Sorry, the room with private bath is taken! But you still get $50 off if you sign up before February 15th.

Cost of the five-day workshop includes:

6 nights lodging (arrive April 22, leave the 28th, workshop is 23-27th)
Simple breakfast buffet
6 nights family-style dinner
Workshop tuition
One-on-one coaching session with Debbie or Charlotte

Enjoy all of the above for only $825!

Reserve your spot with a $200 deposit.

If you would rather not pay us via Paypal, please send a check and your contact information, including email address, home address and phone number to:

Debbie Guyol

5161 NE Wistaria Drive

Portland Oregon 97213

You’ll receive email confirmation once we’ve gotten your payment.

If you’re interested in bringing a spouse or friend who will share the room but not participate in the workshop, email us to discuss the options.