Saturday, July 10th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. San Francisco
$95 members/$110 non-members
In just about any writing class, you will hear the words: “Show don’t tell!” But how, exactly, do you do that? “You ground your readers in their senses — sight, sound, taste, touch and smell – fire engine red, church bells, tart apples, bear hugs, dark french roast coffee! You replace abstractions (love) and generalizations (birds flew) with concrete images (he didn’t leave her bedside for two days) and specific details (three hawks soared),” says instructor Jane Underwood.
If you’re thinking, Easier said than done, don’t worry. There are hundreds of writing exercises, tips and techniques that can help you become a master word painter. Jane has cherry-picked some of her favorites, collected over many years, to share and discuss with you. So grab some paper and a high-end pen (or laptop), dust off your imagination, and prepare for a playful day packed with writing, playing, experimenting, and discovering.
Whether you write fiction or poetry, screenplays or essays, magazine features, memoirs or blog posts, you want your readers to experience the places, people, situations and things around which your stories revolve. If you can paint with words – if you can show more and tell less – you’ll be much more likely to engage your readers and attain success as a writer.
Jane Underwood, founder and director of the Writing Salon, has been a writer, editor and teacher for more than 30 years (and also leads the popular “Daily Write Round Robin” here at the Writing Salon). Her poetry, prose, erotica, articles and essays have appeared in numerous print and online periodicals (SF Chronicle, The Sun, babycenter.com, Five Fingers Review, Western Humanities Review, HOW(ever), Salon.com), anthologies (The Ecstatic Moment, Yellow Silk, Ripe Fruit, Best Women’s Erotica), as well as on stage (Lilith Theater). She has a masters in creative writing, and is also an avid photographer, with a special affection for fallen leaves, decaying walls and quirky San Francisco stairways.
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