Time

Task #

Description

8:30-9:00

1

Sign-in

9:00-9:15

2

Introductions

9:15-10:00

3

Review of “Mr. Voice” Opening, to include:

• Adverbs are for the timid writer, says Stephen King
• Repetition: works for poets and prose writers
• Keeping verbs honest: give them room
• Imparting information: without telegraphing
• Building trust through the concrete: details matter
• Where to start a story: point of entry
• “Throat-clearing”

10:00-10:10

4

Break

10:10-10:25

5

Review of Essay, “Thirteen Things about the Contemporary Short Story That Really Hack Me Off,” by Lee K. Abbott

10:25-11:40

6

“The Rules,” Twenty-one Reminders by Lee K. Abbott, to include:

• Place: the world of the story
• Dialogue and dialogue tags
• The stout stake of emotion
• “Facts” of the story are correct
• Bigger than all the rules . . .

10:40-11:00

7

Twenty-four Years Later: “Writing in the Cold,” an Essay by Ted Solotaroff, or, Why Durability Matters More Than Talent

11:00-11:10

8

Break

11:10-11:30

9

“13 Dangers of Working with an Author Mill”

11:30-12:00

10

Distribution and Review of Dreyer’s English, (Benjamin Dreyer, Random House, 2019)