Fiction
Writers' Bootcamp:
In
two day weekend intensive over the course of two Saturdays, the
writer will cover such topics as Story and Idea Generation, Story
Structure, the Use of Tension and Conflict, Pacing, Setting,
Dialogue, Character Development and Techniques for Revising Your
First Draft. The workshop will utilize lecture, discussion and
individual and group exercises and is appropriate for the emerging
and intermediate writer.
Dates: October 29 and November 5, 2016
Times: 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Location: 618 Columbia Street,
New Westminster, BC
Instructor: David Blinkhorn and other guest
presenters to be announced
Cost: $110.00
(lunch included each day)
Creative
Pursuits: A Playschool in Creativity:
Every
child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he
grows up.
Pablo
Picasso
Picasso's
right. The hardest thing for an adult in any creative project is to
bring a child's creative energy to their artistic pursuits.
In this thirteen week workshop, participants will return to play as
they learn new and interesting ideas that will help them find their
way to fulfilling artistic and creative lives. Over time, the
workshop attendees will learn about:
What
creativity is and how our brain operates when being creative,
The
various successful processes to becoming more creative including the
nine basic types of creative thought,
Ways
to maximize your creative potential,
Techniques
for defeating your inner critic,
Methods
to maintaining a creative life in the face of the ordinary one,
Ways
to work collaboratively with other writers and artists, and
Creative
techniques to find and mine your personal creative gold.
Each
workshop will focus on exercises to help the participant develop the
skills in the various topics discussed each week. It is interactive
and participants will be expected to work as individuals and in
groups each week. There will be a weekly project which focuses on
that week's creative technique. Notes of the discussion/lecture
will be provided each week as well. This workshop is appropriate for
writers and other artists of all levels.
Here's what attendees have said about David Blinkhorn's Creativity workshops:
“Take
this workshop. It's creative, thoughtful, encouraging. It'll loosen
up your brain, free it from its rut. You'll laugh and learn.”
“Take
David Blinkhorn's class: You'll learn handy and thoughtful tips for
writing (and living as a writer). The activities are fun and you get
some useful handouts to remind you of what you can do- because you
laugh so much, you might forget some 'nitty gritty' important
detail.”
“This
workshop was so much fun! We laughed and there even some tears as we
wrote about being certain objects. David Blinkhorn always presents
with so much fun and creativity of his own to help us with our own
“Creative Pursuits”! It is so helpful to know now that becoming
an object or what we see around us can open up our creativity and
help us write more openly and freely.”
Dates:
Thursday evenings commencing September 22, 2016 and running to
December 15, 2016
Times: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: 331 –
22 East Royal Avenue, New Westminster, BC
Instructor: David
Blinkhorn
Cost: $25 per session or you can purchase a card for
classes in the following denominations: 4 workshops: $95, 6
workshops; $135, 8 workshops: $170, all thirteen workshops: $225
(cards are non-transferable)
Introduction
to Creative Writing: Scene Creation
To
be an effective fiction or creative non-fiction writer today, you
need to write effective scenes. The vehicle for a writer to advance
their plot and reveal character, the scene is cinematic writing and
is defined by its continuous action regardless of that action's size,
shape or intensity. Without the "Walk" of the scene, the
reader is left with the "Talk" and the writer risks losing
their reader.
During this sixteen hour course, you'll
examine:
1. story and scene structure;
2. techniques for
bringing conflict and tension into the scene;
3. the purposes of a
scene;
4. methods for beginning and ending a scene;
5.
transitions between scenes; and
6. various writing tools that help
advance your scene including but not limited to setting, dialogue,
and character development
This course is a unique way of
starting your writing education as it focuses on story-telling from
day one. Students can expect to learn many techniques in a fluid
fashion that are normally compartmentalized in most introductory
courses. The course is presented as a series of talks, discussions,
exercises and critiqued writing assignments.
Dates:
Monday evenings commencing October 17, 2016 and running to November
28, 2016
Times: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: 331 – 22 East
Royal Avenue, New Westminster, BC
Cost:
$125
Instructor: David Blinkhorn
Email fvwschool@gmail.com with
your interest. For workshops to proceed, a minimum of four
participants will be required to register one week ahead of the scheduled start date.
