James N. Frey
The Original Plot-Like-a-Pro Master
International Creative Writing Workshop Leader
Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, 9 am-4pm; Registration: 8:45 AM
Cattlemens Rancho Cordova
12409 Folsom Boulevard, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
$69 for Members and $85 for Members (includes lunch)
Register and pay here at the Sacramento Branch’s Square Store
featuring Acclaimed Author and Coach James N. Frey
No matter where you’ve seen Jim, you never forget him or his prowess as a builder of good plots. For over ten years, he conducted the popular Open Workshop at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. After dark, he held plot critiques, where he zeroed in on manuscript problems with laser-sharp speed. There was no one better at analyzing plots and delivering the verdict than Jim. He’s taught and lectured at dozens of schools and conferences, including the Oregon Writers Colony, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, the Heartland Writers, the University of California Extension , and others, both in the U.S. and Europe.
Jim is the author of How To Write A Damn Good Novel, How To Write A Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, The Key: Writing Damn Good Fiction Using The Power Of Myth, and How to Write a Damn Good Mystery: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript. He’s an award-winning playwright and the author of nine novels, including The Long Way To Die, which was nominated for an Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America, and Winter Of The Wolves, a Literary Guild Selection.
His articles and papers include, “The Ten Rules of Writing,” “On Flashbacks, Mythpower in Short Stories,” “Why Readers Read Mysteries,” and “Who You Are and Who You Ain’t.”
Jim’s down-to-earth sessions have been called, The Greatest Creative Writing Workshops on Planet Earth. Said one attendee, “I have attended many workshops…. Almost all were helpful and gave me much needed information, but none compared to the electricity of learning as much as Jim Frey’s teaching. He didn’t waste a moment. His information was clear and logical. The Aha! light bulb finally clicked on in my brain.”
For the November 5 Seminar
Goal: to teach plotting by showing how it’s done.
Attendees to bring: (chapter or plot synopsis)
Description: Attendees will discuss the dramatic form, after which Jim will draw some story ideas from participants. One will be developed into a plot. It might be a mainstream story, a mystery, or a romance — whatever the majority decides. Then the group will create good, three-dimensional characters and then, step by step, will create the backstory and the plot behind the plot, and then set down the actions and character development that will make up the plot for a damn good novel.
Some narratives feel as if they are coming together with an emotional payoff while others do not.