Creating Archetypal Characters and Suspenseful Plots - 0915

Does your manuscript bog down or feel incomplete, and do you have plastic characters? Thousands of years ago, storytellers enriched their tales with archetypes: relatable characters from patterns in the unconscious mind. Storytellers integrated these characters in a framework that we now call “the Hero’s Journey.” Award-winning historical mystery novelist Suzanne Adair will discuss functions of major archetypes and how depriving your dramatis personae of these functions can result in lifeless, forgettable characters. She will also delve into the challenges each stage of the journey brings to a protagonist and show the crucial roles of archetypes at different stages of the journey.

Instructor: Suzanne Adair
Audience: Genre fiction writers who seek to improve the plotting and characterizations in their manuscripts toward the goal of getting published
One class: Tuesday, April 27, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Registration Deadline: April 20
Cost: $30

Register online | Download registration form (.pdf)

Legal Issues for Writers - 1406

This three-hour course will discuss copyright issues, including what rights publishers want and how to avoid an infringement lawsuit; contracts, including what clauses writers need to protect themselves; and libel and invasion of privacy, including how writers can avoid lawsuits pertaining to their writing. The course will focus on nonfiction, poetry, memoir and fiction.

Instructor: Dina M. Di Maio
Audience: Members of the NC Writers’ Network, writers who attend the Right to Publish Meetup group, local writers (seasoned and novice) who are not involved in these organizations but want more legal knowledge regarding their work
One class: Tuesday, February 23, 6 – 9 p.m.
Registration Deadline: February 16
Cost: $30

Register online | Download registration form (.pdf)

Representations of Eve: Milton’s“Paradise Lost” and Its Legacy - 0914

In this course, we will spend most of the semester on Milton’s “Paradise Lost” as the anchoring literary text, but also consider selected contemporary poems that explore the fall. This course will feature guest lecturers who address Milton’s life, Puritan thought and artistic images of Eve.

Instructor: Robin Colby
Audience: Retirees, lifelong learners, those pursuing teacher licensure renewal
Twelve classes: Wednesday, 10 a.m. – noon, February 10, 17, 24, March 3, 10, 24, 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5
Registration Deadline: February 3
Cost: $200

Register online | Download registration form (.pdf)

Telling Your Story Through Creative Journaling - 0913

What is your story? Writing memoir can be an overwhelming task, and creative journaling can be used as a tool to shape and form your memoir, your story. In this workshop, we’ll discover new ways to use creative journaling prompts mixed with other mediapictures and memorabilia to craft your memoir.

Instructor: Megan Cutter
Audience: Open to writers of all experience levels
Six classes: Thursdays, 7 – 9 p.m., March 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15
Registration Deadline: March 4
Cost: $120

Register online | Download registration form (.pdf)