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by Garry Disher
Course module outline
Unit 1: Ideas
Finding inspiration from newspapers, diaries, photographs, anecdotes, people and even everyday events. What to add - and ask - to build on great ideas.
Unit 2: Characterisation
Revealing characters through description, attitudes, personality traits and dialogue.
Unit 3: Plot and character
Characters act on needs, make mistakes, succumb to stress and thus come alive. What to do when a character 'takes over.' The four types of character conflict.
Unit 4: Setting
Using setting to evoke feelings and atmosphere. How to create 'visuals' with the five senses, plus the importance of selecting rather than overloading with details.
Unit 5: Point-of-view
Narrative, autobiography, multiple viewpoints or omniscient? First person or third person? How can voice be influenced by characters, tone and the author's own personality?
Unit 6: Structure and planning
Endings as beginnings, reverse chronology, shifting viewpoints and the traditional linear structure, all manipulate time and tension. Not to mention flashbacks, red herrings and carefully placed surprises.
Unit 7: Short stories and novels: A comparison
Hemmingway's iceberg analogy, economy and characters, secondary plots - all help to tell if your idea is really a short story or novel.
Unit 8: Troubleshooting
Great diagnostic questions (and cures) for clichéd characters, not enough suspense, overwhelming large topics and the dreaded writer's block.
Price: $66.00
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