A Fiction Writer’s Workshop
with award winning author Dietrich Kalteis
Wednesday October 23 and Thursday, October 24
4:00 – 5:30 PM
559 Tyler Street, Monterey
Reserve a seat: 831 333-0383
A two-day workshop for anyone interested in writing fiction, touching on aspects of the craft that will help guide new writers on the path to becoming published.
Dietrich Kalteis is the award-winning author of Ride the Lightning (bronze medal, 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards, for best
regional fiction), The Deadbeat Club, Triggerfish, House of Blazes (silver medal, 2017 IPPY, for best historical fiction), Zero Avenue,
Poughkeepsie Shuffle and his newly released Call Down the Thunder. He lives with his family on Canada’s west coast. Learn more about him and his writing at http://www.dietrichkalteis.com.
A FICTION WRITER’S WORKSHOP
DAY ONE
• What you need to get started
• What makes a good writer? Is there a formula for a best seller?
• The inciting incident, a strong beginning
• Outline and structure
• Cinematic scenes, suspenseful narrative, sharp dialogue
• Voice, pace, flow, style
• Experiment with short stories or dive right into a novel
• Description – economy of words vs pace
• Build your characters
• Where’s it all going? Plotting and sub-plotting
DAY TWO
• Research
• How many drafts?
• Editing and proofing – repetition, unnecessary description
• Killing your darlings and story flow
• Word Count – Quality vs quantity
• Wrapping it up, knowing when its time to write The End
• Beta readers, professional editors, copy editors – when to submit
• Where to submit – agent or no agent, getting it out there
• Self-publishing vs traditional publishing
• Conferences, writers’ festivals