STRIP-TEASE WRITING
(Show, don't tell)

 

Do you know how to hold your readers' interest from the first page to the last, or are you loosing them because you explain too much?  This class will help you understand the functions of narration, dialogue and action so you can decide when to use each.  Then it will show you how to mesmerize your readers so that they can't put down what you've written until they reach the end!

4-week classes begin the first Friday of each month - or take it as a One-on-One and begin immediately upon registration


                take as a One-on-One course:
                    1) begin any time,
                    2) work one-on-one with your instructor, and
                    3) take up to 8 weeks to complete.

Fee: $75.00.  $115.00 for One-on-One

To order click here: $75

To order click here: $115

Week 1:  Narration or dialogue or action?  Learn when to use what.
Week 2:  Become a movie camera.  Give readers the information they need
Week 3:  Can they see it, smell it, feel it, hear it?
Week 4:  Get out of the way.  Let readers draw their own conclusions and love you for letting them.

Student Comments:

Hi Patrika,
I forgot to tell you.  Using the opening I wrote in week four of Striptease
Writing (two girls with the Monarch butterfly collection and the mother on
her third husband), I wrote a short story.  That story (Thread of Grace)
came in second in the Georgia Writer's Association monthly fiction contest.
My best place finish so far.  I do believe with your help my writing has
greatly improved.  Thanks!
Lisa

Thank you for the opportunity of doing Strip Tease one on one with you. I found the course very helpful. I particularly appreciated your gentle responses and criticism I have been brutally criticized in the past by tutors.
Beverley East

Thank you for a very interesting and helpful course. Even though I'm not a fiction writer, I've found your techniques quite useful in a number of copywriting projects. RachelParker

"I'm writing to tell you my latest news.  I've had an essay, "Yearning For Home," published in Seven Seas Magazine.  I'm still profiting from your Strip Tease class.  Thanks for making it possible."  Anne Jasper

"I want to thank you for the wonderful class. The only downside is that the four weeks went by so quickly!  I found your teaching essays very well written, with a perspective I haven't seen presented before.  The assignments were well thought out and productive.  I feel my writing has already improved greatly and will continue to improve as I am able to incorporate more of what I learned here."  Laura Bodde

"This course was more than I'd hoped for.  Patrika presents excellent material and did more for my writing in a few lessons than I'd been able to accomplish in a year of searching.  The reading was easy; the homework made me want to create...want to make the reader 'see' what was happening." Terry Davidson

 

 "I'm a southern girl and I like to tell stories.  That was my problem --  telling, not showing.  My narrators tended to go on and on, and my stories were losing momentum while they droned.  This class helped me recognize my problem and showed me how to get some life and energy back into my stories.  Now my dialogue really sizzles, and my characters are alive and well."

"Dialogue went from scaring me to actually being very fun to write.  Your movie camera aanalogy really helped me see what I was doing wrong." 

"What I got out of the course was an increased awareness of  "show, not tell."   I'd recomment the course to beginners (so they can learn good word-crafting right from the start) and to the long-time writer too.  I needed to learn to avoid over-dramatizing through using too many adjectives and adverbs in describing and bringing readers to the scene.   In completing the assignments, I learned to hone my writing skills.Thanks so much, Patrika." 

"This class has been a true pleasure." 

"I really enjoyed your lessons and in comparison to a couple of other online courses I've taken, yours rate at the top of the list.  I feel there is much I can learn from you and I fully intend to come back to your 'classroom'."  

"Strip Tease Writing brought to my attention considerations beyond narration and technical/mechanical explanations.  I enjoyed most the challenge of creating something from nothing and in the process trying to draw more colorful pictures.   Probably the hardest is writing dialogue that shows and tells without reverting to narrative explanations. Thanks for your inspiraiton and support."

 

Though for the day: What boots up must come down.