CHOOSING YOUR VOICE

Why does Hemingway sound like Hemingway? Faulkner like only Faulkner?
Why do no other fictional characters sound like Mike Hammer? Rip Van Winkle? Huckleberry Finn? Young Goodman Brown?

Answer: VOICE
   
Every strong author has a distinctive voice
Every well-drawn narrator has a unique voice
Every successful main character has a voice that sets him/her apart from all other characters -- a voice that reveals the character's personality and allows readers to understand and care about him/her.

CHOOSING YOUR VOICE examines the differences between the authorial and narrative voices and shows you how to pick the voice that will work best for each piece you write. It will also show you how to give your characters voices that sound real, that make readers feel they know and understand each character and that gets them deeply involved in your character's fate.

4 weeks:         July 7-28     Aug 3-25      Sept 1-22     Oct 6-27      Nov 3-24     Dec 1-22

Fee: $54

Week 1:  What Voice is and what it does
Week 2:  How the Narrator's Voice informs your readers
Week 3:  The Elements of Voice
Week 4:  How to Develop YOUR Voice

Student Comments:
"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, my characters are alive and well, and my narrators stay where they belong." beetle@gte.net

"Thanks.  This has been a blast!" JeanneL1@aol.com

"I have to tell you that your lessons are so complee and straightforward that I have become excited about my project again...ahhhh, I'm drowning!!!! But loving every minute of it. Your book is wonderful.  Thank you so much." Dreamryter@aol.com

"This was a challenging course yet lots of fun.  I guess I like a curve ball thrown at me and this time I caught the ball.  I was very happy with the course -- most informative and instructive.  You're a very organized teacher and I enjoyed your teaching style.  I plan to take another of your courses."   Marione@the-casons.mv.com

"This course has been great - very useful to me.  The lessons were not confusing and your book and tapes are excellent and helpful with this course.  I can't think of anything I didn't like about it.  Thanks you!    Ceres96@aol.com

"I loved it!  I learned so much about voice, I think I finally am starting to grasp it.  And your critiques have helped tremendously; this is probably the first writing I've done in years so it's good to get back into the swing of things.   Locking down what voice is and how we go abut developing it was great, and the challenge of making me write genres I usually avoid was difficult but certainly welcomed.   Even though I'll likely apply all of this to SF or Fantasy-enchanced fiction, I'm also glad you didn't ignore other writing issues while critiquing, letting me know what worked even if it was outside the scope of the class.  I'll look forward to another class with you in the future."  mithril@onebox.com

Thought for the day:  The modem is the message