Workshops

W o r k s h o p s

Planned and Taught by Dr. Jimmy Carl Harris, BA, MA, EdD

These nine workshops are appropriate for a wide range of interests and abilities.

Each is designed to be taught during a session of 1 to 1½ hours.

Each is a stand-alone learning experience, but several workshops may be offered

as a learning series for programs of a day or several days or a week.

The Opportunity to Discover

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This introductory level workshop will enable participants to write in a way that will empower the reader. Writing is more effective when readers are given the opportunity to discover, rather than simply be told, the nature and purpose of the characters. Through a series of examples and exercises, participants will learn to write in a more evocative fashion.

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successfully conducted at

The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2010)

The Southeastern Writers Association Conference (June 2009)

The Alabama Writers' Conclave conference (July 2008)

The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2006)

The Appalachian Writers' Association Conference (July 2005) ....

From Quantity to Quality

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This introductory level workshop will enable participants to edit their own work and the work of others. Through a series of examples and exercises, they will learn to take expansive writing and transform it into a powerful expression.

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successfully conducted at
The Appalachian Writers' Association Conference (July 2006)

The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2006).

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Write Risky

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There are no good, safe stories. Risk-taking produces stories that unsettle, excite, and ring true. Yet, there are some constraints worthy of consideration. Through examples, discussion, and exercises, participants in this intermediate-level fiction workshop will explore styles of effective writing that take them beyond the bonds of convention. To prepare for this workshop, students should read “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Conner. .

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successfully conducted at

The Writers Loft at Middle Tennessee State University (January 2010)

The Southeastern Writers Association Conference (June 2009)

The Alabama Writers' Conclave conference (July 2008)

The Tennessee Writers’ Alliance Conference (June 2008)
The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2007)

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Complex Dialogue

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Most dialogue is direct, intended to convey information and circumstances. Complex dialogue employs omission and implication and opposites to evoke tension and provide insight. Through examples, discussion, and exercises, participants in this intermediate-level fiction workshop will explore the challenges of complex dialogue. To prepare for this workshop, students should read “Hills like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway.

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successfully conducted at

The Southeastern Writers Association Conference (June 2009)

The Alabama Writers' Conclave conference (July 2008)

The Appalachian Writers' Association Conference (July 2007)
The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2007)

Set the Place, Set the Time

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Stories are about people, but the setting (place, time) locates the story and helps to define the characters and establish the mood. Setting may be described or revealed through narrative or dialogue or both. By discussing examples and participating in writing exercises, students will learn to effectively employ setting.

successfully conducted at

The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2010)

Bevill State Community College (April, 2008)

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The Short Story

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A short story employs economy of language to present characters in conflict and a resolution. Short stories often grow from a vital nugget (something seen, something heard, something imagined) that may be the beginning, or the turning point, or the end of the story. In this workshop, students will learn to envision a short story as linear, with the nugget at any point on the story line. Through discussion and writing exercises, students will create a nugget and extend a story from it.

successfully conducted at

The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2010)

The Writers Loft at Middle Tennessee State University (January 2010)

The Southeastern Writers Association Conference (June 2009)

Appalachian Authors Guild Conference (June 2009)

Writing Group at the Hoover Public Library (April 2009)

The Tennessee Mountain Writers' Conference (March, 2008)

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Jump Start Your Muse

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Waiting for inspiration to strike can turn into a very long wait. Writers can take anything, however commonplace, and turn it into the starting point for a story, poem, play, or song. This introductory level workshop guides writers through applying a creative process to random prompts. The workshop leader will provide the prompts. The participants will use their own imagination and creativity to write a short piece in the genre of their choosing.
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successfully conducted at

The West Virginia Writers' Conference (June 2006)

The Appalachian Writers' Association Conference (July 2004)
The Madison Public Library (June 2004)
The Baldwin Writers' Group Workshop for Wordsmiths (May 2004).

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Welcome to the Writers' World

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Writing should not be a totally solitary process. Opportunities to receive feedback on one's work and to network with other writers can lead to better writing and to greater success as a writer. This general level workshop encourages writers to immerse themselves in the writers' world. Participants will join in a discussion of organizing and participating in writers' groups. Participants will also be encouraged to submit their work to contests and publications. A session outline and information on regional groups, contests, and publications will be given to each participant.
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successfully conducted at
The Baldwin Writers' Group Workshop for Wordsmiths (May 2004)

The Alabama Writers' Conclave Conference (2003)

The Appalachian Writers' Association Conference (2003)

The Calhoun College Writers' Workshop (2002) ......

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Real People Sweat

Rewriting turns a story draft into a great story. Evocative writing encompasses word choice, appeal to senses, structure, clarity, anything and everything that makes a story vivid and memorable. Following a discussion of these elements, we will complete a rewriting exercise.

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to be conducted at

The Writers Loft at Middle Tennessee State University (January 2012)