June and July Workshops at Passionate Ink

Check out the next couple of workshops Passionate Ink is offering. 

 

Yes, You Can Use Commas Correctly

By MM Pollard

June 18-29, 2012

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Has comma chaos taken over your writing? Do you find yourself putting dashes where commas might go, but you’re not sure, so you throw in the dashes? Have you convinced yourself that commas hate you?

If so, fear not. During this workshop, MM Pollard will use her unique way of distilling information so that you will use commas like a pro and editors will notice.

MM throws in a bit of humor to make the lessons much more fun than your jr. high English classes were. Cross her heart!

A few topics she will cover in the workshop are

- comma use in introductory words and phrases, in non-restrictive clauses, in compound and complex sentences,

- comma use in dialogue;

- dashes and parentheses use instead of commas, and

- the comma conventions. No, you don’t have to attend a huge meeting with a bunch of commas.

Reward for doing your homework: If you post all of your homework when due, she’ll proofread your 1,000-word submission for grammar, usage, and punctuation errors. Critiquing story elements like point of view and character development she leaves to publishers.

Workshop Outline

Lessons will be posted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Homework is due the day after it is assigned.

Lessons 1 & 2: You will learn the comma rules regarding introductory elements in a sentence – interjections, nouns of direct address, verbal and prepositional phrases, and subordinate clauses.

Lesson 3 & 4: You will learn the comma rules regarding restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, and appositive phrases. In Lesson 4, you will also learn the rules regarding dashes and parentheses and how to decide if you need commas, dashes, or parentheses.

Lesson 5: You will learn the comma rules regarding items in a series and compound sentences. You will also meet and learn to correct the dreaded comma splice.

Lesson 6: You will learn seven comma conventions, rules for using commas that don’t have a reason other than that’s how we do it in 2012.

Each lesson will have homework that gives you the opportunity to practice what you learned in that day. You will use your WIP for some of the homework assignments. I will give you passages for other assignments.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: As an English teacher and acquisitions editor for Black Velvet Seductions, MM Pollard has had the mission to find ungrammatical grammar, misused usage, and problematic punctuation in others’ writing. Mistakes seem to jump off the page for her – yes, she’s that good.

Her goal is to teach writers what they need to know about English grammar, usage, and punctuation so that they won’t need an editing service to correct their mistakes in these areas.

MM has presented or will present workshops for Muse Online Writers Conference, Savvy Authors, Writers Online Classes, Novelists at Work, and Orange County Chapter RWA, in addition to those in her virtual classroom.

 

WORKSHOP FEES:

$15 for Members
$20 for Non-Members

To pay via PayPal, please send payment to workshops@passionateink.org and make the subject line WORKSHOP: EROTIC COMMAS. Please be sure the information field includes the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.

To pay via check, please include WORKSHOP: EROTIC COMMAS in the memo area. Also, please include a note containing the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.

Mail checks to:

Robin L Rotham, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2412
Norfolk, NE 68702

***Permission to forward granted and encouraged.***

AND...

 

Creating the Perfect Predator

By LD Madison

July 7- 27, 2012

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Are all killers the same? Are all rapists motivated by the same things? Surprisingly, the answer is a resounding NO. Even though we’d like to think that all criminals are crazy or simply evil, they are complex creatures as varied and three-dimensional as the heroes we love.

 

Creating the Perfect Predator the perfect place to start your journey into the recesses of your villain’s mind and psyche. Learn how they became the way they are, why they do thing heinous things they do – and what they get out of it.

 

The four-week workshop is for authors at all levels of writing experience. There are no specific ‘prerequisites’ other than an open-mind, and a desire to create spine-chilling, believable predators. The workshop is meant to be an overview of criminals and predators – not just killers. It will include the psychology of rapists, arsonists, cult leaders and pedophiles – as well as a strategy for the hero/heroine to find and catch the villain.

 

Workshop Schedule

1. Introduction to Creating a Believable Predator

2. Profiling – What to look for

3. Killers – Are they all the same?

4. Arsonists – A Burning Obsession

5. Rapists – Who Rapes and Why They Do It

6. Pedophiles – Are They All the Same?

7. Cult and Satanic Crimes – Fool Me Once

8. How Does Your Hero Catch Them?

9. Conclusion – Wrap Up and Q&A

 

Assignments

I will assign homework where the students have to write a short scene - 500 words or less - using information learned in the ‘lesson’. For example, during the Killers lesson, they have to write a scene using from the killer’s point of view. For the Arsonist lesson, I have them write a scene from the point of view of the arsonist.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: LD has been writing and researching criminal behavior and subcultures for the past ten years. In addition to publishing erotic romances, LD has a degree in organizational psychology, and is currently working on a graduate degree in criminology.

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email at: ldmadison.author@gmail.com

 

WORKSHOP FEES:

$15 for Members
$20 for Non-Members

To pay via PayPal, please send payment to workshops@passionateink.org and make the subject line WORKSHOP: EROTIC PREDATOR. Please be sure the information field includes the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.

To pay via check, please include WORKSHOP: EROTIC PREDATOR in the memo area. Also, please include a note containing the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.

Mail checks to:

Robin L Rotham, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2412
Norfolk, NE 68702

***Permission to forward granted and encouraged.***