Outside the Square Fiction Workshop by Cheryl Wright - HTML preview

Table of Contents

Lesson One – Introduction & Making Money from Writing
Lesson Two– Writing Dazzling Openings
Lesson Three – Motivation and Conflict
Lesson Four– Finding Ideas
Lesson Five– S h o w , D o n t T e ll
Lesson Six– Choosing a Title Lesson One – Introduction & Making Money from Writing

This is Cheryl Wright, and I'd like to welcome you to my ‘Outside the Square Fiction Workshop’mini-ecourse.

This mini-ecourse will give you a taste of what is included in the fullversion ebook, and includes entire lessons – without the exercises or summaries.

I’ve also added some bits and pieces here and there for explanation, but apart from that, you’ve got the full quality lessons. And of course, only a small sampling of lessons are included in this mini-ecourse.

Over the next few lessons, Im going to reveal some of the tips, tricks, „se cre tsand techniques I use to produce publishable fiction.

 

B e fo re w e b e g in th o u g h , Illte llyo u a b it a b o u t m yse lf.

Im a n A u stra lia n w rite r, a n d u n til a b o u t fo u r ye a rs a g o I stru g g le d to p ro d u ce a n y p u b lish a b le sto rie s. I took literally dozens of courses, and read heaps of books on fiction writing, but not one of them taught the fundamentals of writing.

The way things were going, I thought I would never get published.

One day I was in a really strange mood – well, stranger than normal (lol) – and wrote the type of short story I never dreamed I would ever produce. When I showed it to my writing buddy, we both agreed it would be the story that got me published. And it did.

That story took less than two hours to write, and I received over AUD$ 5 0 0 fo r its p u b lica tio n . M y e n tire writing career took off following the publication of that story.

S in ce th a t tim e , Ive w ritte n lo ts o f sh o rt sto rie s, a n d e ve n b e tte r, h a d th e m p u b lish e d , Ive h a d n o ve ls, sh o rt sto rie s, a n d p o e try p u b lish e d . A s I w rite th is, Im p u ttin g th e fin ish in g to u ch e s o n another contracted non-fiction book, and have just had a novel accepted. The latter two will be published 2007.

At the time of writing I have two novels under consideration, and a request for another two from an agent.

B u t I d o n t sto p a t fictio n . I a ls o write non-fiction books and features, and have recently started writing for an Australian magazine. For three years I wrote for an American magazine, but decided to stop when the e n tire fo cu s o f th e m a g a zin e w a s ch a n g e d , a n d I w a sn t in te re ste d in th e subject matter – wines. Im a tea-totaler, so it would have been extremely difficult to continue.
I also write for businesses from time to time, and do quite a bit of freelance editing. Oh, and I write (and often teach) courses for writers, and present workshops at schools, libraries, and conferences.

A s yo u ca n se e , Im co n sta n tly ju g g lin g p ro je cts.

Im a fu ll -time writer, and have been for four years. This followed the difficult decision to leave my day-job because of a medical condition. I have a lung disease called Bronchiectasis, as well as a major immune deficiency that requires four-weekly transfusions. The positive to all this is that without the condition, I would still be working sixty hour plus weeks, without time to do what I love best – writing.

Becoming so ill was one of the turning points in my writing career. It s a tough way to do it, but with hard work and tenacity, I now live a pretty normal life – apart from the infrequent hospitalizations and monthly transfusions. (I use that time to edit, and often to write.)

To continue… in addition to writing, I do quite a bit of web design, and own some writing-related websites:

 

www.writer2writer.com
www.aussieauthors.com
www.authorsunlimited.net

 

I also produce a monthly ezine for writers called Writer to Writer. If yo u h a ve n t d o n e so a lre a d y, I suggest you subscribe by going to http://www.writer2writer.com

 

If yo u fin d its n o t fo r yo u , its e a sy to unsubscribe as a link is provided with every email that is sent. Writer to Writer is tota lly fre e , a n d yo u llg e t lo ts o f w ritin g-related tips and resources with each issue.

 

If so m e o n e h a d to ld m e fo u r ye a rs a g o I w o u ld b e w ritin g fo r a livin g , Id h a ve to ld th e m th e y w e re cra zy. I stillca n t b e lie ve m y life-long dream has come true.

Why ‘O u tsid e th e S q u are’? Ive b e e n a ske d th a t sa m e q u e stio n so m a n y tim e s so Ill b e a t yo u to

the punch. My philosophy is to not write like every other writer. I strive to be different and teach my students the same way.

 

M o st p e o p le sa y „o u tsid e th e b o xso I decided to veer away from the cliché terminology.

Can I make money writing? S u re yo u ca n . B u t d o n t b e fo o le d , w ritin g is h a rd w o rk. Y o u h a ve to

le a rn th e fu n d a m e n ta ls, co n sta n tly w rite a n d im p ro ve yo u r cra ft, a n d ta ke co u rse s re g u la rly. Im still taking courses despite the fact I teach writing on a regular basis.

Apart from the writing itself, you can also make money from taking classes and speaking events such as conferences, schools, and so on – o n ce yo u ve e sta b lish e d yo u rse lf a s a n „e xp e rt. I generally charge a minimum of $90 per hour for speaking/teaching events, and have no trouble whatsoever getting this amount. Depending on what is required, the cost is sometimes much more.
Take heed though– yo u m u st tre a t yo u r w ritin g a s a b u sin e ss. O th e rw ise it w illb e co m e a „h o b b ya n d yo u w o n t b e ta ke n se rio u sly. B u t th a ts a le sso n fo r a n o th e r co u rse .

Apart from the monetary side of things, the satisfaction of writing – a book, article, whatever – is incomparable. Holding that book or magazine in your hands cannot be equaled. The thrill of publication never goes away. Believe me.

In the next lesson we will begin learning the fundamentals of writing. And you will have some homework!