Advanced Writing Techniques

Power Writing:

You want, pure and simple, to become a better writer.  

     You desire to more accurately capture your deepest thoughts, to wow your grandchildren or co-workers, to persuade the unpersuadable. To be, in short, more competent. Great writing moves people, and lasts a long, long time. And you want yours to meet that standard.

     In this workshop, you will learn how to apply techniques used by professional writers to make your writing more precise, more expressive, more arresting. You will learn to develop your own unique voice and style, as well as how to avoid common mistakes made by amateurs. In addition, the workshop will cover strategies to add depth and intensity and authority to your work. You will also learn how to analyze your own prose to discover weaknesses, and then turn those weaknesses into opportunities to make your work sparkle. 

     The lessons offered here can be applied to any kind of writing, public or private. No matter what kind of writing you choose to pursue—whether letters, diaries, stories, creative essays, autobiographies, blogs, business reports, professional correspondence, marketing brochures, novels, editorials, or even late-night doodles—this course will enhance the skills required to make your writing stand out.

     There are no echoes of your grandfather’s high school English class here! This is not a rules-oriented seminar. Rather, it emphasizes the skills necessary to write more self-satisfied prose. It is at heart a study of the most effective practices of accomplished writers. 

     You may be a fine writer, even a very fine one; this course will make you even better! 

CONTENT FOCUS:

  • An Infinite Variety of Sentences
  • Purple Prose and Yellow Journalists
  • A Crash Course in Rhetoric
  • Organizing Your Thoughts
  • Accessing Your Muse
  • Syntactic Sophistication
  • Simplicity
  • Descriptive Writing
  • The Economy of Prose
  • Breaking the Rules!
  • Lyrical Writing
  • Language & Thought
  • Those Pesky Parts of Speech
  • Logic/Coherence
  • Creativity and Discipline
  • Revision Strategies
  • What Readers Really Want
  • Proofreading
  • Power Writing:

  • You want, pure and simple, to become a better writer.  

  •      You desire to more accurately capture your deepest thoughts, to wow your grandchildren or co-workers, to persuade the unpersuadable. To be, in short, more competent. Great writing moves people, and lasts a long, long time. And you want yours to meet that standard.

  •      In this workshop, you will learn how to apply techniques used by professional writers to make your writing more precise, more expressive, more arresting. You will learn to develop your own unique voice and style, as well as how to avoid common mistakes made by amateurs. In addition, the workshop will cover strategies to add depth and intensity and authority to your work. You will also learn how to analyze your own prose to discover weaknesses, and then turn those weaknesses into opportunities to make your work sparkle. 

  •      The lessons offered here can be applied to any kind of writing, public or private. No matter what kind of writing you choose to pursue—whether letters, diaries, stories, creative essays, autobiographies, blogs, business reports, professional correspondence, marketing brochures, novels, editorials, or even late-night doodles—this course will enhance the skills required to make your writing stand out.

  •      There are no echoes of your grandfather’s high school English class here! This is not a rules-oriented seminar. Rather, it emphasizes the skills necessary to write more self-satisfied prose. It is at heart a study of the most effective practices of accomplished writers. 

  •      You may be a fine writer, even a very fine one; this course will make you even better! 

  • CONTENT FOCUS:

  • An Infinite Variety of Sentences
  • Purple Prose and Yellow Journalists
  • A Crash Course in Rhetoric
  • Organizing Your Thoughts
  • Accessing Your Muse
  • Syntactic Sophistication
  • Simplicity
  • Descriptive Writing
  • The Economy of Prose
  • Breaking the Rules!
  • Lyrical Writing
  • Language & Thought
  • Those Pesky Parts of Speech
  • Logic/Coherence
  • Creativity and Discipline
  • Revision Strategies
  • What Readers Really Want
  • Proofreading