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In teaching writing I rely on a carefully chosen mix of exercises meant to develop setting, tone, transition, character, and voice, as well as lectures, readings, and a generous amount of interaction among participants. While the exact mix of topics in a given craft session depends on the length and purpose of the workshop, there are certain themes I find myself returning to again and again: Voice: Though it cannot by itself carry the day, the discovery (or in some cases, the renewal) of voice is what gives a writer the center she needs to frame the world in a way that rings true to her readers. Voice, in other words, is the gateway to authenticity. Storytelling: Underlying all good writing is a sound knowledge of dramatic device. For beginning writers especially, the nuts and bolts of dramatic device are more easily grasped through exaggerated story forms, such as traditional legend and myth. With this in mind I often reserve a period of time during my workshops to do some storytelling, offering tales that provide exceptionally clear examples of how components are presented for maximum impact. Marketing: No matter how accomplished the writer, there is no substitute for learning the basics of selling one's work. I routinely discuss query letters and book proposals, general submission standards, the topics that are easiest to market, what rights to sell, research tips, and publicity hints for authors.
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Creative Non-fiction
While my nonfiction classes range in subject matter from books to magazine articles, much of my workshop activity focuses on the creative non-fiction essay. Ideally, these are progressive classes. They begin by exploring critical mechanical issues, such as transition, character, and setting, and then move to exercise-based techniques for uncovering and shaping story threads; this, in turn, leads to the enhancement and refinement of those story threads through the application of dramatic device. Lectures, as well as critique and discussion of student work, are in most cases supplemented by a selected readings from In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction (W.W. Norton). |
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Nature Writing
When teaching specifically about nature writing, I make a point of presenting ways for writers to grow new relationships to the world around them. It's the knowledge of how to build, tear down, and recreate bridges to the natural world that allows the writer to craft stories with a strong, fresh sense of place. Many of my classes begin with a brief discussion of how nature mythology can be used to broaden our understanding of place, followed by exercises to find the dominant archetypal themes in our own relationships to the land. Our ultimate goal is to create snapshots of these links to the wilds through the effective use of the nonfiction essay. |
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Freelancing: The Nuts & Bolts
During my eighteen years as a full-time free-lancer I've spoken many times to writers' groups and conferences about the process of becoming a writer - from psychological problems such as creative block, to the most basic nuts and bolts of developing, editing, and marketing your work. From 1987 through 1990 I ran an intensive marketing workshop called From Pen to Paycheck, which was offered in major urban areas throughout the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. This course was designed to help beginning writers master the basics of presenting and selling their nonfiction, from how to develop queries and book proposals, to research and interview techniques, to rights and contracts. |
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References: Selected Workshops Where Gary has Presented
Livingston Writer's Workshop
Whidbey Island Writers' Workshop National Writer's Voice Project Pacific Northwest Writers Conference |
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