"How To Think Sideways" course for writers

If you are an aspiring writer, you need to check out Holly Lisle's new writing course, How To Think Sideways: Career Survival School for Writers. It is a six-month class offered entirely online, and it covers an immense range of material. One of the students even referred to it as "grad school for writers", and I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. The course is perfect not just for novelists but for screenwriters as well.

I can't recommend this course highly enough. There is nothing else out there like it. It will change the way you think about writing, and it will change how you think about yourself as a writer. It is incredibly motivating. The lessons are interesting and thought-provoking, and the techniques are practical and useful no matter your writing style. There's something for everyone. The sheer volume of information offered in this class could fill a library of how-to books about writing, publishing, and marketing.

Here are a few of the things you'll learn in the course:

  • How to come up with great ideas on a deadline
  • How to develop rich, detailed plots
  • How to create realistic characters with layered personalities
  • How to dig deep into your own psyche to add depth to your stories
  • How to maintain the discipline to write regularly
  • How to query agents, write a book proposal, and get your books published
  • How to write and get published in multiple genres
  • How to make a living as an author regardless of whether you make the bestseller list

And that's just a small sample of what is covered in How To Think Sideways. Each week, you'll learn new techniques, and every technique is accompanied by examples to demonstrate how you can use those techniques in your own writing.

Along with the weekly lessons (which, on their own, are worth far more than the fee for the class), you'll also get access to the online discussion forum where you can interact with other students, discuss the lessons, share your experiences, and get tips and recommendations. Students even have the option to participate in smaller workgroups to critique each other's writing.

How To Think Sideways is offered over six months for a fee of $47 per month. Students have the option to cancel at any time if they feel like they're not getting what they expected from the course. Having experienced the course myself, I can't imagine any writer not benefiting from all the terrific material. When you consider a Creative Writing college course lasting a single semester can cost upwards of $200 and covers only a fraction of the material included in the How To Think Sideways course, $47 per month is quite a bargain.

And how about this for flexibility: If $47 per month is beyond your budget, or if you're too busy to devote time each week to a new lesson, there's also a $25 per month option to spread the course out over twelve months instead of paying $47 per month for the six-month version. In the twelve-month course, you'll receive a new lesson every two weeks instead of every week.

Each course is limited to a certain number of students. The last time it was offered, the course filled up in less than 24 hours. The next course begins soon and enrollment is open from September 1st through the 8th, but I recommend signing up right away because there's a good chance the new class will fill up as quickly as the last class did.

If you'd like to learn more about the course, please visit the How To Think Sideways web site.

Posted on September 2, 2008 in: Writing
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How to Create Realistic Characters With Depth

Clustering is a simple brainstorming method you can use in a variety of ways. Its biggest benefit is that it helps you push past your analytical mind and reach into your subconscious mind for ideas that resonate on a deeper level. A single clustering session can produce dozens of great ideas.

In The New Diary, where I first encountered the technique a few years ago, author Tristine Rainer presents clustering as a journaling method for personal transformation. In the How To Think Sideways course, we used clustering to explore ourselves via a process that generated a wealth of material to mine later for story ideas.

The potential applications for clustering are numerous, but today I'm going to describe how I've been using the technique to develop realistic characters with depth. …read the rest of this article »

Posted on August 27, 2008 in: Characters, Creativity & Ideas, Writing
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Don't Let These Problems Ruin Your Screenplay

Writing visually is not only about crafting words that flow smoothly and evoke vivid imagery. It is also about not including words that detract from that imagery or interrupt the flow. The screenwriter's goal is to create a script in which the writing flows so smoothly the reader becomes part of the story, watching it from within.

Here are some problems aspiring screenwriters should avoid when writing a spec script:

"We hear" or "We see"

Phrases such as "We hear" and "We see" should never appear in a spec script. They momentarily force readers outside the story. You want the reader to become so involved in your story she forgets the rest of the world exists. You want readers to live and breathe your story as they read it.

The imagery evoked by your words should drive what we're seeing or hearing as readers. Phrases like "We see" and "We hear" make the reader feel as if he or she is part of an external audience, not part of the story itself. Instead of reinforcing the idea the reader is immersed in a powerful story, those phrases do nothing but …read the rest of this article »

Posted on August 14, 2008 in: Screenwriting
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Writer's Block Cure #1

In my last entry, I described my personal experience with writer's block. I had an abundance of story ideas but I froze every time I faced a blank page. I couldn't even start writing, let alone complete a chapter or a whole novel or screenplay.

There are two types of writer's block. Writers who experience the first type suffer from a lack of ideas. Writers dealing with the second type have no shortage of ideas but suffer from an inability to get into the flow of writing.

This technique is intended for writers bogged down by the second type of writer's block. It's a trick I learned a couple of years ago but at the time I thought it sounded a bit silly. It seems to work well for me now that I've given it a fair chance. Give it a try. It will help you get the words flowing again.

Step 1

Grab one of your favorite books, preferably in the same genre as the story you're trying to write. You'll only need the first two to six pages, so if you don't have a copy of the book handy, feel free to select an excerpt from the author's web site and …read the rest of this article »

Posted on August 11, 2008 in: Creativity & Ideas, Writer's Block, Writing
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