*Permission to forward granted and appreciated*
Want to learn to write believable male characters? We’ve got the class for you! This workshop is designed for both beginners and experienced writers.
MAN TALK
Instructor: BA Binns
Dates: February 3-28, 2014
Cost: $15 for YARWA members ($25 for non-members)
TO REGISTER go to: http://yarwa.com/programs
About the Course: Do you have problems with men? (that is, the male characters you create)
If you have ever wondered if the males on your pages are too tough or too gentle, or if readers have ever called him feminine, too emotional, inconsistent or “unreal,” this is your class. Talk Like A Boy is a version of the basic Man Talk class adapted for greater focus on adolescent and teen males which will be addressed during the overall class. Man Talk is designed to provide tools to use when the men on the pages you write open their mouths, indulge in inner thoughts, act, or exhibit body language.
We begin by building a guy from the brain out and understanding the filters he uses to see his world. The four week class includes lessons on:
A review of the impact of cultural issues
How the child and adult archetypes fit in without creating stereotypes
Backstory and how to use his personal history to make readers believe that whatever he does, it is exactly what a guy like him would do.
Verbal and non-verbal communication styles
How emotions are handled (yes, there is more than just anger), as well as friendship, fights, and love.
When to use the male POV and when to avoid it.
And finally, how much reality readers really want.
There are outside readings and homework. So bring your guys (the ones on the pages) and we will get to know how to make them real men. Please come with a male character from a WIP or one that you are developing, along with any specific issue you want addressed. Bring your specific issues and don’t be a lurker. During the third week, there will be an opportunity for a mini-character critique.
About the Instructor: B. A. Binns is the pseudonym of Barbara Binns, a Chicago Area author who writes stories about of “real boys growing into real men…and the people who love them.” She is the author of two contemporary YA novels, Pull and Being God, and has had several short stories published. Her work has been named to YALSA’s 2012 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, and nominated for the 2012-2013 Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award. She has made presentations at Chicago North’s Spring Fling (2012), Wisconsin Festival of Books (2012), Romance Slam Jam (2013), the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Children (2013) and SCBWI (2013). In 2010 she was a finalist in the RWA Golden Heart® contest and won the National Readers Choice Award for Young Adult fiction presented by the Oklahoma Romance Writers of America. She blogs for YALSA blog –http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/author/barbara-binns/ and for Romancing The Genres –http://romancingthegenres.blogspot.com/search/label/Binns. You can find her at http://babinns.com/ and on facebook at http://facebook.com/allthecolorsoflove
TO REGISTER go to: http://yarwa.com/programs
For any questions, please contact Lea Nolan, YARWA VP of Programs at vp-programs (at) YARWA (dot) com or Aileen Fish, YARWA Workshop Coordinator at workshops (at) yarwa (dot) com
Interested in joining YARWA? Click here to learn more: http://yarwa.com/join-yarwa
1 comment
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