The Writing Barn Presents: April Advanced Writing Weekend Workshop Little Turnings: Examining Emotional Pacing led by Sara Zarr is sold-out, with thirty-two applications having been received for the limited capacity twenty-person workshop!
Sara Zarr is quite the draw and we at The Barn are thrilled to have her. So thrilled, we are opening the Friday Meet & Greet and Saturday morning lecture to additional registrants to serve the needs of as many writers as possible. The fee is $75 and registration information is below.
One applicant wrote of her desire to study with Sara Zarr on the topic of Emotional Pacing, this way:
I began writing because I wanted to tell stories that came from the heart. As a reader, I am drawn to character-driven literature that overwhelms me with its raw emotion and honesty. I understand the craft of fiction and can apply the protocols of structure, conflict, point of view, and pacing to my work. However, sometimes I feel each revision that tightens the plot or the prose takes my work a step away from the emotional resonance of the story.
I would like to learn techniques that help me bring the heart and honesty back into my stories. I can tell readers how my character feels, but I want to explore new techniques for bringing that emotion to life. I’d like to learn how to apply emotional structure to my novels. In the books I love, the physical journey reflects the emotional journey. I’d like to examine how this works and then be able to apply it to my own writing.
That’s what Sara is so known for. Her books have emotional punch and never feel trite or cliched. On her blog earlier this week, Sara shared about her latest novel, The Lucy Variations, and how she wanted to take new risks as a writer with it. In her entry titled, Lucy, Fear of Failure, and a Heartwarming Tale from Childhood Zarr writes:
I wanted to tell a new kind of story for me. I wanted my character’s crisis to be more existential and less tangible, more like the kind of crisis I was experiencing myself, creatively and at midlife. I’d always wanted to find the right context for exploring the relationship between a teen girl and an adult male mentor figure without it being OH NOES or sordid. I wanted to write about beauty, and longing, and feeling just on the other side of that and fearing you won’t ever be able to access joy or know yourself again.
And later Sara confides:
I spent a not small amount of time crying over this book. I was pretty sure it was terrible. I couldn’t write it. Third person was too hard. No one would be interested in this story. It was weird. I didn’t know what I was doing. I only was able to push forward by accepting the thought: “This will probably be my big, weird, overambitious, disappointing disaster. And that’s okay.” Yes, I succeeded in writing this book by completely making friends with the idea that I might have a massive failure on my hands.
Now, this is a writer I want to learn from. She tells the truth, not only in her books, but about her process. In taking that risk, did she fail as she feared? Read the PW review to find out.
The schedule for the Lecture Only participants will be as follows:
Friday, April 19
6:00pm to 7:30pm Cocktails & Conversation Opener (open to workshop and lecture only registrants)
Saturday, April 20
9:00 am-11:30am Lecture, excercises and Q&A (open to workshop and lecture only registrants)
So if in Austin or nearby, sign up now. There will be a limited number of lecture only registrants sold. If you would like to reserve a seat, please send an email to info@thewritingbarn.com ASAP. Once your spot has been reserved, payment information will be forwarded to the Lecture-Only Attendee.
Please note, we are currently accepting applications for our November Advanced Writer Weekend Workshop with award-winning author Francisco X. Stork. The topic for that weekend is Dialogue, Thoughts and Gestures.