Sometimes, when we try to solve story problems, we become stuck.  This is because our idea of the story is never the whole story.  This stuckness may last for weeks, months, and even decades, as we circle the apparent ‘problem’ endlessly, while failing to realize that it is unsolvable.  It is unsolvable because at the heart of every story is a dilemma…not a problem.  Problems get solved.  Dilemmas get resolved through a shift in perception.  When we start to recognize the nature of the dilemma, a through-line appears and our story begins to reveal itself.

Our conscious mind is good at doing one thing: it answers the questions we ask it.  When a writer gets blocked, he tends to ask questions like, “Why is this so difficult?”  And his brain gives him answers to that question.  But what if we had a series of questions (and an experienced guide) that took us directly to the heart of our story, so that we could shine a light on the process of story and begin to understand what our story is actually about?  In Free The Writer Within you will discover why you are uniquely qualified to tell your story.  Those very fears that kept you stuck are, in fact, your way into the story.  Free The Writer Within will help you understand what you didn’t know you were trying to say.

Through lecture, discussion and stream-of-consciousness writing exercises, Free the Writer Within provides writers at all levels with the tools necessary to successfully bring their work to fruition. This is an excellent preparatory workshop for the 90-Day Novel or 90-Day Screenplay workshops.

• Discover what your story is really about
• Turn your fears into allies
• Understand how and why you are uniquely qualified to write your story
• Identify the dramatic question of your story
• Discover the universal dilemma at the heart of your story (this is the ‘source’ of the story from which all conflict and complications arise).
• Isolate the specific want and need of your protagonist
• Explore your hero’s transformation in the Third act
• Clarify the through-line of the story by tracking the ‘want’ through the plot points
• Explore the back-story that informs your dramatic question
• Allow your characters to begin to speak to you.

This workshop is offered quarterly, in March, June, September and December.