Workshop Ideas, Please?

 By Thomas Kies

Over the past few years, I’ve taught Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing classes at our local community college.  I love doing it because I love talking about writing, publishing, books, and storytelling.  

The college has asked me to shake things up a bit for the spring and lead some workshops.  I’ve already reached out to the Carteret Writers Network and they’d like to have me do workshops at the new home of our county’s arts council, a beautiful location with the perfect space.  The college has bought into the idea as well. 

I’m reaching out to you for your advice on what workshops I should lead. What would you like to be part of?  Or what would you like to teach?

In the past, I’ve done session entitled “Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Plot Twists” for the North Carolina Writers Network at the writers' conference in Wrightsville Beach and I’ve done a similar workshop for the Pamlico Writers Group. 

In my classroom, I’ve covered character development, story arcs, character arcs, plot twists, colorful descriptions and the value of emotion in writing. 

We’ve talked about heroes and antiheroes and how to create a relatable protagonist and how all villains may not be bad…or at least that's what they tell themselves.

I’ve covered self-publishing vs hybrid publishing vs traditional publishing. I’ve talked about the value of finding and getting a good literary agent. We’ve discussed how long a chapter should be, how many words should your novel be, and how to begin and end a scene. 

But now, I’ve got to develop two or three solid workshops lasting about two hours each.  The audience will most likely be comprised of both new authors and those who have had some writing experience. What do you think?  If you have an idea, let me know in your comments below!!  I can use your help.