Fiction Workshop Series held by award winning Simon & Schuster author, Kara Dawn Goodwin

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Every Friday in March
March 6, March 13, March 20, March 27
5-7 pm at Underground Books, Carrollton, GA

25$ per session
80$ for all four sessions

Whether you’re an author struggling with a work-in-progress, a novice wanting to break ground on your first chapter or a weekend wordsmith in need of inspiration – join us to rekindle a sense of play and purpose in your writing and overcome the blocks standing in the way.

Each workshop will feature a brief topic discussion and writing exercises geared toward both creating new stories and reworking old ones.

After the workshop, as an option attendees can walk to Adamson Square to continue our group discussion over dinner.

The Workshops:

These topics are not rigid and will blend from week to week, depending on the preference of the group.

Friday, March 6
5 - 7 pm
Week One: Write Now, Plan Later

• Why great ideas stay on the shelf
• Passion – what is it and where did it go? How to have fun with writing
• Blowing up stagnant characters and scenes and breathing life into new ones

Friday, March 13
5 - 7 pm
Week Two: Mining Memory

• How to use personal experience for material – without getting disowned by family and friends
• Giving up control and getting elastic with facts

"Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days." - Flannery O’Connor

Friday March 20
5-7 pm
Week Three: Creating Authentic Intensity

• Melodrama and Cliché – how to rivet your readers without selling your soul
• Observing our lies, confessing our truth
• Emotional Imagery: getting them to feel your pain

"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads."
- Erica Jong

Friday, March 27
5-7 pm
Week Four: Find Your Voice before Killing Your Darlings

• Tuning out the noise: compliments and criticism
• Paring down: Saying more with less
• Getting published

About the workshop leader:

K. Dawn Goodwin is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta where she majored in Creative Writing. Her first memoir, "Until He Comes: A Good Girl's Quest to Get Some Heaven on Earth" (Simon & Schuster, 2012) was awarded Finalist for Author of the Year by the Georgia Writers Association. Her second book, a fiction novel, will be released in 2015.