WriterU On-line Classes for February

"Plotting Via Motivation"

by Laurie Schnebly Campbell

February 1-28, 2011

$30 at www.WriterUniv.com


Motivation is what drives your story. Any of us could write a book in which the characters set out for a three-hour tour and get shipwrecked on an uncharted desert isle. We've seen what seven such characters would do...over and over and over again. But what would YOURS do?

If you nail down any character's motivation, it doesn't matter whether the ship capsizes or lands safely three hours later. Your characters will create a plot from WHATEVER happens, because you've got their motivation built in from the very beginning. Find out how, with a workshop that covers:

* Your biggest question in motivation

* The surprising core that makes it plausible

* How deep do you go?

* The Motivation Checklist, with 14 blanks

* Difference between Goal and Motivation

* Using motivation to build your plot

Laurie Schnebly Campbell grew up in a family that talked "motivation" around the dinner table. While her day job in advertising is responsible for her synopsis skills, her Master's in Counseling works for motivating characters in her novels...including one that beat out Nora Roberts for "Best Special Edition of the Year." Check her out at www.BookLaurie.com.


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MASTER CLASS: "Law Enforcement: Making Your Cop Real"

by Margaret Taylor

February 7-18, 2011

$55 at www.WriterUniv.com


Prerequisite: Minimum of three chapters written about a law enforcement character.

This workshop helps writers figure out realistic actions, motivations, and responses for their law enforcement characters. Participants will shove up their sleeves, get down in the dirt and participate by posting scenarios to see what works and why. Based on actual experience from her 20+ years in the field, Margaret Taylor presents a clear perspective on developing and shaping fictional cops, making them and their contacts ring true. Along with details on who to contact for more information -- and insider tips on how to get it -- students will learn:

* Basics of everyday police routine, from patrol through investigations
* What's behind most law enforcement characters' motivations
* How your cop’s actions help define his or her character
* Creating realistic goals and responses for people in law enforcement
* What each agency is responsible for; how task forces work
* The difference between innocuous pranks and war
* Why the legendary "gray area" is a cop’s best friend

M.A. Taylor spent more twenty years in law enforcement. After seven years with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), she become a Special Agent for the California Department of Justice (DOJ), spending over a decade in Narcotics...including assignment to a Federal DEA-HIDTA Task Force. Margaret’s areas of expertise range from surveillance to wiretaps to tribal gaming, sexual predators, investigations and more.