Writers’ Workshop at Book Passage, Saturday, June 26

June 17th, 2010 | By Larry Habegger | No Comments »

Connie Hale and I will be running a “Manuscript Clinic with The Prose Doctors: Polishing your prose so it sings” on Saturday, June 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Book Passage in Marin County. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to strengthen his or her writing in that crucial final draft where you craft the words to really work for you.

Sign up here.

Connie Hale and I will be running a “Manuscript Clinic with The Prose Doctors: Polishing your prose so it sings” on Saturday, June 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Book Passage in Marin County. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to strengthen his or her writing in that crucial final draft where you craft the words to really work for you.

Sign up here.

You’ve arranged the pieces of a reported article, you’ve penned a brutally honest memoir, you’ve finally finished that magazine feature. Now you’re ready to polish the prose so that it sings—and so that it speaks to every editor you send it to. Veteran editors Larry Habegger and Constance Hale of The Prose Doctors (www.prosedoctors.com) will spend the day with you practicing what writers call The Craft: paring prose to its essence, styling sentences with flair, and building memorable characters and scenes. The day will be filled with discussions of craft, practice sentences, and exercises to build new writing muscles. The instructors will review in advance a manuscript from each student, and during the class we will work on polishing one double-spaced page from that manuscript.

And here are a few words about Connie, my partner in The Prose Doctors:

Constance Hale teaches writing at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and has edited more than two dozen books. She is the author of Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose. Her writing has appeared in Yoga Journal, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Adventure, Smithsonian and The Atlantic Monthly, among many other publications.

I hope to see you there. Sign up here.

Best Moments at the Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference

August 24th, 2008 | By Larry Habegger | 1 Comment »

The Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference has come and gone and now that I’ve just about recovered from all the fun, here are my highlights. It was quite a time.

1. Alison Wright on her horrific accident in Laos and amazing recovery. Read her new book, Learning to Breathe. 2. Simon Winchester meeting his mentor, James Morris, for the first time, discovering a woman, soon to be Jan. 3. Isabel Allende on following her instincts. Did she really say that?! Only those present will know what I mean…sorry! 4. How do you spell karaoke? Battle between the “Wail of the Tormented” and Pauline Frommer’s exquisite voice. Who knew? And she says her kids don’t like her to sing!!?? 5. Don George’s moving eulogy and moment of silence to honor Linnea Larson, Tim Cahill’s wife, killed in a recent car crash. 6. Tim Cahill’s talk about founding Outside magazine, and why he left. Management mistreated his co-workers, the women. 7. My morning sessions on the Personal Essay. Lots of talent, lots of laughs, rewarding for me and for others (I trust). 8. Seeing fine old friends like the plump and expecting Jen Leo, “the other Larry” Larry Bleiberg, John Flinn, Don George, Tim Cahill, Tom Swick, Georgia Hesse, Catharine Hamm, Amanda Jones, Jim Benning, Bob Holmes, Simon Winchester, Isabel Allende, Phil Cousineau, George Olson, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Michael Shapiro, Janis Cooke Newman, Pauline Frommer, Alison Wright…the list goes on and on. Don’t miss it next year!

Writers’ Workshop Sailing off the Turkish Coast

February 7th, 2008 | By Larry Habegger | No Comments »

Learn How to Craft a Travel Article, Write a Memoir and Publish Your Book

I’ll be leading a seven-day writers workshop on the personal travel narrative aboard a traditional 82-foot gulet (a Turkish yacht) September 20-27, 2008. Come join me!

On this seven-day intensive workshop sailing on the Aegean Sea you’ll learn the ins and outs of crafting a superb story and how to bring your work to print, whether it’s a short essay or a book-length memoir. I’ll help you develop powerful stories with simple tools and plot the course to successful publication.

For information about sailing along the ancient shores of Turkey with me, contact Robin Sparks at robin@robinsparks.com.

In this workshop you will learn how to:
• Unearth kernels of inspiration
• Find the right way in
• Create the ideal structure to give a story maximum substance and meaning
• Access memory to add depth and texture
• Use techniques of fiction to add drama and suspense
• Craft the perfect ending
• Edit to make the story a page-turner
• Develop the kind of book proposal publishers are eager to see
• Create the perfect marketing plan so your book will sell
• Write like a poet but think like a publicist

Daily writing exercises will help you find the focus of your story, and discussions will provide guidance for shaping and polishing. Participants will gain confidence about what makes a story work and how to make it shine in the marketplace. (more…)