Events.
Here's what I'm up to. Let's hook up.
Standing Monkey Meetings
My writing group is called The Infinite Monkeys and they're a great bunch of typewriter smashing Hamlet aspiring authors who don't take themselves too seriously. A rare thing these days, I'd say. It is a chapter of the League of Utah Writers, a venerable organizaiton I used to lead.
Our stated meetings:We meet in person, thanks to the kind support of the Cultural Arts Society of West Jordan. We meet in a cool little cubby of a space here:
7879 South 1530 West #600
West Jordan, Utah 84088
Meetings generally open at 6:30 pm for some chat time, with things kicking off at 7:00 pm and ending at 9:00 pm.
Second Thursday of the month: General business
We'll have a class for the first hour and then critique groups for the last half. Bring 5 copies of 5 pages and get some feedback.
Fourth Thursday of the month: Write In
This is an informal gathering where we get togther and hopefully write something. It's often full of chatting groups. some critiquing, and general networking. Good times.
Our meetings are all open to the public and all are welcome. Come out and meet the gang! Chances are, though no guarantee, I'll be there distrupting what everyone else is trying to do.
OF HEROES, HOMES AND HONEY
Available Now
Released: Jan. 9, 2024
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Creative Writing 1 (LLWRC 780)
Tuesday Nights (6 sessions)
Aug. 27 - Oct. 1, 2024
6:30-9:00 p.m.
Creative Writing (LLWRC 780): How do we tell stories? What do we include in writing, and what remains unsaid? Build your voice as we focus on a group of specific techniques for shaping and informing your creative skills, including character, plot, point of view, description, dialogue, and setting. In class, we will read short selections of writing to see what techniques we can beg, borrow, and steal from them. We will experiment with in-class writing exercises and read and discuss each other's work. Writing can be inventive, illogical, chaotic, unexpected, strange, and wonderful. In this class, we will practice seeing the world in new ways and then recreating that experience on the page.
Cultural Arts Council of West Jordan Writing Series
Aug. 29, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
7879 South 1530 West #600
West Jordan, Utah 84088
Basic Story Structure
A class on basic story structure. Let me introduce you to three acts, Freytag, Crisis and Climax. This is the form stories traditionally take and understanding this basic flow it key to writing accessible fiction.
Cultural Arts Council of West Jordan Writing Series
Sep. 5, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
7879 South 1530 West #600
West Jordan, Utah 84088
Writing Young Adult
Investigate what makes fiction young adult and also what makes great young adult fiction. From gatekeepers to theme, taboos and responsibilities, it’s a time of change and we must embrace it. A class for writers and fans of the genre.
Cultural Arts Council of West Jordan Writing Series
Sep. 19, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
7879 South 1530 West #600
West Jordan, Utah 84088
Mystery Theory
Look behind the curtain of the formulaic, but eternally popular genre: the Mystery Story. Learn about the constructions, tropes, types and methods that make modern crime fiction and the everlasting whodunit. We’ll talk story and clues, herrings that are red, interviews, sleuthing, gimmicks and codas. Something to excite your little grey cells.
Rocky Mountain Gold Writers Conference
September 27-29, 2024
The Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center
13200 East 14th Place
Aurora, Colorado 80011
Saturday, September 28, 2024
8:00 — 8:50 a.m. Conference Room III
Deeper Reading for Deeper Writing
Consciously or unconsciously meaning is hidden beneath signs and facades in literature, layered in word choice and focus. Authors can achieve deep depths of intent, layer after layer of meaning, to elevate text to literature. Through example we will explore the possibilities.
9:00 — 9:50 a.m. Conference Room V
Writing to Theme
From the lighthouse of intent, to hard questions, symbols, subplots and echoes, the class will encourage the writer to plumb the depths of meaning, bleed a little, and create multiple strands of meaning in their work. Class will offer concrete examples and methods to tease out your ideas.
4:30 — 5:20 p.m. Conference Room II
Heinlein's Five Rules of Writing
A discussion of Robert Heinlein’s famous “Five Rules of Writing.” These pragmatic, practical and practiced directives are for the working author and are the very career-enabling tips that steered a blue collar scribbler to becoming one of the seminal voices of his age. But are they still valid?
Sunday, September 29, 2024
8:00 — 8:50 a.m. Conference Room V
The Faceted Story
A presentation about those elements of narrative fiction that lend depth, value and resonance to writing. Examples and techniques will be offered to help shape niches and expand any story into new areas of interest for a greater chance to stand out from the slush pile.
Alta High School – Writing Class Visit
Oct. 4, 2024
11055 S 1000 E
Sandy, UT 84094
World Building
Talking to a bunch of young writers about world building as part of Mrs. DeFriez's advanced writing class at my old alma mater.
Fellowship of the Ink Chapter presentation
Oct. 9, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
Bridgerland Tech
1301 N.600W.
Logan Utah. Room 628.
Mystery Theory
Mystery is a modern formulaic genre with infinite variation. This class will discuss the key elements that define the genre and teach concrete techniques to form an effective mystery. There is a premeditation to the perfect story and we will investigate it thoroughly.
Cultural Arts Council of West Jordan Writing Series
Oct. 10, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
7879 South 1530 West #600
West Jordan, Utah 84088
A Glimpse of Horror
A class about the most visceral genre - HORROR. We'll discuss its evolutionary origins, compare it to its sister genre, then explore it, categorize it and wrestle with it to explore techniques to effectively use horror in our own writing.
American Fork Mini Conference
Oct. 12, 2024, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
American Fork Library
64 South 100th East,
American Fork, UT 84003
The Muddled Middle
It’s the hardest part. You know the beginning, it flowed like water, you know the end, it’ll be breathtaking, now you just have to write the connecting bit, the eighty percent between the two. No problem, but your Muse is on vacation, another project beckons and there’s little enthusiasm for the next chapter. Could this be writer’s block? This is the muddled middle. Class will explore this terrible phenomenon and offer concrete tools to overcome it and return the writer to the rails.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
A Study in Mystery (LLWRC 837)
Tuesday Nights (7 sessions)
Oct. 15 - Nov. 26, 2024
6:30-9:00 p.m.
Look behind the curtain of the formulaic, but eternally popular genre: the Mystery Story. Learn about the constructions, tropes, types and methods that make the modern whodunit. Designed for both writers and fans of the mystery genre, class will include assignments and activities on plot, character web, record keeping, suspense, tension and conflict. Refine your work as you're asked the questions: Did you hide the clue well enough? Does the audience care about the victim? Is the suspense tight enough? By the end of the course, if the crime is writing a mystery story, the "Whodunit" will be you!
Blue Quills Chapter presentation
Oct. 16, 2024 - 7:00 p.m.
Zoom Meeting
A Novel in 90 Days
A confidence building exercise in discipline and creativity. Using focused self-delusion and the magick of positive thinking we discipline ourselves into a routine to encompass an entire project from inception to rough draft. The class is meant to inspire a writer to overcome their greatest obstacle - a completed book. The course offers concrete advice from tools to times, inspiration, pre-writing tactics and thematic considerations. Think like an author, act like an author. Be an author.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Horror Writing Bookcamp
(LLWRC 862)
Saturdays (3 sessions)
Oct. 19, 26 & Nov. 2, 2024
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Horror is more than a genre, it’s a physical sensation, the place where the unknown lurks, where nothing can be assumed, and anything can happen. Explore the nuances of creating levels of fear, and effective techniques that allow your writing to create a desired reaction – fear! dread! disgust! - from your readers. This intensive two week course of lecture presentation and workshop will give you an opportunity to write and present your work for critique and discussion (which isn’t as scary as it sounds!)
Authorpalooza
November 23, 2024, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble - Sandy
10433 S State St
Sandy, UT 84070, United States
Author Signing Event
Come join me and a bunch of other great local authors for this fan favorite event.
Utah Authors Day
Dec. 7, 2024, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
King's English Bookstore
1511 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Author Signing Event
I'll be celebrating Utah's official day of literary recognition by hanging out in vhe valley's pre-eminent independent bookstore. Come by and visit. Buy a book or three. I'll sign them for you.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Literary Querying (LLWRC 844)
Saturdays (3 Sessions)
Jan. 11, 18 – 25, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Literary Querying (LLWRC 844): So you've written a book. Now what? Approaching the publishing world can be a lonely and daunting task. This class will give you a jump start by providing the knowledge and skill required to navigate the world of agents and publishers. It is recommended (but not necessary) that you bring a finished piece of work you are trying to place. This is a workshop heavy class, where we'll polish your pages and develop a plan to give you the best chance in the great publishing hunt.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Creative Writing 1 (LLWRC 780)
Tuesday Nights (6 sessions)
Jan. 14 - Feb. 18, 2025
6:30-9:00 p.m.
Creative Writing (LLWRC 780): How do we tell stories? What do we include in writing, and what remains unsaid? Build your voice as we focus on a group of specific techniques for shaping and informing your creative skills, including character, plot, point of view, description, dialogue, and setting. In class, we will read short selections of writing to see what techniques we can beg, borrow, and steal from them. We will experiment with in-class writing exercises and read and discuss each other's work. Writing can be inventive, illogical, chaotic, unexpected, strange, and wonderful. In this class, we will practice seeing the world in new ways and then recreating that experience on the page.
Life the Universe and Everything
February 13-15, 2025
Provo Marriott Hotel
101 West 100 Street
Provo, UT 84601
Thursday, February 13, 2025
6:00- 6:45 p.m. — Room TBD
PRESENTATION: Outlining for Non-Outliners
Whether you’re a panther or a plotter, you should be a plotter… to some degree. A modicum of planning, a tad of organization, and a smidgeon of foresight, will pay dividends in allowing one to create effectively and reliably. Class will explore macro planning and micro-planning with examples and templates to better your writing experience.
Friday, February 14, 2025
12:00 - 12:45 p.m. — Room TBD
PANEL: I've Never Seen That Person in My Life! Writing Characters Who Aren't You
Join this lively discussion about how to create characters with motivations, personalities, pasts, challenges, etc., who are foreign to you, resulting in real, relatable, and strong characters. Learn how to get outside of your own head in your creative efforts.
5:00 - 5:45 p.m. — Room TBD
PANEL: Ensuring your Early Story Promises Happen Later in the Story—Satisfying Foreshadowing
Related to Chekov's guns, each time you foreshadow something, it is a good idea to make a bookmark or stub out an anchor later in the story as a reminder for the fulfillment of the foreshadowing. Join our panelists as they share ideas how to have the most satisfying resolutions to early story elements.
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. — Room TBD
Mass signing extravaganza!
Meet authors, buy books, network. See a monkey fly.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Creative Writing 2 (LLWRC 825)
Tuesday Nights (6 sessions)
Mar. 4 - Apr. 8, 2025
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Creative Writing 2 (LLWRC 825): Taught in a workshop format, this course will get your creative juices flowing as we expand on topics covered in Creative Writing: voice, tone, point of view and use of tense along with journeying into literary elements such as metaphor and simile, symbolism, structure, and others. This class is a fun way to build and develop the skills in an encouraging and supportive environment. Come prepared to read, write, and talk.
Mountain Ridge High School – Writing Class Visit
Friday February 7, 2025
14100 S Sentinel Ridge Blvd.
Herriman, UT 84096
Horror Presentation
Mr. Lowe has a great bunch of creative kids. I'll talk about writing horror. No this isn't a public event, sorry.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Zen Lessons for Writers (LLWRC 873)
Three Saturdays
Mar. 15 - 29, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Zen Lessons For Writers (LLWRC 873): Join a published author as he shares his discoveries in Eastern philosophy and their applications to the life of a writer. We will focus on overcoming writer's block, the nature of the Muse, and the nature of the work. This is a class about wellness and art, philosophy and creation, work, success, and existence. Sessions include directed mindfulness meditations, lectures on basic Buddhist concepts, and explorations of how these can be successfully applied to the author's journey. You will experience creative writing, discussions, homework, and camaraderie.