200 Proof Storytelling - Saint Valentine's Session Goes Live
Registration Deadline Today!
Craig Clevenger returns for 200 Proof Storytelling - one of our most popular intensive writing classes to date. This class combines the best of his famed Hotseat and Shotgun sessions into a single four-week Master Class. If you missed the chance to study with Craig previously, or you'd like a pure grain refresher course, give yourself the Valentine's Day gift that will keep on giving.
Beyond that load of chocolate, the extra pounds, and the brief romantic buzz, you've got a chance to join us for something substantial and lasting: an early spring commitment that will forever strengthen your prose and refine your storytelling ability.
This class starts up on February 8th. Seats for this will be limited so...
Within this course you'll get:
- A unique & powerful lecture-assignment combo each week
- Loads of peer critique and interaction
- Direct commentary from Craig on at least two of your submissions
- Ongoing feedback and support
- Straight answers to your most pressing craft questions
- Wicked new insights into a pro writer's trade secrets
Craig's exclusive lectures have been shaped through years of experience and road-tested through previous intensives... these are "road" scholar dissertations that run into the thousands of words but are so engaging and fun to read, you'll be amazed … each lecture charged with wisdom, experience, and insight into the writer’s craft, and carried along by the energy and wit of an author who practices what he preaches.
What’s more… each of Craig’s lectures provides a handful of unique and specific tools that function together as an interlocking set. You'll get a new edge as we put together a genuine toolbox of functional synergistic ideas that work together as a system to strengthen your prose… yet without dictating the subtle nuances of voice or style.
Finally, this is your chance to learn directly from one of our most popular and sought-out authors and master teachers.
200 Proof Storytelling combines the vital elements of Craig Clevenger's renowned Hotseat and Shotgun courses into a single, packed, powerful, four-week intensive class, an exclusive to ChuckPalahniuk.net ... where you'll get the following golden keys:
- Harness the power of Status Play to create Dynamic Scenes
- Transform your dialogue into a microcosm of Dramatic Conflict
- Learn the crucial balance of verbal and non-verbal exchanges
- Explore and create Events - the building blocks of your story
- Overcome the most common problem for all writers: what happens next?
- Master self-editing skills as you examine the weight of each word
What's more, you'll get...
- Loads of interaction and direct feedback on your work
- New understanding of how all the pieces fit together
- Access to the street-level psychology of a riveting Story
- Discover how to tap the driving force between your characters
Craig’s classes tend to fill up within 48 hours from the first announcement--leaving a substantial waiting list behind. Don't miss your chance to join us for...
200 Proof Storytelling!!
A four-week writing intensive with Craig Clevenger from February 8th through March 7th, 2011
Register Today for 200 Proof Storytelling!!
The celebrated author of The Contortionist’s Handbook and Dermaphoria will divide his spring schedule between his upcoming novel and… you.
You’ll get everything that was offered in previous sessions and more…
But first… don’t simply take my word for it…
Read what participants of Craig's previous intensives have to say:
"Craig Clevenger is a stone cold genius. The mental weight lifting, the emotion of his work, and the way he pulls it out of you, with kindness and a strong hand, is truly a gift. With his help I was reborn as a writer: in three years I published 20+ stories, won two contests, and finally got my first novel, Transubstantiate, out into the world. I wrote "Stillness" in one of his intensives, and it's now being published in Shivers VI with Stephen King and Peter Straub. Take his class. I took it twice."
—Richard Thomas, Chicage, USA
"Clevenger's Intensive exceeded my (impossibly high) expectations; I have learned everything I hoped to and much more. I will be poring over written lectures as entertaining and at least as informative as his fiction until every useful morsel is burned into my brain. Extensive (and brutally honest) peer reviewing and critiques from Clevenger himself have really helped me to step up my craft and polish my stories. I've met brilliant writers here who I hope to keep in touch with. You just can't get a learning experience like this anywhere else. For me, it was everything that college was not."
- Casey F., Washburn, WI, USA
"For someone struggling inside his own head to figure out how a story works, the Craig Clevenger intensive delivered on every level. Where else are you going to get unfiltered access to the lessons and personalized critique of not only a published author, but a published author you respect? Who could you learn from best, someone who has a lifetime of theory and no practice; or someone who followed their passion, made it work, and created something new and purely theirs? If you missed the Craig Clevenger intensive, you missed an incredible learning experience. Don't miss the next one!"
- Dave H., Dublin, Ireland
"This intensive has been a turning point for my writing. A price cannot be put on the knowledge and confidence I've come away with."
- Gary L., Middletown, CT
"The Will Christopher Baer and Craig Clevenger Intensives provided me with an array of tools to hone and enhance my writing skills. Each week of both workshops were an inside look at not only the common problem areas of writing, but also the mechanics that make up an effective, solid story."
-Chris D., Boston, USA
Don’t delay... Register Today for 200 Proof Storytelling!!
Comments
Hell yes. I'm in.
Speaking as a survivor of the first 200 Proof Intensive, I can't recommend this course enough. Craig's lectures, critiques, and insight on the craft are second to none, and there's no doubt in my mind that his intensive took my writing ability to the next level. I met a ton of awesome people who've remained great friends and writing buddies in the months since, and both of the stories I workshopped during the class have went on to be published. Honestly, the phone conferences alone are worth the price of admission.
At this price, the ratio of knowledge gained to money spent is insane. Toss in the promotion, and you people are stealing from this man.
Congrats in advance to anyone who grabs a spot. You're in for one hell of a ride!
if i wasn't in the middle of my thesis semester, i might take a third class with CC, he is responsible for my entire career, my rebirth, and the story "stillness" which is in shivers vi with stephen king and peter straub...take this class people
Took the Hotseat a couple of years ago, and I can still look back at old stories from then and, within three lines, tell you whether it was written before or after. Seriously.
I've taken several writing workshops in academia, at a school with a very, very well-regarded faculty. I will say, emphatically and firsthand, that Clevenger's intensives are on the level of the best of them. The dude's got an eye for detail, and it catches with the people in the class. Pretty soon you've got a class full of people doing thorough line-by-line readings and so forth. Really can't recommend it enough.
If I wasn't utterly broke, I'd be signed up for this in a minute. If you're considering joining, and you're serious about your writing, man, do it. The man knows his craft.
--Mark
Also, PS: Richard's story "Stillness" is badass as all hell and everyone should read it.
God, what can I sell so I can come up with the tuition?
As I write this, I'm looking over my dead-beat cat. Hmmm.
God, what can I sell so I can come up with the tuition?
As I write this, I'm looking over my dead-beat cat. Hmmm.
Don't sell your pussy. Make that cat get a job.
I'm still intoxicated from my last shot of Craig's 200 Proof workshop. The price of admission is worth the first lecture alone. You'll see.
If you do nothing else this year, take this class.
Too bad i don't have $300 to throw around.
Oh how I wish I could take this class again. Even though the course is exactly the same as the one I took in November, I'd still take it again--if I had the money right now.
This course is beyond incredible. Craig really knows how to kick you in the ass, and, perhaps more importantly, kick your writing in the ass, booting you up to that next level, the level that sees your words in print.
The first lecture will blow your mind. It will open up a whole new world for you. You will look at every single exchange between characters in a new light, and you'll be writing better before the end of the first week. Yes, the first lecture is worth the price of this thing alone. Then you've got three more lectures, which includes a personal favourite of mine, "The Weight of Each Word". Now, that lecture will have you writing like a pro.
Do this. Do this. If it's the last thing you ever do, take this fucking class.
No one else is permitted to sign up until I get my income tax check here in a few days.
Sorry, Seph says.
I can't do this class this soon but want to do it badly. Please keep offering these classes...
I am 100% in on this.
man, if theres a spot left by tuesday.... *crosses fingers*
Already signed up & registered.
I'm stoked, man. Gotta lot of ideas. Got the time. Will manage... uhm... can't promise I won't get my ass kicked by Mr. Clevenger. Man, I gotta lot to learn, which is why I'm doing this.
Scott Andrew! Sell a kidney or something, lol! Get your butt in this workshop, man!
Chris, you gonna do this thing, too? That's be awesome. Know you already took it, but, hey... might learn something new. Who knows?
Matthew O'Donnell from down undaaaah! Come on, man. Do this thing. Take the course.
Matthew O'Donnell said:
Aw, maaaan... what the hell did I just get myself into? Craig's gonna kick my ass? (gulp). He does look like a tough guy. I love tough guys. I'm just a little intimidated. Anyone wanna hold hands with me and... okay, now that just made me sound like a bit of wuss, lol! Just kidding.
Man, I'm so stoked! Looking forward to this.
Guys, take this workshop. Heard many good things. Missed it the first time around. Joined up as soon as I learned about it being offered again.
I did this exact class last October, man. Like I said, if I had a spare 300 right now, I'd do it again--it was really THAT good.
Y'all have fun.
And funny story related to this intensive: I realised today that a story I recently had published shares the same title as one of the essays in this course.
I'd sign up for this, but I'm getting a "This coupon code is invalid or has expired" error with the "myvalentine" coupon code.
mgriffin,
Sorry about that, we had an error in the code. It should be fixed now though.
Thanks, Kirk -- it worked. I'm in!
I'm sure glad that speed reading cat was around tonight while I was out. The clock is ticking down on this one.
Nobody should be intimidated, Craig is super-nice to everyone and enormously helpful to your writing! I can't recommend the class enough!
it applied the coupon to my order, but when i got done adding my credit card to paypal, it said the code had expired. NOTE i cannot afford it without the code
it applied the coupon to my order, but when i got done adding my credit card to paypal, it said the code had expired. NOTE i cannot afford it without the code
Sorry about that, Chuck. I tweaked the code. Clear your shopping cart and run it through again. If you hit the same impasse once again, I'll generate a custom code for you. No need to leave you hung up just because you're right on the cutoff time.
fuck i love you mark
So glad you decided to do this, Chuck. You're gonna have a blast, mate, and it'll certainly give you that special gift: The "M" words. I know I've been super-motivated since partaking in the last intensive. And it's beginning to pay off here and there.
Ileana wrote:
I know. I hear he's a really great guy and, yeah, super-nice. Wait... did I just write he's super-nice? Great, there goes my "man, he looks like a real bad-ass" impression of him, right out the window, lol!
No, seriously. I'd buy this guy a beer and if we ever found ourselves in the middle of a bar brawl, I'd definitely watch his back. Uhm. Actually... no, I think I'd need him to watch my back so the other guys don't beat me up, lol!
He looks cool and the photo makes him look real tough, which I like. It's a great photo.
But I hear his courses are intense and do require a lot of discipline. And that he's very, very good. So, by intimidating, I mean it as a complement. I already know I'm gonna love this workshop and I know he's a really nice guy.
I'm sorta like those dot.com millionaires... I'm a "tough guy," but only on paper. Anyone who knows me can attest to my soft spot for animals, specifically my fascination for birds and my absolute helplessness when it comes to kittens. Yes, it's true.
As for the course itself, I'm not a fan of redlining and browbeating students' work. I teach the same way I write, with an eye for deconstructing prose into its core components. This class teaches some deep mechanics; some may be old news (i.e., parsing sentences, basic grammar and parts of speech... I promise you will have a new appreciation for grammar when we're done) and some of which may be unfamiliar to you (i.e., the "status play" technique borrowed from improv theater as a way to improve dialogue and story flow).
In every lesson, I teach students to sidestep the subjective criticism of their own and each others' work ("I didn't really identify with..." or "It feels like it needs..." and similar feedback I received in college workshops, which ultimately doesn't help) in favor of finding specific, tactical ways to improve your prose.
It sounds very cut and dried, I know, but your stories are greater than the sum of their parts. When you master the parts, you'll find your work starts to glow brighter.
See y'all there.
Word.
-Craig
P.S. I'm posting this toward the end of my daily internet quota... time to work on my own stuff. But just a quick re-read and I can find all manner of things wrong with this post, according to my own standards that I teach. You'll do the same. Cheers.
from personal experience, i had beer with craig once. he's both the guy you would expect him to be, but also not. he is one of the more personable authors ive met.
and, for the record, this guy knows stuff about just about everything, and our dinner conversation bounced around between so many different topics, i got lost before i finished my beer.
So, you took a backseat and let Craig hold onto the High Status, Chuck?
Oh, never mind. You'll understand in a week or so. And when you do, that joke will be funny. Maybe.
Mr. Clevenger,
I would most definitely buy you a beer.
I, too, have a soft spot for kittens. It makes me smile when they're learning to walk, using their paws to play with balls of string, or rubber balls.
I also enjoy freediving & have a great fascination for ocean wild life.
I am strongly opposed to animal cruelty.
Just yesterday, I posted a cartoon harshly condemning police brutality against a street dog. I'd rather not get into the details of what they did to that poor creature. I'm still very angry, despite using my cartoon as a creative outlet.
Also, next week, I will finally put up my punching bag to teach myself Muay Thai. But first, freediving & underwater photography in the Florida Keys.
I look forward to gaining greater appreciation to grammar. I've read two of your essays. "Night of the Living Syntax" was my favorite, though suggesting its practice to fellow members of other workshops has proven really, really difficult.
I apply it, most times, but when I suggest them to apply it, I have a really hard time offering options on how they can best restructure their writing to avoid 'dismembered action.'
I also enjoyed "The Devil's In The Details":
Before: "Lou flung the burgers into their baskets..."
After: "Lou's dull apron hung from the curve..."
I was upset when I missed one of your workshops.
When I saw your essays posted, I read them and took notes.
Very much look forward to your workshop & learning from your lectures.
Best Wishes,
Jairo
when does this thing start?
Tuesday coming. February 8th.
oh good. someone just asked me if it started today, and i panicked.
Oops. My bad.
The start date is in the copy twice. It's in the top portion, just above the "Enroll Now" link, and again toward the middle, just above the second active link and before the endorsements. It just isn't punched out in bold or larger type.
mark, is there going to be a special place set up for this? cause, i dont see anything.
If you didn't get an email from Mark explaining where to start, head over here http://chuckpalahniuk.net/forum/1000732 you'll find it in the forum under the cult » writer's workshop forums » the cult master's program
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