In June/July I’ll be teaching two multi-session workshops and a few one-offs. Here’s what’s coming up.

To register for any class, mail me at cat@kittywumpus.net and tell me a) which classes you want to register for, b) what rate is applicable, and how you would like to pay (Paypal, Venmo, or check preferred.)

Extended Workshops

Find the Heart of Your Story: How to Use Theme, Motifs, and Symbols in Fiction

Everyone tells you that a story needs a theme, but how do you figure out what your story’s theme is? And once you know that, how do you go about conveying and underscoring that theme without hammering a reader over the head with it? How do motifs, symbols, and other devices work to enhance the theme? We will explore theme, motifs, and symbols from a craft perspective and develop skills with them through a mixture of lecture, discussion, and writing exercises.

This class is designed for writers who understand story basics and are looking to advance and refine their short story skills. Students will work with one story over the course of the workshop in order to apply new skills as they are acquired.

Meets Sunday evenings, 7-9 PM Eastern time, June 1, 8,15,25 and July 6. (5 sessions)

Cost: Free to Schoolhouse Rock and Super Extra Deluxe Campus Pass holders, otherwise $299 for Patreon supporters; $399 for all others. Partial and full scholarships available; BIPOC, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+ writers are particularly invited to apply.

The Basics of Fiction Series

Each two hour workshop covers what you need to know to really understand one of the fundamentals of fiction. Each session focuses on a specific aspect of fiction: characters, world-building/setting, and plot and includes writing exercises designed to hone your skills in this area.

This class is designed for newer writers who want to strengthen a specific aspect of their writing or build their skillset overall.

Character Basics, Saturday, June 7, 9:30-11:30 AM Eastern time
World-building Basics, Saturday, June 14, 9:30-11:30 AM Eastern time
Plot Basics, Saturday, June 28, 9:30-11:30 AM Eastern time

Cost for series/individual workshop

Entire three sessions $99 for Patreon supporters, $199 for all others.
Individual session: $49 for Patreon supporters; $79 for all others.
Partial and full scholarships available; BIPOC, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+ writers are particularly invited to apply.

Single Session Classes

The cost of single session classes:

Patreon supporters at the $25 and higher levels – free
Patreon supporters at lower levels – $49
All others – $59
Partial and full scholarships available; BIPOC, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+ writers are particularly invited to apply.

Ready to Rock and Roll: Planning Your Book Publicity Campaign

Got a book coming out in the next year that you want to launch? Join me for a session where we’ll talk about different facets of book publicity, what steps you can take to maximize them, and how to create a plan that will carry you through the campaign.

This class is aimed at writers who are publishing independently or with a small press, although the plan will also help those publishing traditionally.

7-9 PM Eastern, Tuesday, June 10

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You Should Take This Class: Writing Second Person

Second person can be one of the most interesting POVs to work in, due to its complexity and relationship with the reader. How do you work with a reader’s innate resistance to being told what to do in order to exploit the unsettling nature of the POV? What stories are best suited to be told in second person. Through a mix of lecture, exercises, and discussion, you’ll learn how to use this POV and what to avoid.

This class is designed for writers who understand story basics and want to explore this POV in order to refine and advance their skills.

7-9 PM Eastern, Tuesday, June 17

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Canva Basics for Creating Book Covers, Zoom Background, Social Media, and More

The Canva tool can be a huge help when trying to create graphics. Learn how to use it for the things you’re most likely to want, such as Zoom backgrounds or posts sized for specific social media, as well as how to use templates and the resize tool to save yourself time.

This class is aimed at all writers looking to create graphics for self-promotion.

7-9 PM Eastern, Tuesday, June 24

News and More Stuff from Chez Rambo

Happy end of the year to all of you!

UPDATE: This went so well and everyone was so grateful that I went ahead and extended the sale through the end of the year. There are new links below to coupons that should let you access the classes at the $5 price. Let me know if there are any issues!

We are wrapping up the end of the year with a special promotion ~~for THREE DAYS ONLY, December 24-26,~~ by offering all Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers on-demand classes, including the ones from Ann Leckie, Rachel Swirsky, and Juliette Wade, for $5 or less.

Yep, that’s right. For less than $50Â you can, in fact, buy access to every class we currently offer. ~~Did I mention it’s only through midnight of the 26th, aka three days (well, a little more since this is going out Sunday evening) only?~~

This is a let’s-close-out-2018-with-a-bang promotion and won’t be repeated again until next December (if we do). ~~Here insert me talking in a Thunderdome announcer’s voice and repeating that vital phrase,Â THREEÂ DAYSÂ ONLY.~~

Seriously, though. If you want to pick up one (or many) of the classes, now’s the time, and you have lifetime (well, Teachable’s lifetime, which may or may not match mine or yours) access.Â And pass this offer along to as many people as you like, particularly your writing groups and friends. The more the merrier.

Want a live class? There’s still a few slots open inÂ Stories That Change Our WorldÂ as well asÂ all the other live January classes, including opportunities with Seanan McGuire, Rachel Swirsky, and Fran Wilde.

And look for plenty of new Rambo Academy materialÂ there in the coming year, including on-demand versions of the Flash Fiction workshop, Punk U: How to Write -punk Fiction, Rachel Swirsky’s Speculative Poetry class, James Sutter’s High-Speed Worldbuilding, a class from Diane Morrison on time management and writing in odd moments “” and more.

Click on the links to access the sale coupons:

Character Building WorkshopÂ for $5

Description and Delivering Information for Genre WritersÂ for $5

Hex Engines & Spell-Slingers: Write Steampunk/Weird WesternÂ for $5

Literary Techniques for Genre WritersÂ for $5

Moving from Idea to Finished DraftÂ for $5

Old Stories Into New with Rachel SwirskyÂ for $5

The Power of Words with Juliette WadeÂ for $5

Reading to an Audience WorkshopÂ for $3

Rewriting, Revising, and Fine-Tuning Your FictionÂ for $5

To Space Opera and Beyond with Ann LeckieÂ for $5

Recent Stuff from the Blog and Patreon

I’m continuing to updateÂ the listing of awards posts from F&SF publishing peopleÂ every few days. Let me know if yours should be on there.I talked about the process behind the development of one of my favorite stories, “Rappacini’s Crow.”

I tried to consolidate a lot ofÂ useful resources for F&SF writersÂ into this page, and am working on one for online writing workshops next. Suggestions for items to include on either page are welcome.

J.D. Moyer onÂ Writer’s Workshops with Kim Stanley Robinson

Bitterballen ““Â Carleton Chinner Presents The Tastiest Snack You’ve Never Heard Of

Jennifer Lee Rossman talks about her new novel,Â Jack Jetstark’s Intergalactic Freakshow

Edward M. Erdelac talks about his novelÂ The Knight With Two Swords and The Women of Arthurian LoreÂ

Interested in doing a guest blog post?Â The guidelines are newly updated to include more possibilities.

This month I featured a charity for holiday giving each day on my Patreon page. You can find them all here, regardless of whether or not you’re a Patreon supporter. Other things supporters got included a Q&A with Taco, photos of the current craft project, recipes, writing tips and resources, market news, snippets, and access to the Chez Rambo Discord server.Â Check out the Patreon page to find out how you can join our community!

The December giveaway is a novel critique by Cat. Mail me at cat AT kittywumpus.net by midnight December 31 with the subject line “December 2018 Giveaway.”

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Cussin' in Secondary Worlds

May 11, 2017

Cussin’ in Secondary Worlds
Saturday, June 10, 9:30-11:30 AM Pacific Time

Cursewords, expletives, and more – those things your characters say when nothing else will do – tells you more about the world (including issues of class, cultural taboos, and more) than you might imagine. How cussing and worldbuilding interrelate. AKA the class where we say F*ck a lot.

Join Norton Award winning author Fran Wilde, author of Updraft, Cloudbound, and The Jewel and Her Lapidary for a workshop that will leave you ready to swear magnificently.

Classes are taught online via Google hangouts and require reliable Internet connection, although in the past participants have logged on from coffee shops, cafes, and even an airplane; a webcam is suggested but not required.

To register for this class, mail me with the following details:

The email address associated with your Google account
Which class or classes and the dates
Remind me if you have already taken a class with me so you can get the former student rate ($79). Otherwise the cost is $99.
Whether you would prefer to pay via Paypal, check, or some other means.

Upon receiving that, I will send you an invoice.

Important! Remember every class has at least one Plunkett scholarship for students who could not otherwise afford the cost. To apply for a Plunkett, mail me and tell me why you want to take the class in 100 words or less.

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June/July Classes

Extended Workshops

Single Session Classes