Ask readers what makes a good story good and they are likely to say “the characters.” But how does a writer create characters that are engaging, believable, and distinct? And how does a writer bring such characters to life on the page? We asked Odyssey graduates: How do you get into Read more
An excerpt from the lecture Elizabeth Hand gave at Odyssey in the summer of 2010 on creating unsympathetic characters.
Recent/Upcoming Publications Short Stories Larry Hodges, class of 2006“The Greeny at Old Smokey Lake”Published by: Raygun Revival, February 2011Larry’s website: http://www.larryhodges.org Larry Hodges, class of 2006“One Brushstroke at a Time”Published by: Every Day Fiction, February 17, 2011 Erin Hoffman, class of 2005“City of Shadow and Glass”Published by: Bull Spec, Issue Read more
A story’s point of view (POV) affects the entire story, from how much information the author can divulge to how a reader empathizes with the protagonist. Choosing a point of view is one of the most fundamental choices an author can make. We asked Odyssey graduates: Have you tried experimenting with Read more
John Joseph Adams will be a guest lecturer at this summer’s Odyssey Writing Workshop. He is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as Wastelands, The Living Dead (a World Fantasy Award finalist),The Living Dead 2, Seeds of Change, By Blood We Live, The Way of the Wizard, Federations, and Read more
Laura Anne Gilman was the writer-in-residence at Odyssey 2010. During her week at Odyssey, Laura Anne lectured on a variety of topics, participated in critique sessions, and worked individually with writers. In this podcast, Laura Anne discusses how to approach revisions. Before one can revise, one first needs to get Read more
Recent/Upcoming Publications Novels Travis Heermann, class of 2009Heart of the RoninPublished by: E-ReadsTravis’s website: http://travisheermann.com/ Short Stories Barbara A. Barnett, class of 2007“A Song Never Tasted”Published by: Daily Science FictionBarbara’s website: http://www.babarnett.com/ Larry Hodges, class of 2006“Car Drive”Published by: Flagship Magazine, January 2011Larry’s website: http://www.larryhodges.org Jason S. Ridler, class of Read more
Hey, everyone! We’re interrupting your regularly scheduled program to ask you to take just a few moments to share your thoughts with us about the Odyssey Writing Workshop Blog. The link below will take you to a survey, and any feedback you can provide will be wonderful. Please note that Read more
Gary A. Braunbeck will be the writer-in-residence at this summer’s Odyssey Writing Workshop.He was born in Newark, Ohio (the city that serves as the model for the fictitious Cedar Hill in a majority of his novels and stories) and wrote his first story in the seventh grade at St. Francis de Read more
During the six-week Odyssey Writing Workshop, students write six original short stories, making successful idea generation imperative. To get a better idea of the methods used by experienced writers, we asked Odyssey graduates: Do you keep an “idea bank” for future stories? How does that work? Do you organize your Read more