Plano Learns: The Write Workshop: The Manipulation of Time

How does time work in narratives? Learn how to manipulate the difference between a reader’s experienced time and the story’s fictionalized time to strengthen your narrative.

On November 18, 2020 Plano Public Library hosted The Write Workshop: The Manipulation of Time, a virtual workshop taught by library staff. In this blog post, you’ll find the recording of the workshop, along with additional learning resources to help you explore your writing talents.

The experience of time in your story helps determine your pacing and focus. From flash fiction to serials, there are many different ways to explore time. How you shape time in your writing will help create your story’s structure. View the recording below to learn about the experience, shape and elements of time.

Additional Library Resources 

Lynda.com 

Provides online training courses that cover a variety of topics (including business, design, web development and multimedia skills) and software (including Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite and open source applications). See our Polish Your Skills with Lynda blog post, with recorded video tutorial by our staff, to understand how Lynda works. A Plano Public Library card is required. Here are some courses we suggest: 

Writing: The Craft of Story by Lisa Cron. Whether you’re writing a story from scratch, or revising your story for the umpteenth time, this course offers practical how-to advice, then illustrate sit using before-and-after examples. Discover how to craft a first page, zero in on your story’s point, create empathy, find a character’s secret goals and inner issues, translate generics into specifics, write for suspense, create cause-and-effect connections, build momentum and tension, and deftly implement setups, payoffs, flashbacks, subplots, and foreshadowing.

Kanopy

Stream movies, documentaries, foreign films, and Great Courses. See our Stream Films for Free with Kanopy blog post for more information about how to get started. A Plano Public Library card is required. Here are some videos we suggest: 

Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques from the Great Courses. Writing great fiction isn’t a gift reserved for a talented few – the craft of storytelling can be learned. Even if you don’t dream of penning the next Moby Dick, you’ll enjoy exploring the elements of fiction. A wealth of exercises will get you writing so that you can practice the many techniques you learn. From evoking a scene to charting a plot, this course is a master class in storytelling.

Library Reads

Storyville!: An Illustrated Guide to Writing Fiction by John Dufresne

Creative Writing for Dummies by Maggie Hamond (ebook)

The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman

The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life by William Noble

Conflict, Action, and Suspense by William Noble

The Ultimate Writer’s Workbook by Serita Deborah Stevens (ebook)

Browse our full collection in the Plano Public Library catalog. Want to explore further? Download our course handout for additional information and resources.