Old Capitol Books invites you to join us for a fiction writer's workshop taught by award-winning author Dietrich Kalteis on Wednesday, October 23 and Thursday, October 24, 4pm-5:30pm. This is a two-day workshop for anyone interested in writing fiction, touching on aspects of the craft that will help guide new writers on the path to becoming published. Reserve a seat by phoning 831-333-0383.

Dietrich Kalteis is the author of Ride the Lightning, The Deadbeat Club, Triggerfish, House of Blazes, Zero Avenue, Poughkeepsie Shuffle, and the newly-released Call Down the Thunder. He lives with his family on Canada’s west coast.

On Wednesday we'll cover:
• What you need to get started
• Is there a formula for a best seller?
• The inciting incident, a strong beginning
• Outline and structure
• Cinematic scenes, suspenseful narrative, sharp dialogue
• Voice, pace, flow, style
• Experiment with short stories or dive into a novel?
• Economy of words vs pace
• Building your characters
• Plotting and sub-plotting

On Thursday we'll cover:
• Research
• How many drafts?
• Editing and proofing – repetition, unnecessary description
• Story flow
• Quality vs quantity
• Knowing when it's time to write "The End"
• Beta readers, professional editors, copy editors – when to submit
• Where to submit – agent or no agent
• Self-publishing vs traditional publishing
• Conferences, writers’ festivals