Are you a writer and reader of fantasy? Are you excited to learn how to make your fantasy writing stand out? Do you want to honor God with your fantasy writing? This Fantasy & Worldbuilding Workshop is designed especially for you! Join AJ Skelly, Josiah DeGraaf, and several Taylor University Professional Writing faculty, students, and alumni, as you explore writing powerful fantasy.
As the assistant professor in the Professional Writing program for the past 15 years, I’ve had several students take my Editing class and end up saying that it was that class that helped them discover what they wanted to do for a living. They’d been casting around, trying to be writers, and realizing that their love for words did not necessarily translate into becoming the next great American novelist. But give them a fresh manuscript to respond to, to make suggested changes on? They were off and running. They discovered that their love for words—both as readers and as writers—helped them be able to consider a manuscript, see the places where it fell short, and make suggestions. They wanted to become editors.
If you are a fantasy lover, you surely have encountered the explosive new subgenre coined romantasy. Barnes & Nobles has even added an aisle dedicated to romantasy titles that have gone viral. As with the insurgence of any new book trend, there is always mixed opinion surrounding what to do with the new genre. Criticism is good, healthy even; however, the criticism I see of romantasy stems from a larger problem, a low view of romance in fantasy as a valid literary concept.
If you’re reading this, chances are you have a story you want to write. The truth is, most people do. Everyone carries around an idea for a book they wish they could put on paper. The wonderful part? Anyone can learn to write a good story. It just takes time and practice.
At this year’s Professional Writing Conference, keynote speaker Zena Dell Lowe (at The Storyteller’s Mission) delivered a powerful challenge to every storyteller. The world doesn’t need more content—it needs heroes.
I want to set my students up for success. They may have a day job but maintain their dream of one day getting their book published. The Professional Writing classes teach them the basics, and then their continued learning can happen at writing conferences.
PWR Blog 