Local author hosting workshop for aspiring writers – Daily Journal – Johnson County, Indiana

For aspiring writers, sometimes the hardest part is getting their book started.

People have an idea, a semblance of a plot, and even how they want the story to end. But actually putting virtual pen to paper can seem too momentous.

One local author wants to help.

David Carlson, a professor emeritus of philosophy and religion and author of 10 books, is hosting a pair of workshops aiming to help people get their creative juices rolling. “Beginning the Book” will be held Jan. 4 and 18 at Franklin College’s Hamilton Library.

Using his own experience, Carlson will give participants strategies for getting their books going and how to develop them into finished products. He also intends to give people a boost in confidence to stick with their writing projects.

“One of the first obstacles everyone faces is that voice inside of us — ‘I’m not a writer.’ So part of the workshop is facing that voice, and saying if you can write a sentence, you’re technically a writer,” Carlson said. “I don’t think people are aware of how interesting, and in some cases how beautiful their writing is. They just need some kind of encouragement.”

Carlson has written a wide variety of books, from the religious nonfiction of “Countering Religious Extremism: The Healing Power of Spiritual Friendships” and “Peace Be With You: Monastic Wisdom For A Terror-Filled World” to his series of eight mystery novels centered his characters Christopher Worthy, a highly decorated detective who is tortured by his inability to solve the one mystery that means the most to him, and Father Fortis, a Greek Orthodox monk.

“Beginning the Book You’ve Always Wanted to Write” stems from a similar workshop he held in at Demmer Memorial Library in Three Lakes, Wisconsin, where he and his wife stay during the summers. The local library invited him to do a series of workshops on writing, and Carlson’s approach was helping people start the book they always wanted to write.

The events were a hit.

“This was a really small town, and I think we had eight or nine people show up, maybe even more than that. It reminded me that a lot of people have a book idea, or have thought about starting a book,” Carlson said. “They just need some encouragement, but then they also need some guidance.”

Carlson’s approach is intended to take some of the intimidation out of getting a writing project started.

“When a person thinks about writing a book, it can be like looking up at a mountain. It can be very intimidating. So the process I take people through is telling them, you’re not going to write a book, you’re going to write a scene,” he said.

Working with the workshop participants, Carlson will have them determine the effective elements of the scene they’re writing about. Afterward, he’ll expand the vision outward — what do the scenes immediately before and after that first scene look like?

Building it piece by piece helps make a book project less imposing, Carlson said.

Registration for the two-session workshop is $30, or $20 for senior citizens, which includes a copy of one of Carlson’s books. In addition to instruction, Carlson is inviting participants to email him a scene they’ve written in between the first and second sessions. He’ll give constructive feedback about the writing, gently giving tips to help them improve and move forward.

“My whole point is to encourage people to write, not to discourage them,” he said.

AT A GLANCE

“Beginning the Book You’ve Always Wanted to Write”

What: A two-session writing workshop facilitated by award-winning author David Carlson

When: 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 4 and 18

Where: Hamilton Library, Franklin College campus

Cost: $30 registration fee, $20 for senior citizens. Cost includes both sessions of the workshop, a copy of one of Carlson’s books, and feedback on writing from Carlson

For reservations and workshop information, email Carlson at [email protected]