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“From The Haunting of Hill House to The Others, well-told stories of the paranormal often gain both commercial success and critical acclaim,” says instructor Kate Montgomery.
In this fun, fast-paced class, we’ll explore how to create an otherworldly world, how to use metaphysical elements to raise the stakes and deepen character relationships, and how the subtle art of withholding information is essential when it comes to building suspense. You’ll learn how to keep your audience guessing with complex, unpredictable characters, and how to craft those moments of terror that make an audience gasp.
Learning from masters like Stephen King, M. Night Shyamalan, Ari Aster, and Shirley Jackson, we’ll cover key elements of structure, character development and pacing that make a supernatural story unique. "You’ll get handouts you can keep to reference later so there’s no need to take elaborate notes,” says Kate. "This class is designed to be informative and participatory. You’ll immediately get to apply what you’ve just learned as we brainstorm an original 3-Act storyline together, and fill it with mysterious characters, unsettling plot twists, and anomalous events that tend to defy a ‘scientific’ explanation.”
About The Writing Salon's Remote Classes
You will be able to participate in live class meetings via Zoom videoconference. To attend classes, you'll need a phone, tablet or computer and access to the internet. You can participate in the class from wherever you'd like, whether on your living room couch or in your office. Before your class meets, you'll receive an email from The Writing Salon with more information about Zoom and your remote class. If you have any questions about remote learning, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@writingsalons.com.
No Instructor Specified
- Live Zoom Meeting: Saturday, October 23, 2:00pm-5:00pm
- Live Zoom Meeting: Saturday, October 30, 2:00pm-5:00pm
Kate Montgomery was not only warm and inviting, she was 100% prepared, providing stacks of carefully considered handouts while also maintaining a flexibility to follow the rhythm of our group. Her knowledge in the field was undeniable and her enthusiasm for discussing and dissecting students' ideas was balanced by honest notes and critiques. I hope to be signing up for another class of hers soon.
Now, this may sound like a cliche, but Kate inspired me to make time in my life for what I really want to do: write stories. And that’s hard, I’m a cynical Eastern European, hard to impress and convince. But now I’m going to spend a couple of hours each week to write something down, and if she’ll invite me I’ll go to all her events and workshops, pitch my story ideas, and do my best to create amazing work. She is incredibly charismatic, and it feels great to be around her. But the whole inspiration part is what makes her a standout teacher.