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RANT 'O THE WEEK: by WritersCollege.com Director Steve Morrill
Back in September I wrote about a writer I did not personally know but who was a fellow member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors:
...a truly heartbreaking and yet heartwarming story. A fellow writer, Lori Hall Steele, was struck in late 2007 with both Lyme Disease and ALS. Now, Lyme Disease is bad enough but ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) is usually fatal. Having both simultaneously confused the diagnosis for a while. Lori's illness has progressed swiftly and today she is almost totally paralyzed and breathing on a machine....
Lori died a few weeks ago, leaving behind a 7-year-old son. But before she died she knew that fundraising efforts by writers across the nation had brought in more than $20,000, enough to pay her home mortgage and some of her medical bills.
We supported Lori then and will continue to do so after her passing, donating $25 of every course registration to the fund, up to the end of this year.
Last newsletter, I asked you to write to me and tell me how the economy affects your writing. Jana Lynn Shellman, Author of The Wish Factory: How to Make Wishes Come True, and our teacher for Creating Characters, answered:
I don't believe the "economy" effects me at all. It's all in your head. Your economy can be what you want it to be. In the meantime, keep on writing. It's always too soon to give up.
SCHOOL
NEWS:Two new courses to announce!
Flash Fiction, by Erin McKnight.
Are you ready to plunge into the pool of flash fiction? Be prepared to hold your breath! Although the water appears shallow, the emotional impact of this writing form boasts depths rivaling the high seas of longer fiction.
Flash fiction, when crafted with care, works within the boundaries of the genre and on the periphery of traditional storytelling. In the world of flash, a compelling story can be told in fewer than a hundred words!
Experienced writers looking to fine-tune their skills in brevity and control, and aspiring writers interested in experimenting with this cutting-edge mode, will have the opportunity to explore this in-demand form of writing during the workshop.
Web Presence for Writers by Laura Wright.
Develop a basic knowledge of the internet, how it functions, how web sites are made, and the steps necessary to build your own web site. Learn how easy it is to have your web presence!
This course will walk you through the process of buying your domain, finding a hosting company, and publishing a web site you create. The easy-going format ensures that even the most non-technical participants can own and operate their own domains.
Price increase. Remember, sign up between now and the end of the year to beat the price increase. Students already signed up for courses, even if those courses do not start until after the price increase, pay the current prices. You may register now, in other words, for a course that you wish to start in January. I'll extend this offer only to the month of January, 2009.
On January 1 of 2009 I plan to increase prices. I realize that in a downturned economy this is hardly the time to do this, but my fine teachers have been waiting a looong time for a raise and they deserve it. And we're 'way underpriced as it is.
Prices will increase from the present $25/week (i.e. a four-week course costs $100) to $30 per week. So prices would increase as follows:
Course Length
Current Prices
New Prices
4-week course
standard course $100
extended version* $125
standard course $120
extended version* $150
6-week course
standard course $150
extended version*$188
standard course $180
extended version* $225
8-week course
standard course $200
extended version* $250
standard course $240
extended version* $300
* Extended courses merely have twice as many weeks to do the lessons and homework. There's no extra material offered but our students are busy adults with real lives too, and so we make available the option.
Are you ready to plunge into the pool of flash fiction? Be prepared to hold your breath! Although the water appears shallow, the emotional impact of this writing form boasts depths rivaling the high seas of longer fiction.
Develop a basic knowledge of the internet, how it functions, how web sites are made, and the steps necessary to build your own web site. Learn how easy it is to have your web presence!
Adding speechwriting skills to your writer's toolkit can make you more marketable. Public relations firms, businesses, local government officials, nonprofit organizations, etc., need people with this skill.
COOL WEB SITE: At the American Society of Journalists & Authors holiday party in New York last Saturday, member Bill Dyszel entertained with several songs about writers. Here's one:
Stephen Morrill, WritersCollege.com's Maximum Leader, collaborated on a new ebook, 100 Florida freebies & cheapies, which he is selling as an experiment in self-publishing. It's available at his Florida-travel web site www.VacationFunFlorida.com
If you're tired of reading about Steve's stuff, send us some News We Can Use.
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