THE MULLIGAN METHOD WEBSITE

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UP-COMING COURSES

The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there - L.P Hartley, The Go-Between

Long to tell of a forgotten, world-changing event?An unsung hero? An incredible family story? Each week we will learn the techniques, joys, and challenges of various historical writing such as memoir, the braided narrative, popular history, and historical fiction, as well as historial fantasy and alternate history helping us find unexpected talents and passions and honing our writing craft. For inspiration and to widen our writer’s education, we will read excerpts from the originators of various genres: Herodotus (travel/ history). Plutarch (biography), Montaigne (personal essays), Andrea Barrett (the historical short story), Susanna Clarke (historical fantasy) and more.

We will also look at the various research methods, learn how to incorporate historical details, and practice turning facts into compelling narratives. For homework, we will complete a 1-3 page piece each week giving us a folder of fiction and CNF pieces to hone, develop, and submit.

This was the best writing course I’ve taken, by far. … Claire's passion for writing and history are apparent, and I found a community of like-minded writers and historians! -- Leah Hjalte

Writing History has addressed lots of issues I've thought about for ages. I'd definitely give it five stars. Wonderful value for the money and a lot of fun, as well! – Else Jones

🧩 STORY BY GENRE: Structure for Every Story

https://continuingstudies.uvic.ca/.../story-by-genre...?

There is an important difference between an event happening because of another event or simply after it. Aristotle, The Poetics

Outlining and story structure templates abound–The Hero’s Journey, Save the Cat, The Snowflake Method, Freytag’s Pyramid–and I’ve tried every one. But which one is best for your genre and writing style? In this 6-week course we will look at one or two methods per class and pair them with a genre; for example, adventure and/or fantasy with the Hero’s Journey; drama with Aristotle’s structure for tragedy and so on. The goal is to create those meaningful, satisfying and page-turning stories that readers, publishers, and editors love, as well as avoid time-consuming structure problems in our work. We will do 2-4 in-class prompts per class, and work on one short story or concept per week as homework.

Claire’s courses were recommended to me by a professional writer, high praise, and I could not be more delighted and inspired. Claire is a master teacher. Her program and generous resources have helped me to write with both substance and style. My tool box is more full and I now feel more confident writing a variety of genres, some of which I didn’t know existed! Beverley Holmes.