Building the Invisible: Characters with Depth and Disability

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

Character creation and development goes beyond the arc of your plot. An intriguing personal history helps connect readers to characters. Your plot doesn't need to revolve around a disability for you to include one, and you should! Learn from L.J. Stanton, a service dog handler, invisible illness spoonie, and author, to learn how to build diversity into your writing, round out your characters, and see how doing so can help build a far richer world for your story.

Sign Up: Workshops are Patron-exclusives. Sign up at the $25 Flaming Broadsword tier by November 1st here.

The workshop will be hosted via discord. Workshop documents will be sent out to patrons beforehand. If patrons would like L.J. to evaluate a character, character sheets should be sent to L.J. one week before the workshop.

Critical Reading: How to Improve Your Writing Through Reading

JANUARY 14, 2023

Have you ever read a book and wondered “How do I write like that?” The answer? Read, write, read. It’s the writer answer to “practice makes perfect”. But to get the most out of reading, you need to dive passed the surface. Learn how to read what’s between the lines, to try and understand why the author made the choices they did, and more. Reading critically will improve your writing, beta reading, and reading for fun.

Sign Up: Workshops are Patron-exclusives. Sign up at the $25 Flaming Broadsword tier by January 1st here.

The workshop will be hosted via discord. Workshop documents will be sent out to patrons beforehand. If patrons would like L.J. to evaluate a 1500 word sample of their writing, send it to contact L.J. one week before the workshop.

Broad Horizons: World Building with Intention

MARCH 11, 2023

World building is one of the best, yet most challenging parts of building a fantasy or sci fi world—especially if it isn’t a story set in an alternate universe earth. What religions have shaped the cultures? What geography has shaped the religions? What languages do they speak, what dialects within those languages? If your head is starting to spin, don’t worry! This course is for you. L.J. will break down how to prioritize what needs to be built ahead of time for your story or series, and what can be left to develop as you write. You’ll also learn where to look for real world examples to build your worlds off of.

Sign Up: Workshops are Patron-exclusives. Sign up at the $25 Flaming Broadsword tier by March 1st here.

The workshop will be hosted via discord. Workshop documents will be sent out to patrons beforehand. If patrons would like L.J. to evaluate a 1500 word sample of their writing, send it to contact L.J. one week before the workshop.