A lot of times writers get into the thick of a story and don’t know how to finish it. What if a story were a lot like cooking a meal?  We’ve got a lot of ingredients in the fridge, so

what shall we make, Italian, Chinese or French?  We’ll think about the ingredients of a story and how to put them together for an interesting, dynamic story.

First week:  How to start?  Some people have the main ingredients in mind, others have just one special sauce they want to use.  First meeting will be looking at our own lives for what has shaped us as people.  This forms our signature style as a chef. Next, we’ll find our beginning.

Second week:  What happens next?  Is it sautéing the ingredients, pounding out the meat, or boiling the pintos?  We’ll work with introducing drama and how to do that.  Surprise, suspense, challenges.

Third week:  How do you layer the flavors?  For our purposes, we’ll create rich characters.  What is their backstory?  Where do they come from?  We’ll create contrast and tension and figure out how to introduce change into a character’s life.

Fourth week:  How to present the meal?  If it’s an Indian dinner, for example, we’ll need rice, and lassi, chutney and chai tea.  How do we come up with the big picture of our story?  We’ll look at themes, images, and ways to pull the story together.  Now to finish the meal and enjoy!

This class takes place via Zoom.  A Zoom link will be emailed to participants before the first session.

Published author Jeanne Koré Salvato has returned from France, where she lived for 20 years, teaching writing to bilingual students.  She is now concentrating on her own writing, which includes finalizing illustrations for her children’s story; creating a weekly blog called writing4godot.com about France and writing; and corralling a novel of linked stories into finished form.