Bill Johnson Teaches in Writing Workshops That A Story is A Promise

Bill Johnson teaches several writing workshops at the Questa Writing Conference on September 16 and 17th.

(PRWEB) September 6, 2005 -- Bill Johnson teaches several writing workshops at the Questa Writing Conference in San Luis Obispo, California, on September 16th and 17th. Bill is the author of the writing workbook, A Story is a Promise, and web master of Essays on the Craft of Dramatic Writing.

Bill's workshops include A Story is a Promise. Understanding what a story promises an audience -- an issue of human need being dramatically explored, resolved, fulfilled -- creates a foundation for understanding the craft of telling a story. Setting a character into a world where their desire for redemption -- or courage, or healing, or understanding -- is tested or challenged, cues an audience in a natural way to a story's promise. As plot obstacles grow larger and strike characters with more force, they compel deeper revelations about what drives characters to resolve and fulfill whats at stake in particular a story. An audience cued to a story's dramatic promise from its opening words is assured a storyteller who understands the craft of telling a story.

Bill also teaches a workshop on understanding the difference between personal storytelling -- the stories we tell ourselves to process our feelings and create story worlds where we are acknowledged and valued -- and stories meant for an audience. And what happens when writers aren't aware that they are writing stories for themselves and not an audience.

For more information about the Questa conference, visit www.communityprograms.net/wc/info.htm.

Bill is also teaching workshops at the Write on the Sound Conference on October 1st and 2nd in Edmonds, Washington; and is a featured speaker at the Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles, November 11th through 13th (www.screenwritingexpo.com).

Bill's Website offers reviews of popular movies, books, and plays to explore principles of storytelling. His student, Kent Mason, won the 2005 Writers Digest Fiction contest over 17,000 entries. His plays have been produced in New York, Los Angeles, and Ashland, Oregon.

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