WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL is a rigorous day-and-a-half-long writing workshop designed to teach working novelists new techniques to bring their fiction to the next level. Participants should bring the manuscript of a completed novel or work-in-progress. Familiarity with the basics of plot, character, dialogue, and scene construction are presumed.

Donald Maass , a top agent for fiction writers and author of Writing the Breakout Novel, leads participants through practical writing exercises that plumb depths of character, raise stakes both public and personal, add plot layers, heighten sense of time and place, strengthen point of view and voice, deepen themes, transform openings, and develop the brainstorming skills that produce consistently original stories.

Donald Maass has helped many mid-list and genre authors transform their careers. His twenty-five years of experience can help you, too.

Seminar fee includes handout materials, lunch and evening reception on Saturday, and beverage breaks.

Registrants will receive further information on seminar locations and hotel guest room discounts, as well as a more detailed schedule.

Enrollment is limited. Register early! Or call 813-391-8980

Due to their enormous popularity, our 2008 offerings with Donald Maass and the acclaimed Free Expressions staff will focus exclusively on the weeklong intensives and on our NEW High Tension workshop.

Writing the Breakout Novel Weeklong Intensives:

2009 DATES AND LOCATIONS:

$1795 for former seminar participants, $1895 for new students.
Includes complete room and board, plus all workshop materials. San Jose (area), CA
February 16 – February 22

San Antonio, TX
September 21 – September 27

High Tension Workshops:

2009 Dates and Locations:

$499 for former seminar participants, $529 for new students.
$50 early registration discount (see registration page).
Includes all workshop materials plus some meals and beverages.

Providence, RI
June 25 – 28, 2009

Further information on what to bring and what to expect will be sent to students upon registration.

For more information, please call 1-866-I-WRITE-2 (1-866-497-4832).

“'d already read Donald's book twice, but this seminar forced me to apply his techniques in a very creative and practical way. I sat up the night between sessions and re-outlined my entire novel, and I can't wait to go through the entire manuscript and make appropriate revisions. I spoke to several folks during the breaks who said this outdoes any and every conference they've attended, and I believe it!” - Janet Helin

"Excellent!  Inspiring!  Donald Maass has a rare talent for breaking down the elements of a novel and showing why and how it works.  This workshop exceeded my expectations!" –Mindy Neff

"This was the dream of every writer – a noted, successful agent sharing what works and what doesn't." – Nancy Sartor

"Especially valuable for published authors who are ready for the next step up in their careers." – Kathryn Johnson

"I feel like I arrived with a story written in black and white.  I'm going home empowered to write in Technicolor with Dolby sound!" – Sylvia Peterson

"I've written and sold forty novels, but Don Maass helped crystallize concepts I've heard over and over. I feel confident I can put the advice into practical use and reach that next level in my career." - Karen Leabo

"Don Maass unlocks the secrets of storytelling and gives you the tools and techniques to grab readers at their core, to pack each line with tension-and to always, always, raise the stakes." - Guy Bergstrom, speechwriter for the House of Representatives and television host of Author's Hour.

"A fabulous course that leaves you motivated, energized, and best of all, a lot smarter about writing novels!" - Pete Waldroop

Donald Maass is president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, which he founded in 1980. He represents more than one hundred fiction writers and sells more than one hundred novels per year to top publishers in America and overseas. Recently, he obtained six-and-seven-figure advances from publishers such as Warner, Ballantine, Penguin Putnam and others for authors like mystery writer Anne Perry, fantasy author David Zindell and science fiction writers David Feintuch and Todd McCaffrey.

Author of seventeen novels and of the books The Career Novelist and Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maass has more than twenty years of experience as a literary agent, representing dozens of novelists in the science fiction, fantasy, crime, mystery, romance, and thriller categories. He speaks at writing conferences throughout the country and lives in New York City. He is on the board of advisors for Writer's Digest magazine and is also the former president of the Association of Authors' Representatives.

Seminar fee includes handout materials, lunch and evening reception on Saturday, and beverage breaks.

Registrants will receive further information on seminar locations and hotel guest room discounts, as well as a more detailed schedule.

Enrollment is limited. Register early! Or call 813-391-8980