The sight of tall masts with
billowing sails paints a romantic image that brings to
mind times when wooden ships scudded across the waves,
traveling to distant ports. The purpose of this
workshop is to provide participants with a basic
knowledge of the Age of Sail from the Middle Ages
through the 18th century when steam replaced wind as
the principal power for moving a vessel from one port
to the next. The topics covered include:
- Types of boats and ships
- Their parts
- The language of mariners
- Who's who aboard a merchant ship and what they do
- Major ports of call
- Navigation
- Clothing
- Life at sea
- How sailors entertained themselves
- Women at sea and in port
- Trade
- Marine insurance, risks, and naval escorts
- Flags
- Passengers
- Ship building
Workshop participants will have the opportunity to
discuss the types of ships they'd use in their
stories, character profiles, and how to bring the
flair of the sea into a story without making it
incomprehensible to the reader. There will also be a
variety of activities to reinforce what's covered in
the class to make certain everyone understands what's
covered, for the maritime world is akin to entering a
foreign country where English isn't the native
language. At the end of the workshop, Cindy offers to
provide a free edit of a chapter from participants'
manuscripts.
Past Workshop Participants' Comments:
Your course presented what I as a writer wanted to
know about the times-not just straight history -
Judith Hanes
Your course has been extraordinary to say the least.
Thank you for the extensive information and feedback
you've offered - Kathleen Kirkwood, His Fair Lady
(Signet)
Your ability to put a lot of information in a succint
and entertaining fashion is truly amazing - Elizabeth
Bryant
I use a lot of what I learned in your class in pirate
history presentations that I give for groups of
seniors and in public libraries - Claire Britton
Warren, Tales of the Seven Seas Pirate Renacters
This has been one of the most extensive and
informative courses I've ever taken. I feel like I
could be a pirate - Judy Soifer
A retired librarian, Cindy Vallar is the
Associate Editor of Industry for Solander, the
magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and writes
the "Red Period" column where she profiles authors amd
compares a selection from their published historical
novels with an early draft of that work. She also
reviews for their journal, Historical Novel Review.
She is also the the Editor of Pirates and Privateers,
a freelance editor, an editor for Wings Press, a
content editor of Pirates Way magazine, and a workshop
presenter at conferences and organizations' meetings.
She belongs to the Historical Novel Society, the Texas
Coalition of Authors, the Laffite Society, the
Louisiana Historical Society, the National Maritime
Historical Society, and the Red River Branch of Clan
Cameron. She is the author of The Scottish Thistle,
her debut historical novel about Scotland's Rising of
1745, and Odin's Stone, a romantic short story of how
the Lord of the Isles settled the medieval feud
between the MacKinnons and MacLeans on the Isle of
Skye. She invites your to visit her award-winning web
site, Thistles and Pirates
(http://www.cindyvallar.com) to learn more.
For additional information, contact the Campus Coordinator.
Click HERE to register for this class.
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