Hearts Through History Romance Writers

Textiles for Writers – Mar ’25

$15.00$25.00

Instructor: Joan Koster
Start Date: Monday, March 3, 2025
End Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
Type: Online
Duration: 4 Weeks
USD Fee: $15 HHRW Members/$25 Non-Members

Why in the world would a romance author need to know about cloth? Well, maybe because we write about people who usually, except in certain X-rated or shape-changing scenes, wear clothing.
Knowing about cloth and how it is made and what it is made from and how it has changed over the ages will allow you to deepen your descriptions and add to the sensory images you create in your stories.
So swish your skirts or hike up your trousers, roll up your sleeves or shuck it all and take a journey with me into the marvelous world of textiles..
COURSE CONTENT
1. Fiber basics: What is cloth made from and how can we best describe it as writers
2. Cloth construction: How are the different textiles constructed and how can we use this knowledge to improve our character descriptions
3. Textiles and class: Who wore purple? How has cloth been used to differentiate class and social status over the ages and how can we use our knowledge of cloth to deepen setting and character. Note: Historical information will be tailored to the individual needs of the participants.
4. Inside textiles: Sleeves, collars and hems: Basic garment construction over time – explore your closet or the museum to develop sensory descriptions and deepen character actions.
5. Accessorize it: Fastenings, joinings, and embellishments: Dressing and undressing our characters from head to toe and answering burning questions such as “Can that he-man really tear off her undies?” or “Is she even wearing undies?”
6. Care and feeding: Stains, tears, and wash tubs: Explore all the problems textiles can suffer and cause for our characters.
7. Weaving it together: Exploring practical ways to add the element of cloth to your current work-in-progress.
Every participant will leave with A Guide to Textiles, a better understanding of how to use and describe cloth in their writing, and some much better dressed characters.

 

Expiry Date: March 21, 2025

SKU: Textiles for Writers - Mar '25 Category: Tag:

Description

About the Instructor:

A multi-published, award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction in the fields of art, education, anthropology, history, and romance, Joan Koster is the author, under the pen name, Zara West, of the romantic suspense series The Skin Quartet. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies including Hearts Through History’s Eve of Love, and received awards from Women on Writing, Stone Thread Publishing, Tryst Literary Magazine, and Winning Writers.
Her newly released That Dickinson Girl: A Novel of the Civil War was a Historical Fiction Company Finalist and placed 2nd in the 2022 RTTA. She is also the author of the top-selling Write for Success series, designed to help anyone who writes to write faster and more creatively. She blogs about historical women at Joan Koster Author, about romance at Zara West Romance, about writing tips at Zara West’s Journal, and about everyday life during the Civil War at American Civil War Voices.
~ Joan Koster
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Member, Non-Member

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