JAMES N. FREY

He came to us out of the blue.  Someone at a meeting somewhere said, "I went to Squaw Valley last year.  Have you ever thought of having Jim Frey do a workshop here?"  Who's Jim Frey?   Most of us didn't know.

It wasn't long before we knew that Jim Frey was a damn good teacher, and we knew damn little about writing novels.  In his weeklong Colonyhouse workshops, the author of How to Write a Damn Good Novel (books I & II), and Winter of the Wolves (and many other novels), taught us how to be dramatic writers.  He took us through the hero's journey, using the mythical paradigm (the subject of his new book out this June, The Key).  He made us think about story, conflict and scene structure.  We learned to eliminate static conflict, create and maintain rising tension, and focus on sensual detail (smell, touch, sound). 

For six years, two to three times a year, Jim and his trailer would trek to the Oregon coast, and his students would present their work for critical review.  They'd write and critique and write some more.  Those who stuck with it became better writers.  Some came from as far away as the Mid-west, some from California and Montana.   

Jim has given unselfishly of himself to writers in Oregon, and we have benefited not only from his teaching, but from his friendship. 

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