Dale Griffiths Stamos
Story Structure for All Genres
Story structure for fiction and nonfiction
Monday - Friday
1:00-3:30 PM
Terrace III
In both fiction and nonfiction Stamos looks to help writers strengthen those all-important story elements, without which the novel, memoir, play or screenplay will fall apart, no matter how beautifully worded. Stamos will look at pages from your work in the context of your whole story, helping you to strengthen the parts in ways that contribute to make a more compelling whole. Remember STORY is at the heart of every good story!
Message to Students
I like my students to bring in no more than five pages from any genre: fiction, nonfiction, memoir, play, screenplay. I prefer that the student draw those pages from a key dramatic scene in the work, preferably not from the beginning. Students can also bring in ideas for new work and I will help answer questions regarding potential structure.When bringing in pages, where possible, bring copies for me. For first time conference attendees, find the workshops that resonate for you — that inspire you and make you want to write more, and better.
Bio
Dale Griffiths Stamos is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and playwright. She has written six short films—three of which she directed—which have been official selections at over 70 film festivals, including Palms Springs Shortfest, LA Shorts International, Dances with Films L.A., Sedona International Film Festival and The Newport Beach Film Festival. They have garnered two audience and eight jury awards. She has penned three feature-length screenplays which have been named finalists or semi-finalists in various screenplay competitions including Shore Scripts, Creative World Awards, Story Pros, and the New York City International Screenplay Awards. She is in the process of producing one of the scripts, Imbalance, as a feature film, which she also plans to direct. It will star television and film actor Nicholas Gonzalez (star of “The Good Doctor,” and “La Brea.”) The film will be largely shot in Santa Barbara. For more information, go to: https://www.imbalancethefilm.com/. Dale’s short and full-length plays have been produced around the country. She is the recipient of the Heideman Award from Actors Theatre of Louisville, and is a top-ten winner, twice, in the WritersDigest Stage Play Competition. Her full-length play, Blue Jay Singing in the Dead of Night recently received a Zoom reading through the UCSB Launch Pad program. Dale is also co-author of the nonfiction book RenWomen: What Modern Renaissance Women Have to Teach Us About Living Rich, Fulfilling Lives. Besides being on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Dale has led workshops at the San Miguel Writers Conference, taught writing classes at Santa Barbara City College, adult ed., and is a private manuscript consultant.
Writing Tip I Live By
Writing begets writing. Don’t wait for inspiration.The act of writing opens the channel for more writing to come through.
Literary (and other) Heroes
Carson McCullers, Harper Lee, Jorge Luis Borges, Douglas Adams, Donald Margulies,Tom Stoppard,Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller.
