You know you’ve experienced it. You’re reading a thriller, or watching one on TV, when someone gets banged on the head or tumbles down a hillside. A moment later, they stand up, shake their head to clear it, then carry on as if nothing happened. You have to ask yourself, is that realistic?

The answer is no. Movies too often portray acts of violence as mere inconveniences, just something to keep the audience glued to the screen. Unfortunately, too many novel writers are influenced by what they see on the screen and make the same mistakes in their books. Moreover, the people who watch the movies or read the books often act out what they’ve watched or read because they don’t think it’s dangerous.

Violence 101: Writing About Violence with Authenticity and Responsibility will introduce writers to the realities of violence and how it should be treated in fiction. This two-hour lecture course will teach the student:

• Why Tom Cruise’s character in the Mission Impossible movies would have died several times over?

• Why do real life cops handcuff dead suspects, when TV cops never do?

• What really happens when that private eye is hit on the head?

• How can you use the after effects of violence to grow your characters?