About Carla
Instructor Bio:
Carla is the author of the Writer’s Digest book Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes and Fight Write, Round Two: Crafting Chaos, Combat and Crime. Her site, FightWrite.net, has been named in Writer’s Digest Top Websites for Writers five years in a row and is a two-time CAN Gold Crown Award winner. Carla is a regular writer for the WD blog and instructor for Writer’s Digest University and Writing Mastery Academy. She teaches the craft of writing fight scenes as well as the mechanics of fighting for writers. Carla has experience in almost a dozen fighting styles and is a world champion jiujitsu player. She has a brown belt in Brazilian jiujitsu. She lives and trains outside Houston, Texas.
Speaking/Teaching Experience:
Keynote –
Realm Makers Writing Conference 2024
Online Courses –
Writer’s Digest University
Writing Mastery Academy
Instructor –
Romantasy Writing Summit 2024
Author Nation 2024
Story Embers Writers Conference 2024
American Christian Fiction Writers 2024
Realm Makers Writing Conference 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2017
Writer’s Digest National Conference 2022, 2019
Writer’s Digest Sci Fi Writers Conference 2018
Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference 2018
Available Courses:
Dealing Damage
Learn what areas of the body are deadly targets, the appearance of wounds by blades and bullets, the basics of bruising and breaks and how to show rather than tell how long a character has been dead.
Fight Scenes 101
A quick and bloody guide to writing fight scenes from start to finish.
Fight Scenes: From Practical to Tactical
Need to see the fight in real life? Learn the basics of fighting through live demonstration and hands-on instruction, including hand-to-hand fighting and weapons basics and open Q&A.
Fight Write: What to Consider Before Writing Fight Scenes, Battles and Brawls
Fights begin long before the first punch both off and on the page. Learn what to consider before writing a fight scene including the why, the where and the three whos. Learn how a character’s reason for fighting impacts the style, speed and severity of the fight, how a location of a fight is more important than who is fighting, and how to fit the scene to the character’s natural abilities as a fighter and your ability as a writer. Finally, learn how to combine all of these factors in a way that appeals to the most important participant in the fight scene: the reader.
Mapping Your Fight Scene
Is getting through your fight scene a battle? Mapping may be for you! Learn how to create a strategy for your fight scene by organizing elements in idea clusters and creating a visual map to follow.
Picking a Fight WITH Your Character
Ever wonder what fighting skills are best for your character? Should your protagonist be a bare-knuckle brawler or are they better off with a bo staff? This class will help you decide. By examining key elements of your manuscript as well as the goals and needs of the storyline, you will learn what fighting style and weapons will make your hero their best and villain their worst.
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