July 1st - 11th, 2008

Workshops 2008

Master Class: The Novel

Tutor: Catherine Texier

""Being engaged in a novel," writes Catherine Texier, "is often harder than starting a novel".

Sounds grim? It doesn't have to be. The most experienced novelist struggle through those moments of anguish at one point or another before they reach the glorious end of the manuscript. Participants may have just started a novel – indeed, may just be starting it here in Paris – or may already have a completed first draft, others may be stuck somewhere in the middle.

You will bring a chapter or two, or a fragment of chapter. Chose the first chapter, or a chapter further along that best represents your style of writing and a seminal moment in the narrative. Discussing the oneiric quality of these novels and their structure will allow us to look at the way you can handle time, place and point of view with more fluidity. We will also talk about how to draw the reader in with emotionally charged details, how to maintain a convincing voice and point of view, create believable characters and vivid scenes, find the right pacing. We will discuss backstory, transitions and flash-backs, what information to give and what to leave out, language, balance, sentence structure, and rhythm."

Requirements: Students are asked to submit a one- to two-page synopsis and 20 to 50 pages of manuscript.

"Before coming to the workshop, I would like you to read two novels, which have a very interesting and unusual structure, and also happen to take place, in part, in France. One is James Salter's A Sport and A Pastime (North Point Press paperback), an extraordinarily suggestive novel from 1967, and Andrei Makine's Dreams of my Russian Summers (Touchstone paperback), by a Russian author who writes in French, and who won the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Médicis in France in 1995." Back to top.

Master Class: Creative Non-fiction

Tutor: Kevin Jackson

Following an introduction to some English-language non-fiction prose stylists of the last 250 years (eg, Samuel Johnson, Edward Gibbon, George Orwell, Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael), the course continues with a discussion of how these precedents might be helpful to present-day writers of non-fiction and to those interested in a fresh approch to the writing of memoir.

This will be followed by sympathetic but firm "surgeries" of work presented by members of the group, with a discussion of structure, diction, tone and prose rhythms. Members will hone and refine their writing skills through line-by-line analysis.

Requirements: Applicants are asked to supply an example of their prose non-fiction between 1500-3500 words. (Longer works may be discussed by arrangement.) Back to top.

5-day Workshop: Memoir

Tutor: Ann Snodgrass

The study of memory has emerged recently as an area in which we most fully come to encounter our sense of self and its allegiances. In St.Augustine's words: "Great is the power of memory, an awe-inspiring mystery...a power of profound and infinite multiplicity. And this is mind, this is I myself." Using Daniel Schacter's categories of memory as a base, the class will address the lens of memory through various assignments and workshops to trace and decipher the self's navigation of uncharted territories as it ascribes meaning to the wonder that's experience.

Essays authors have written about writing their own memoirs will also be discussed to compare approaches — from frank McCourt's "learning to become more human", to Alfred Kazin's "being taken up in history", and Patricia Hampl's struggle to own her life events, or Tonis Morrison's struggle to locate subtext.

Requirements: None. Back to top.

5-day Workshop: Awakening Creativity

Tutor: Susan Tiberghien

"The focus of this workshop is on awakening our deeper creativity, on tapping into our creative source. With words, we will look for living images in our dreams, memories and surroundings. We will work with these images—describing them in our journals, drawing them in mandalas, listening to them and writing dialogues—letting them lead us to our creative source. As we unclutter the well within, our stories will start to overflow. We will shape the stories into journal entries, personal essays, short fictions, and prose poems. There will be examples of writing from over the centuries and in-class exercises, to enliven the imagination and enrich our writing, not just during the workshop but also afterwards."

"There is only one way, go into yourself...and use to express yourself, the things in your environment, the images from your dreams, and the objects of your memory." –Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet (Letter One, Paris, February 17th, 1903)

Requirements: None Back to top.

5-day Workshop: Poetry

Tutor: Vijay Seshadri

Blake said that "energy is eternal delight," and in this workshop we will look at the ways in which poems distribute, manage, and embody energy. We will consider meaning, image, rhythm, and structure in student poems with an eye to the ways in which they either liberate or trammel the electrical powers of consciousness. Along with the discussion of student work, we will do exercises and close readings of canonical poems. Participants should be prepared write and rewrite extensively, and to think hard and talk volubly about the art and the science of the poem.

Requirements: None specified yet. Back to top.

5-day Workshop: THE SPIRIT OF PLACE: Drawing From the Space Between Words

Tutor: John Freeman

A course designed to enhance and sharpen visual perception. Based on the proven premise that if you can write an alphabet you can draw, John Freeman's method of drawing enables anyone to make sense of the visual world by, in effect, writing it. Using a flexible and universal vocabulary of basic shapes, students learn quickly and intuitively to recognize the grammar of the visual world – people, places, architecture, sculpture, "street furniture" – thereby enabling them to develop, as in literacy, from spelling simple words and constructing sentences to creating passages of individual expression.

The student learns to understand the appearance of the world but also to creatively engage and integrate with their surroundings. A heightened ability to observe and analyse landscape, cityscape and the natural world is of proven value in all artistic disciplines from visual art to film-making, screenwriting, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and memoir.

Requirements: No drawing ability is necessary, only patience and an open mind. Back to top.

5-day Workshop: Fiction Workshop, Building Full Real Characters

Tutor: Nahid Rachlin

To reach readers in fiction, it is important to develop believable, three-dimensional characters. How do you create complex, real people within the context of plot, dialogue, viewpoint, voice? This is the question we will try to answer. The class sessions will be mainly devoted to students' own work – short stories, chapters of novels, novellas – which we will read and comment on (please bring 15 double-spaced pages to the first class). I will also give class exercises. In the first session we will devote some time to a general discussion of the craft of writing fiction and also cover some publishing aspects of writing – how to go about getting an agent, writing a cover letter, what to expect from the publishing world today. The criticism will be constructive. We will point out strengths as well as weaknesses and make suggestions for improvement.

Requirements: A short story, chapter of a Novel or Novella, not to exceed 15 pages, double-spaced. Back to top.

5-day Workshop: Life on the Page

Tutors: Ann Snodgrass and Karen Weir-Jimerson

The personal essay is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest. Why? Because at its best, this type of writing explores a personal approach to a subject that has a larger and more universal appeal. This class will explore various forms of essays that turn daily experiences into illuminating prose. Those forms include the double portrait, the journal entry (which also includes blogging), memoir, and column writing. This class will also cover different personal essay styles as well as topic development exercises. Participants will also learn how to develop their own voice and style.

Requirements: No writing experience is necessary. Participants are encouraged to bring a 2-3 page work-in-progress (or just rough ideas) to the first class for discussion. Back to top.

5-day Workshop: Writing the arts

Tutor: Cole Swensen

"Writing on Art is traditionally called ekphrasis..., and for thousands of years, it has offered a way to get beneath the surface of painting, sculpture, even music and dance. This will be a course-on-the-go; we'll start by discussing ekphrastic traditions and innovative ways to go beyond them; we'll do in-class exercises and spend time at various sites and museums writing on the spot, and then we'll take time for response and critique. All genres, including hybrids, welcome; we'll pay close attention to the role of genre in opening up new approaches."

Requirements: No requirements except for interest. Beginning writers, art historians, painters, and sculptors are welcome. Back to top.

3-day Workshop: The Business of Writing. Getting Published

Toni Johnson-Woods

Dealing with the practical problems of getting published. Students will learn how to write proposals that work (fiction and non-fiction) and analyse both pitfalls and success stories. Questions addressed in the course include: How your hobby can generate income, Marketing yourself., The 10 Writing Commandments. How to break writing blocks. Establishing the elements of your own style. Advanced procrastination, Visualisation exercises. Paying to be published – investment or vanity? Copyright and you (permissions and problems).

Requirements: None Back to top.

3-day Workshop: 'Romance' is not a dirty word

Tutor: Toni Johnson-Woods

A Mills and Boon or Harlequin romance is easy enough to read, but to create one could be the most challenging writing task you ever undertake. Readers are hip to cynics and wise in the ways of romance. This class will examine the styles, the sub-genres, and emerging genres in order for you to understand what it is the editors seek. At the end of the course you will have completed an outline for your first category romance. Bring along a sense of humour and leave your arched eyebrows at the door. This is not a class for the feint-hearted.

Requirements: Students must have read at least half-a-dozen titles of romance fiction, and are asked to bring a writing sample of no less than 1000 words from the opening chapter of such a novel. Back to top.

3-day Workshop: WORDS TO EAT BY. Writing a Cookbook, from the Pan to the Page

Tutor: Charlotte Puckette

Whether you are a food writer looking to increase your marketability or a home cook who simply wants to collect recipes for family and friends, this workshop will give you the essential facts about writing one recipe or an entire collection. The course will cover the grammar of a recipe as well as formatting, indexing, and concrete steps towards testing a dish. The workshop will include hands-on cooking in Charlotte's state-of-the-art kitchen to help put what you learn into practice.

Requirements: No specific requirements other than a healthy appetite. Back to top.

2-day Workshop: LITERATURE ON FOOT. The Art and Discipline of Travel Writing

Tutor: Jeff Koehler

Beautiful and beguiling, at times dangerous, often incomprehensible, and demanding on every level, Africa is the ultimate destination for travelers seeking extreme experiences, and has resulted in some of the most compelling books in the genre.

Part One of this two-part workshop illustrates the finer points of travel writing through works from Africa by a handful of authors, including Graham Greene, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Bruce Chatwin and Redmond O'Hanlon.

Part Two tackles the practicalities of travel writing, from planning a trip and doing research to taking notes and interacting with those on the road. Throughout, Jeff Koehler will talk about his own voyages and experiences around the globe and read from a memoir-in-progress about his African travels.

Requirements: None. Back to top.