June 27 - July 2, 2010

Workshops 2010

Memoir and Biography

Tutor: John Baxter

A practical workshop for writers of memoirs, autobiography or biography, aimed at those who have a finished manuscript or are well-advanced in a project. The emphasis will be on shaping material, including sharpening narrative, building characters, defining settings, and applying journalistic and novelistic techniques. The course will include discussion of significant and successful examples of memoir, and the lessons to be learned from them as well as advice on marketing, and preparing a manuscript for professional submission.

Requirements: A one-page synopsis of their project, and an extract of no less than 20 pages. They should also have available at the Workshop the full manuscript, or as much as has been completed. Back to top.

Short Story

Tutor: Sheila Kohler

The workshop will explore the art of the short story, using examples from student work and past and contemporary short stories. Each student will submit a short story in progress as well as read and be prepared to discuss the supplementary readings and work of fellow students. Students will be encouraged to feel sufficiently free to find the right material, material that has sufficient heat for both the writer and reader, and also to learn how to structure this material, and how to manage the interplay and demands of these two opposing forces.

We will examine in detail elements of structure such as pacing, or how to create sufficient tension to hold a reader and possibly an editor, and verisimilitude, how to make a story believable through the development of character, the use of a particular point of view and voice.

Requirements: 1 short story in progress, not to exceed 15 pages. Back to top.

Poetry

Tutor: Alice Notley

The workshop will include presentation and discussion of examples from contemporary (as well as past) poetic practice; the giving of assignments, sometimes to be written in class and sometimes between classes; and workshopping of poems written in and for the class. It is obviously a good idea for the members of the workshop to have read some of Alice Notley's work, since the matter of the classes will reflect her outlook and practice.

Requirements: 3-5 poems, not to exceed 10 pages. Back to top.

Writing True, the Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction

Tutor: Mimi Schwartz

We all have true stories to tell: about worlds we know well and new worlds we discover daily. This workshop will show how to capture both, using the power of voice, storytelling, memory, and grace of language to make nonfiction writing come alive. Using in-class exercises and workshopping, we'll explore strategies for turning fragments of memory and/or observation into finished memoir, personal essay, profiles, or narrative journalism.

Requirements: 8-10 pages. One work or the beginning of a work. Back to top.

Novel

Tutor: Matt Thorne

Making certain that a publisher or agent will pick your manuscript out from the pile (or upload it onto their Kindle) requires a unique blend of professionalism and skill. These are abilities that can be mastered, but for almost everyone, requires professional skill. This workshop will focus on how to transform your manuscript into a novel with wide appeal, and is designed for authors who are at least some way into a full-length project. Using examples from a wide range of contemporary and classic literature and exploring a wide range of literary techniques, this workshop will show you how to stand out from the crowd.

Requirements: 12-15 pages. Submit a synopsis in one or two pages: a summary of the plot, or an explanation of the essential action, and the problems you want to solve. The manuscript should consist of one scene from somewhere in the book that will give a sense of the sort of writer you are and how your main characters talk and act. Back to top.