Creating a public display of emotion is one way to describe “making a scene.” We’ve all been there, usually as onlookers, occasionally as participants. Most often, public spectacles are spontaneous, but scenes on paper are anything but. Particularly in the early stages of the writing process, scenes require considerable planning and forethought. In The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer, author Sandra Scofield defines scenes as “those passages in narrative when we slow down and focus on an event in the story so that we are ‘in the moment’ with characters in action.” If the scene is compelling enough, the reader becomes a bystander of sorts, and characters come to life. Anyone who writes short stories, novellas, novels, memoirs, screenplays or dramatic plays must be proficient at creating compelling scenes. Think about it: All the significant moments in any narrative get conveyed through scene. Scenes are the building blocks of narrative, regardless of the form that narrative takes. If the event or moment is significant in the life of the story, chances are you will develop it through scene. What’s less important tends to be summarized. Read more...

Later, we’ll sort out the specifics. For now, let’s say the novella is an extended work of fiction: long enough for the reader to get lost in but short enough to be consumed in a single sitting. It doesn’t take up much space. Stow it in your purse or slip it in your back pocket. Read it as you wait in line for coffee. Novellas used to be considered awkward—too long to fit comfortably in the pages of most literary magazines and too short to be published alone. But, in our current culture, the novella is, as Debra Sparks has said, “Goldilocks form, not too much this and not too much that but just right.” Read more...

Do you have a story you’ve been sending out for a while that keeps getting rejected? Even as you revise it, here and there, hopeful it will find a home at last? What keeps the editors from saying yes? Is there something about your story—that story you’ve re-read a zillion times, so often that you’ve practically got it memorized by now—that you aren’t able to see? What is it? How might you address it in your next draft? In this weeklong workshop, we will explore what it means to “dig in” when drafting and revising our stories, from sentence-level concerns (we’ll identify those “weasel words” that show up again and again without our notice) to larger considerations, like character motivation, verisimilitude, plausibility, psychological depth, and complexity. We will also explore the submission process from an editor’s perspective, reading sample published stories with a behind-the-scenes look at why those stories were selected for publication. Our goal will be to demystify the submission process while developing greater appreciation for the connection between drafts that “dig in” before they are sent out into the world. Read more...

Ready to write stories you had no idea you’d ever write, explore subjects you never thought you’d explore, take risks, experiment, and surprise yourself in the process? Ready to write a lot? This class will be more of a fiction workout than workshop (although we’ll do a bit of that, too) that will challenge you to write a complete, 300-500-word flash fiction by the end of the weekend, one that is ready to go out into the world. How will we do that? By thinking of our writing as an exercise. An exercise in dialogue, tone, imagery, point-of-view, setting, characterization—you name it, just don’t call it a “story” quite yet. That comes later. Together we will explore the world of flash fiction (stories of 500 words or fewer) through discussion of published examples and through multiple writing exercises that will break you out of your comfort zone. We’ll roll up our sleeves together and think of art as exercise. Whether you have a dozen story ideas in mind or none whatsoever, you will leave this class with a greater appreciation of the flash form. Read more...

All novels are constructed with intricate mechanical parts that create the whole, but what are the parts beyond general character and plot? What are the smaller, unseen levers and gears that help build novels? In this workshop for novelists of all levels and genres, we’ll examine the interconnected architectural parts that yes, develop the basics like characters and plots, but also the smaller, unseen parts that build story structure, create narrative time, activate settings, and produce conflicts to fuel the overall story. We’ll study these architectural parts in published examples, increase your craft vocabulary, and discuss how they might apply to your own novel. In this workshop, we will also generate new writing through exercises and assignments and provide feedback on writing you produce in our week.

This class will focus intensely on the novel-writing process. Come prepared to discuss a novel you’re already working on, even if that novel is only in the planning stages. In a whirlwind week we will work through the major issues of writing a novel -- instigating event, characterization, structure, and suspense. Rather than a workshop, this will be a class where new work is generated (both in and outside of class) and shared with your classmates and me for feedback. Even if you’re fairly far into a draft of a novel, this class is meant to help you rethink it, shake it up, see it anew. You will complete writing assignments to help you develop your plot, bring your characters into focus and explore your setting. We will also discuss a short novel and some novel excerpts for inspiration and craft ideas. You’ll go home with a clearer sense of your novel and renewed trust in yourself and your writing process. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through exercises and assignments; provide feedback on writing assignments you produce during our week.

In this fun weekend workshop, we'll write our life stories through one single category of objects or experiences. All about my life according to...the shoes I wore, the houses I lived in, or the cars I drove. My life told through my most important conversations or the photographs I wish had been taken but never were. My life through the books that shaped the way I think. Or my life via art objects, hats, movies, sports events, gardens, video games, people I will never see again, favorite walks, songs, or quilts sewed. You know what has mattered to you over time. But remember, you can only pick one! It's so much easier to write a memoir (or call it a series of linked personal essays) when you have a structure to work with. This simple unifying structure conveys the passage of time while its draconian limitations free you to leave out all those extraneous details that bedevil the memoir writer and swamp the reader. (Although you'll be surprised at how much deeper meaning you can sneak in if you work at it.) All writers, from the most beginning to the most experienced, are welcome as long as they're willing to experiment. A bonus gold star if you don't take yourself or this project too seriously. You'll leave this quirky workshop with a basic understanding of structure, a project underway, and a simple plan for completing it. In this workshop we will generate new writing through exercises and assignments; provide limited feedback on work produced during the workshop.

Writing a short story can seem confusing, especially when there’s so much you want to say and so little space to say it in. What do you do with all those important details, those great side characters, and those pages of history? And how do you tie it all up in a meaningful way? This weekend course is designed to give you a simple, clear roadmap to the writing of the short story, and to travel that road with you step by step, so that you become familiar with each twist and turn. Through a series of in-class exercises, you will develop a character, design a world for her/him to inhabit, discover a plot, and then write a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end. By the end of the course, you should have a complete first draft of a short story to revise—and to serve as a model for future stories. Read more...

You have all the ingredients for a great novel: a wonderful story to tell, fascinating characters to follow, and a compelling world to explore. Perhaps you’ve already written some pages and watched the sparks fly as your characters come together in all the complicated ways that real people do. The question now is how to make your novel work over hundreds of pages—and keep the reader turning those pages. The answer is structure. Structure includes plot but reaches beyond plot to include basic decisions about which parts of your story to tell in scene and which parts to summarize in exposition—and in what order those elements should come. Structure creates a clearly marked road map for the writer to follow. This weeklong course is designed to help you figure out how to create a structure for your novel. Through a combination of lecture, discussion, and in-class creative exercises you will be invited to share with the group, we will: · Explore the desires that drive your most important characters to act · Understand how the conflict that starts with your protagonist creates your plot · Experience how scene works as a dramatic unit, and how it combines with exposition to cover large spans of time · Make decisions about which parts of your story to tell in scene · Explore the idea of character arc, in which characters struggle and change in response to events Read more...

There are so many reasons to write about your life. Capture what would be lost. Remember what could be forgotten. Make your own myth. Create history. Segue into fiction, essay, poetry, drama, song. Some stories cry out to be told. Some are secret but you own the page. This class is for those of you who want the time--and the gift of companions--to collect and record ideas to feed your writing, and for those who are compassionate and curious to hear others' stories. It will focus on new ideas and writing in the week, rather than prior manuscripts, with an emphasis on oral interaction. You will work with an array of forms. You can expect to make discoveries in the class--don't plan to recycle old ideas, though you may find yourself revisiting your writing and seeing new possibilities. You should go home with strategies for writing truly new work. In this class, you will generate new writing through exercises and assignments and will share it in class.

You can write a narrative all the way to the end and still not be able to say what it is about. Uh-oh. Learn how to capture the essence of a story in a few clear sentences. That analysis becomes your North Star. It is your way into drafting or revising a story, and it's your way into convincing someone they really should read it, with a pitch, synopsis, or flap copy. Learn to articulate the subject and idea of your story as a guide to its development and promotion. The workshop is fast-paced and fun and very practical. You will: 1.develop an umbrella statement of the action and its impact; 2. describe the vision and the world of the story, and 3. say how the fate of your protagonist proves your concept of the story world. Go away with a veritable banner of intention and focus! In this workshop, you will generate new material through discussion and exercises, and you will receive feedback from peers and the instructor throughout the two days.

This is a class for those who have done substantive work on a novel and are seeking peer and instructor feedback preparatory to completing a first draft or revision. You will describe and evaluate your novel using instructor templates. Write and share new passages, especially of character interiority. Participants are expected to do substantial work between classes, and are encouraged to work in pairs or small groups. The instructor will read/review written summaries and short passages. A writer beginning a novel from scratch might not be able to keep up, but it is not necessary to have a lot of pages written if you have a strong premise and a basic plot. You will receive intensive feedback on ideas, but we will not workshop manuscripts. Based on the concepts in Scofield, The Last Draft: A Novelist's Guide to Revision. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through exercises and assignments; critique writing you bring from home.