The Eleventh Hour Lecture Series is comprised of hour-long presentations at 11:00 a.m. each weekday of the Festival. The series features issues of special interest to writers, including aspects of craft, process, the writing life, and publishing. Fridays in the Eleventh Hour are reserved for a faculty reading.

The Eleventh Hour Series is free and open to the public. In 2023, the series is held in Phillips Hall, Room 100. 

 

To listen to past lectures, visit the Eleventh Hour Podcast on the Writing University webpage.

 

Recent Lectures in the Eleventh Hour Series: 

 

In Praise of Terrible Ideas: Revision Strategies for Prose. Rachel Yoder, Presenter

Author Kelly Link says in a Fail Safe podcast interview, “The really terrible ideas are much, much closer to interesting ideas than ideas which are good enough.” With this in mind, we'll take a look at the revision process and how to deploy what may seem like terrible ideas to your advantage, among other revision strategies. In addition to looking at the creative processes of a number of authors—examining their first and final drafts, the changes they made, and their thinking behind the process—we'll go over the basics of line editing. At the end of the lecture, you'll have some revision techniques to try out with your own writing as well as a better understanding of what works for your own creative process. To fully take advantage of this lecture, participants should have a completed short story draft in hand to use during exercises.

 

Prepping for Publication: How and Where to Submit Your Manuscripts. Kelly Dwyer, Presenter

You’ve written and revised a novel, memoir, story, flash fiction, or poem, and now you want to submit it for publication. As she navigates the publication of her third novel, Ghost Mother (Union Square & Co., 2024), author Kelly Dwyer will take us through the process. We’ll discuss where you might consider sending your shorter works and how to send a novel or memoir to an agent. Kelly will provide tips on how to write an appealing query letter and synopsis, as well as touch on contemporary issues around self-publishing and AI. This presentation is for writers at all stages, from beginning writers who have never submitted their work, to published authors who are looking to finetune their submission process. By the end of the hour, we’ll all be this much closer to seeing our writings in print!

WATCH THE VIDEO

 

Good Sound: Poetry for Prose Writers. Diana Goetsch, Presenter

We should require of prose what we expect of poetry: vividness, compression, and good sound. The last of these is often neglected by prose writers, as though they were working in a silent genre, or sound was merely a decorative concern. Wrong. What Duke Ellington said of music—“If it sounds good it is good”—holds true for writing. So does the converse: if it isn’t music, it can’t be wisdom. This Eleventh Hour talk will present how central good sound is to fiction and nonfiction writing—providing examples and techniques for improving sound in prose.

 

Crafting “Excess.” Darius Stewart, Presenter

For this talk, we—together, you and I, audience and speaker—will explore maximalist writing as an aesthetics of excess that, according to Will Hertel, strives to “submerge readers with informational deluges, utilizing a variety of subject material and literary techniques and genres to maintain attention.” However, chief among our discussion will be the question: what if one is a writer who only wants to use this technique occasionally, and elsewhere engage in a less elaborative style? Can this be achieved by crafting excess—that is, attending deliberately to pacing, use of figurative language, and/or a robust narrative voice? I believe so. Writers of any genre and experience can benefit from our discussions, which will include examinations of prose works from Richard Wright, Gloria Naylor, Don DeLillo, and Maxine Hong Kingston.

 

Exploring the Power of Image Through Haiku. Robert Anthony Siegel, Presenter

One of the key elements in successful writing is imagery—the word-pictures that directly transmit what the writer sees. But while fiction and nonfiction students typically get a lot of help with things like plot and structure, imagery often goes unmentioned, in part because it is so very hard to talk about how to make better images. Therein lies the value of haiku for prose writers. The super-short, imagistic form of poetry imported from Japan offers a strikingly clear (and very fun) way to practice making images. Over the course of the hour, we will read and write haiku together, using the experience to deepen our understanding of the role of imagery in our own writing, and to enrich our visual imaginations.

 

What’s Hidden Beneath: A Writer’s Exploration of Form, Genre and Grief. Juliet Patterson, Presenter

Part-lecture, part-artist-talk, this session will unveil one writer’s process in, through, and about grief. Poet Juliet Patterson, author of Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide (Milkweed Editions, September 2022), will discuss the challenges and pitfalls of writing memoir connected to ancestral trauma, considering methods of research, creating scenes, and crafting a narrative. How do we integrate research and history into our work? How can we use form as a method of inspiration? How can we embody our memories more authentically? And how do we manage our emotional body in the process of writing? These are some of the questions we’ll address in this talk through a variety of short exercises and discussion.

 

A Woman of Genius: Remembering Lynda Hull. Susan Aizenberg, Presenter

In the years between 1980 and her death at age thirty-nine in an automobile accident in 1994, the late Lynda Hull composed a body of work that marks her as one of the great lyric poets of our generation, including two prize-winning collections, Ghost Money (1986) and Star Ledger (1991), and a posthumous third collection, The Only World (1995). In 2006, all three collections were brought together in a single volume, Lynda Hull: Collected, in Graywolf’s RE/VIEW series edited by Mark Doty. During her life, Hull was teacher and mentor to many poets, one whose devotion to her students and to the art of poetry demonstrates, as Mark Doty has written of her, “how transformative the exchanges between teacher and student might be.” In this Eleventh Hour, we’ll remember Lynda Hull and celebrate her enduring legacy as both a brilliant poet and a generous and remarkable teacher.

 

Under Review: A Panel on Pitching, Submitting, Community, and the Future of Literary Journals. Lynne Nugent, Nina Lohman, and Hannah Bonner, Presenters

With the shuttering of publications like Tin House, Astra, Catapult, Bookforum, and The Believer (albeit briefly), it’s a strange time to cut your teeth as a writer. Midsized journals are abandoning experimentation and innovation in order to secure funding. Meanwhile, massive journals like The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Atlantic have shifted toward fleeting think-pieces, celebrity clickbait, and hate-reads to attract corporate advertisers. It feels like the floor could drop out at any moment, and yet, whenever we look around a room full of writers, we know there’s still so much brilliant art being created. So where’s this art to go? Good news is: for every sad headline, there are two or three working editors who’ve carved out new venues and are opening doors—these opportunities just might be a bit trickier to find. Join editors Lynne Nugent, Nina Lohman, and Hannah Bonner as they provide an insider look into the present, past, and future of literary journals. Yes, we’ll cover tips and tricks for pitching your work (as well locating the right places to pitch), but we’ll also explore how to cultivate a community of readers and collaborators in an ever-changing landscape. Hope can be a dangerous word, but where’s the fun in art without a little risk?

 

Upcoming Eleventh Hour Lectures

Saying the Unsayable in Fiction

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Elizabeth Stuckey-French
Scheduled
No
There's a particular kind of audacity that writers need—daring to use the closest, most hurtful, most autobiographical portions of what's in your brain, your past, your heart. The things you think you shouldn't touch because they're too dangerous. “It’s absolutely necessary,” said fiction writer Jonathan Franzen, “to say things that are absolutely unsayable. If I’m just writing about something moderately interesting using interesting well-turned sentences, it’s got no life. It’s got to come out of some issue that’s still hot in me, that’s distressing me.” We all have things we are leery of writing about—perhaps because we fear that we could never find the right words, or because we just want to move on already, damn it, or because we’re ashamed and don’t want everybody knowing how base and vile, how absolutely human, we really are. In this class we will begin with exercises aimed at helping us discover what our unsayables are. Fortunately we’ll be writing fiction, so from there we’ll have free reign to change things however we see fit and to use our sense of humor, our obsessions—all the fun stuff as well are the hard stuff. We’ll jot down incidents that have happened to us and incidents we’ve heard about second- or thirdhand that might help transform our unsayables into a story. We’ll try out different ways of doing the transforming. We’ll read some published stories to give us examples of how we might do this. Our unsayables are always with us, no matter how much we’d rather not examine them. Assigning them to characters and who can act them out is a way of turning dross into gold—and for writers, this is the sweetest kind of revenge. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.

The Possibilities of the Essay: An Exploration of Forms and Typologies

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Deborah Jackson Taffa
Scheduled
No
The personal essay—the most flexible, shapeshifting genre—has much to offer writers. This workshop is designed to educate students about the dynamic possibilities of creative nonfiction while also informing them about the origin of the essay and its demands. When and why do we weave public histories into individual stories? What is the impact of emotional truth versus factual truth? How do we distinguish memoir from autobiography, and the lyric essay from the traditional essay and reportage? What tools do writers have in terms of structure, and how do we use form to enrich any type of material? We’ll look at a range of essays—from the historic to the modern—and seek to understand what defines creative nonfiction in all its permutations. We’ll explore how various writers have navigated its possibilities and discuss ways to experiment with the typologies to create new directions for our own work. Participants will engage in writing prompts that address several experimental forms, including a found essay, a structural challenge, an exercise built around identity, and the use of a listicle to uncover topics that feel daring to the writer. Please come to class ready to write and engage in discussion with classmates. All students will be asked to share in class. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.

Crafting Chemistry: The Art and Science of Writing Romance

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Denise Williams
Scheduled
No
Romance is one of the most read genres in fiction with a voracious readership. Whether this takes the form of a sweeping romantasy, a Hallmark-ish rom-com, or an action-packed contemporary, there’s one thing every good romance has in common, and that’s well-written chemistry. The draw of a happily ever after is the crux of the romance genre, but romantic relationships exist on the page across the expanse of literature. This class will include an exploration of the facets of creating romantic chemistry on page, including the use of common and not-so-common romance tropes, the role of conflict in romance, how to use dialogue to build on chemistry, the skills needed to write physical intimacy that sparks, and more. This class will be ideal for those beginning or exploring their interest in writing romance and may be very helpful for those hoping to strengthen their skills in writing romantic relationships in other genres. This class will provide an opportunity to share existing work with classmates and to create new work through exercises and assignments. You will leave this class with: An understanding of genre expectations. An introduction to the structure of a romance arc through character and plot. Skills for creating chemistry between love interests. Exercises to build and strengthen romantic relationships in your writing. A roadmap to begin writing your romance (if you’re new to writing in the genre). Denise Williams is the author of ten romance novels and novellas and her work has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, been selected as an Indie Next Pick, highlighted by NPR, The Washington Post, and Good Morning, America, and she’s a Library Reads Hall of Fame author. Denise co-taught a university course on using romance novels to explore social justice concepts and is a regular contributors to Writer’s Digest. More importantly, she’s one of those voracious romance readers and loves love stories. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend; workshop writing you bring from home. Workshopping time will be limited, but there can be opportunity!

Weekend Session Beginning July 19

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Scheduled
No
Workshops being held during the weekend session running July 19 - 20, 2025.

The Anecdotal as Antidote to Finding Your Voice

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Jessica Alexander
Scheduled
No
We’re adept at narrativizing our own lives. Even the dullest and most dreadful experiences become fodder for a good barstool story. Yet when faced with the blank page, too often our skill and our joy abandon us. In this generative workshop, we’ll transform our rich experience as veteran storytellers into the key to unlock our voices and our narratives. The goal of this course is to translate our stories to the page, to mine our memories for sensual details, and to find new meanings in the stories we keep telling. This course is for poets and prose writers who long to write about their lives but don’t know where to begin. We’ll draw inspiration from published work across genres, building an arsenal of stylistic and structural approaches to writing. Through a guided discussion, generative writing exercises, and peer feedback participants will tap into their wellspring of self-narratives and explore those moments where the page invites greater depth and nuance. This class is for beginning and experienced writers alike. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.

The Sentence in an Age of Emoji

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Kyle Beachy
Scheduled
No
How useful the emoji! Beyond their charm, these little images clarify tone, save us time and sometimes trouble, and offer pops of flair to our otherwise mundane communication (fireworks! dancing lady in red!). How, we wonder, did we ever communicate without them? And now that they’re here, how can written language hope to keep up? Well, consider this two-day bootcamp a celebration of that most incredible of human technologies—the sentence. We all have our patterns for sentence-making, our go-tos of syntax and diction. Which means that we’re all at risk of settling into ruts. This class aims to diversify our toolkits, starting with a clean distinction between two primary types of sentences. From there, we’ll move among in-class, generative writing exercises, brief craft lessons, and close-reading discussions about exemplary sentences drawn from novels, stories, essays, and poems. Because the best way to become a better sentence writer is to become a better sentence appreciator. We will emulate, appropriate, and absorb from literature’s best teachers. This course will benefit new and experienced writers alike–any sharing of work will be voluntary and the critical atmosphere will be one of discovery, exploration, and mutual support. All students will leave this weekend with a richer understanding of diction, syntax, and the interplay between speaker and voice. And, perhaps, a better understanding of what we mean by that elusive, slippery thing we call “style.” In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.

Difficult People: Characters You Can't Stop Reading About

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Karen Bender
Scheduled
No
Who are the characters you really want to read about? Not the well-behaved ones, but the scoundrels: the characters you love to hate and really want to follow. In this workshop for fiction writers at any level, we will discuss some stories and novel excerpts that feature characters who are flawed—the transgressors, the obsessives, and more—see how they work on the page, and develop some memorable characters of our own. We will do generative exercises in which you can explore different types of compelling characters. Students will receive a one- to two-page homework assignment on Saturday, and can share characters they create with the class on Sunday; we will do generative work both days. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.

Dare to Walk in Somebody Else's Shoes: How to Authentically Write about Characters Different from You

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Tricia Elam Walker
Scheduled
No
Have you ever wanted to create a character totally different from your own experience but got cold feet? Possibly because you’ve heard or read the adage that writers should “write what you know.” Toni Morrison, however, famously instructed her students to “write something you don’t know. And don’t be scared, ever.” Myriad writers across the ages have challenged themselves to write about characters quite unlike themselves with regard to race, gender, age, ethnicity, etc.—some more successfully than others. We all possess the right to write about whomever we please. But we must write the truth about these folks despite not having “walked in their shoes.” So, how do we avoid creating characters who are inauthentic—or worse, stereotypes? Author Dani Shapiro says that as writers “we need to know what makes a character unique, nuanced, indelible.” In this brief course we will examine works from writers who have successfully created authentic characters with whom they have little in common. We will explore what type of research is required for this undertaking. We will also look at unsuccessful and inauthentic attempts, deciphering where the writers went wrong. Participants will generate work both in class and out via writing prompts and mini-assignments and will receive workshop-style feedback with instructions on giving feedback with compassion. They will leave the class with clear strategies for developing realistic characters who are markedly different from themselves. New as well as established writers may enroll in this class. They may bring work they want to improve but may also create new work. Everyone will leave bursting with ideas about story and characterization, including a music playlist for one main character. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend; workshop writing you bring from home.

Working Against Your Drift: A Generative Workshop for All Genres

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Diana Goetsch
Scheduled
No
Let’s say you’re looking forward to a visit from your dear old Aunt Ida, but when she arrives, you’re disappointed by how tiresome and dull she is. Actually you’re disappointed in yourself: Aunt Ida has always been dull—why should this time be any different? Likewise, as writers, if we expect to succeed by working in the same way every time, no matter the subject, falling back on habitual patterns, we’re just inviting old Aunt Ida (bless her heart) for another visit. Even worse—we’re becoming her! As a teacher, I introduce writers to a multiplicity of practices for making discoveries on the page. But if I could only teach one, it would be “working against your drift.” Working against your drift is a dynamic practice that trains us to never be complacent, never settle for even a smart idea or clever move, never “get high off your own supply.” When we work against our drift, we adjust ourselves into greater precision and possibility, inviting the world’s subtlety and surprise onto the page. This workshop will include models, discussion and practices to help any writer, no matter the subject or genre. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.

Fast Drafting: The Art of Speed and Imperfection

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Afabwaje Kurian
Scheduled
No
John Boyne wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in less than three days. Kazuo Ishiguro drafted The Remains of the Day in four weeks. About his process, Ishiguro explained, “The priority was simply to get the ideas surfacing and growing. Awful sentences, hideous dialogue, scenes that went nowhere—I let them remain and ploughed on.” By examining the fast-drafting process of established writers, this course will teach you how to silence the inner critic and accept imperfection as a necessary part of writing the first draft of any book. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction or working on a novel or memoir, this course will teach you how to write as quickly and imperfectly as possible. You can expect short lectures on fast drafting, including but not limited to where to begin, how to outline and prepare, how to set your word count and deadlines, and how to overcome mental obstacles. You should also expect to complete in-class exercises or writing prompts and engage in partner or group discussions that strengthen your understanding of fast drafting. By the end of this course, you’ll have learned fast drafting techniques to help jumpstart a new writing project or reignite enthusiasm for a languishing manuscript. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts.