Summer 2002 Workshops at Writers & Books

Fiction

Adopting the Orphan: A Novella in Eight Weeks

• Instructor: Sarah Freligh [ bio ]
• Eight Tuesdays, starting July 9, 6-8:30 p.m.
• $182 General Public/$$159 W&B Members
• Limit: 12

It’s been called “the orphan of contemporary fiction” - too long for most magazines and too short for book publishers. Yet the novella is a unique literary form that has been adopted by such writers as Richard Ford, Eudora Welty, and Jim Harrison.

In this eight week class, participants will write an entire novella from start to finish (eight plus pages per week) and share their pages in progress with fellow novella slaves during weekly discussions. By the end of the class, each participant will have completed a first draft to review and revise and will be rewarded with their very own Certificate of Adoption.

Prerequisites: Sound knowledge of technique (i.e. character, point of view, setting, dialogue, etc.) For first class, please read “Jealous” from Richard Ford’s Women with Men, and bring to class, ready to discuss and develop aspects of plot and character for you own novella.

Those wishing to may participate in a special reading of their work on September 3 in the Verb Café.

Write a Mystery in Five Days … In the Classroom!

• Instructor: Jennifer Meagher [ bio ]
• One week, August 5-9, 6-8:30 p.m.
• $110 General Public/$89 W&B Members

If you’re asking, how do I begin, or where do I put the clues, and even when will I have time to write? This is just the class for you.

Learn everything you need to know, step by step. By the end of the week, you will have an engaging mystery plotted and planned and ready for typing. Bring index cards and 3x3 post-it notes.

Beginning Fiction

• Instructor: Martin Naperstack [ bio ]
• Six Wednesdays, starting July 10, 6-8:30 p.m
• $146 General Public/$117 W&B Members
• Limit: 12

Do you have a story you've always wanted to tell or a secret desire to write a novel?

Beginning Fiction is a six-week intensive course designed to introduce you to the craft of fiction and get you started on your way. In this course you'll learn the basic elements of fiction - story, character, point of view, dialogue, to name a few - and develop a working vocabulary of writing. We will focus on a different topic each week and work on in-class writing exercises to reinforce each concept.

Students will receive detailed handouts to keep for future reference and additional exercises for further practice. (Bring a three-ring binder or a folder to class to keep everything organized.)

Advanced Fiction

• Instructor: Thom Metzger [ bio ]
• Six Tuesdays, starting July 9, 6-8:30 p.m.
• $146 General Public/$117 W&B Members
• Limit: 12

What do you have to know to catch an editor's eye? How important is style? Voice? Theme? How close to publications is your work?

This is a hands-on workshop for writers who are ready to share their work with others. In a supportive atmosphere, students will read aloud in class, discuss a wide variety of fiction-writing theories and techniques, and concentrate on refinement for publication.

A novel or short story in progress is required for class. Lively discussion and debate encouraged.

Short Shorts: or, How To Write War and Peace in Three Paragraphs

• Instructor: Len Messineo [ bio ]
• Six Thursdays, July 25, 6-8:30 p.m.
• $146 General Public/$117 W&B Members
• Limit: 15

Increasingly, literary and general interest magazines are calling for short-short fiction, also called micro, fast, quick, furious, skinny, or postcard fiction.

This six-week class will analyze successful models of short-short fiction, how they use traditional elements of story writing (plot, character development, conflict, etc.). The larger part of the class will be dedicated to discussing ways you can improve your manuscripts using sound story writing principles and practices to make your work highly publishable.

Novel Critique Workshop

• Instructors:
  • T. Lucien Wright [ bio ]
  • Lois Gresh [ bio ]
• Six Wednesdays, starting July 17, 6-8:30 p.m.
• $166 General Public/$137 W&B Members
• Limit: 12

You’re well into your novel and you’re wondering how it’s going.

This workshop is designed to determine exactly how it’s going, what needs fixing, and what doesn’t. It will address all the novel elements, and your level of expertise concerning those elements. Conflict, motivation and pesky subplots will also be discussed.

At least fifty pages of your novel will be scrutinized during the workshop. Our goal is to have the first three chapters spit-shined and ready to submit by the end of the workshop

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