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writing offerings - FALL 2009UPCOMING CLASSES:
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Fiction Writing: The Art of the Story This course offers detailed instruction in the craft of fiction in a supportive workshop setting. By analyzing classic and contemporary stories of varying length (from flash fiction to short story to novella), completing in-class exercises, and writing stories, students will enhance their proficiency in all the major elements of fiction, including theme, plot, characterization, point of view, transition, exposition, and description, among others. We will cover issues relevant to the process of writing fiction, including generating ideas, tapping into one's own emotions and experiences, imagining and planning the story, and revising. Students also will practice the skill of learning to read like writers by analyzing their own work and that of their classmates and published authors. [ back to top ]
Autobiographical Writing This course is designed for those wishing to use their personal experience to write effective, meaningful autobiographical pieces. Students are encouraged to explore key childhood events, significant school or job experiences, influential relationships, important philosophical, psychological and/or spiritual turning points, or any other life experience. They may do so through a new or evolving long project of their choice or periodic essays on topics suggested by the instructor. Classic essays in the genre such as those by Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, E.M. Forster, John Updike, Tillie Olson may be read, but classes are mainly devoted to thoughtful analyses of students' work. Discussions will focus on common problems of structure, and, above all, revision. [ back to top ]
The Contemporary Poetic Voice The objectives of this course are to give students the chance to spend time reading, thinking about, and writing poetry. In so doing, students will begin to develop their own poetic voices. How do you give voice to your own experience while also making it resonant and meaningful to others? What details do you include and what details do you exclude? We will explore the ways in which the symbolic, the imaginative, the interrogative, the declamatory, and other rhetorical devices can help address these questions. We will look at contemporary books of poetry by James Tate, Carolyn Forché, Franz Wright, Charles Simic, and Claudia Rankine, among others. Along with considering a range of techniques these poets have used to create their own poetic voices, we will look at the poetic world-the interior landscapes that surface through their collections of poems. We will examine how these poets achieve a sustaining, cohesive poetic voice and vision, and in so doing, we will begin to develop our individual voices to express our own interior landscapes. Through this ongoing dialogue about published and personal poems the class will build a community of poetry writers and readers. [ back to top ]
Much Poetry Reading, Much Poetry Writing This is a poetry writing class, structured in a workshop format, with emphasis on revision—additive and subtractive—and deep re-envision: that is, radical reworking of the original poem. In a workshop atmosphere of informal but rigorous give and take, students will write new poems and bring in other original poems considered unfinished. Students will benefit from suggestions by the teacher and classmates, and from the extensive reading in the course, which includes poems by Kevin Goodan, Yehuda Amichai, and Moira Linehan, and a book chosen by the class. From analyzing these writers, class exercises, and discussion, students will learn innovative ways to present material and to examine poetic techniques, and will find new inflections for their poetic voices. There is extensive reading as well as writing in the course: a new volume every other week, and an original poem every two weeks. [ back to top ]
Writing For Children and Young Adults Have you ever thought, I have a great book idea for children! or, I've always wanted to write for young people, but how do I begin? There is a lot more to writing for children and young adults than one might suspect. It's a craft that when honed and nurtured, can blossom into a work of art that stays with the reader for a lifetime. This class will explore the craft of writing for children through to young adults. You will have a hands-on opportunity to take those ideas you've had and transform them into stories that children of all ages will relate to and be entertained by. You will also learn the art of revision, the structure of a picture book, chapter book and young adult book, and even learn about the relationships between authors, illustrators, editors and publishers. [ back to top ]
The Art of Mystery Writing What distinguishes a mystery from other genres of fiction? By referencing plot devices that mystery writers use, such as in-depth characterization of protagonists, colorful settings, tones, and exercises in point of view, the class will understand how a mystery is constructed, and what makes some more successful than others. Practical issues of revisions, submitting manuscripts to agents and editors, query letters and synopses also will be discussed. The class is open to new through advanced students, and participants will leave the class with the first draft of a mystery narrative. [ back to top ]
Writing Columns for Publications, Websites and Blogs Well-written columns can open the door to regular publication, authorship or syndication. In this workshop writers and bloggers will learn how to write for the public based upon the instructor's experiences and insights from award winning columnists. Learn the craft of doing condensed writing well: point of view, voice, structure and achieving universal resonance. We will discuss how to identify ideas with a fresh angle when working under deadline constraints, and the common wants and needs of editors and syndicates. [ back to top ]
Writing the Dramatic Story Workshop Whether writers of fiction or nonfiction, we've all experienced the difference between a story that grabs and holds our attention and one that does not. What makes for this difference? Are there any tried and true techniques that can help intensify the drama of our stories? This workshop will explore one such technique: literary conflict. The class will look at one time-honored way conflict has been used by writers down the ages. We'll ask: What is it? and, if it is important, why is it? In lectures and exercises we'll isolate and practice its specific elements, and discuss some surprising theoretical points about why it works, and why this tool should be in any writer's toolbox. [ back to top ]
Writing Across Genres Workshop Do your poems have a distinctly autobiographical bent? Is your short memoir piece dancing on the line between prose poem and narrative nonfiction? Do you want to get out of your comfort zone, cross new boundaries, and discover new ways to make your writing more effective? In this workshop for beginners through advanced writers, we'll explore cross-genre writing, a form that is breaking barriers. We'll discuss the evocative forms where poetry and memoir, lyric prose and creative nonfiction converge. We'll also discuss the origins of contemporary cross-genre writing and do in-class and at home exercises designed to help you generate new material and experiment with these new forms. We will also workshop your new material. Students will leave with an understanding of how to craft successful cross-genre writing, and use the devices they've learned to revitalize their craft. [ back to top ]
Dramatic Monologue Workshop One of the most accessible and evocative forms of writing is the dramatic monologue. By speaking in the voice of someone else we can often access emotions and experiences that are both specific and universal, getting to the heart of the mythological, historical, political, and cultural in a compelling way. Whether you're looking to expand your poetic palate or deepen your study of how form influences content, this workshop is designed to introduce you to writing and understanding the dramatic monologue. Each week we will focus on an aspect of the dramatic monologue and complete take-home exercises that will be workshopped the following week. This close focus on form will allow you to break out of your comfort zone and experiment with different aspects of your writing: voice, rhythm, tone, tension, and performance. Intended for all levels, though a working knowledge of the craft of poetry is helpful. [ back to top ]
Writing Memorable Characters Workshop What makes one character distinct from another is not so much physical appearance, as inner values. These give rise to specific traits and mannerisms that will be essential to the story. In this class we will create strong and believable characters by giving them a spark of life. We will learn how to personalize them, by exploring mannerisms, descriptions and fine details. We will develop characters' essences by studying their consistency and paradox, analyzing their back-story and understanding their psychology. We will also define primary character relationships by building the minor characters that support them and the tale we tell. updated 07/23/09 | 10:35 AM
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