Prose Workshops
 | Kim Griswell - Week 1 Whether you write poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction, you can contribute to the exciting field of children’s literature. In this workshop, you will get in touch with the "kid within." Explore ways to turn your knowledge and experiences into writing kids will want to read, and learn to ground your writing in the sensory world to make it live. You’ll also get the inside scoop from a professional children’s editor on the most common reasons an editor accepts or rejects a manuscript. If you have a children’s book in progress, bring 15 copies for discussion as time allows. For shorter works, complete manuscripts, for novels, up to three chapters. |
 | Philip Gerard - Week 2 NPR's "This I Believe" series has highlighted the genre of the short spoken essay. In this workshop, beginners and veterans alike will learn techniques to write a short narrative essay that explores personal experience in the context of the larger world -- and works out loud. We'll look at beginning and sequencing, creating a dual focus, and structuring in three acts for dramatic effect, as well as techniques for performing your words. Participants will write an original essay of about 500 words and read it out loud. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of an essay that fits this format, or simply create work in class. |
 | Yael Goldstein Love - Week 3 A lot of hard work goes into crafting a novel before you even begin to write. Just as you wouldn’t start building a house without first thinking long and hard about what form you ultimately want it to take, you shouldn't jump into a novel without first purposefully deliberating about your characters, the mood you want to set, the themes you want to explore, and the voice you want to employ. In this class, we will go through this crucial pre-writing work together using in-class exercises, take-home assignments, and in-depth discussions of the techniques writers employ in order to make these decisions and to carry them out. Students will end the course with a draft of their first chapter. Please come to the first class with 15 copies of a one-page summary of the novel you would like to write. |
 | David McKain - Week 4 Virginia Woolf said, "I find myself saying briefly and prosaically that it is much more important to be oneself than anything else." Our stories tell us who we are. Almost everyone has a story to tell; some, several stories. Pick a topic that fetches you as much as you fetch it. Memoirists have the opportunity to share what they know about the culture and the environment that helped shape their lives. "If you have a story, you don't need me," said Sigmund Freud. Get a good start on your personal story, and send up to 10 double-spaced pages by June 1 to David McKain, 154 Watson Road, Preston, CT 06365, or bring 15 copies of your work directly to the workshop for discussion as time allows (priority will be given to work submitted in advance). |
 | Clint McCown - Week 5 The short-short -- also called flash fiction, sudden fiction, or micro fiction -- is story writing in its purest form. Master the distillation process of the short-short, and you’ll have the keys to writing great fiction of any length. In this workshop we’ll talk about the various elements of fiction and try our hand at crafting some of these tiny gems of storytelling. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of 1-2 pages of your own shorts to discuss in class as time allows. |
 | Philip Beard - Week 6 Too many beginning writers focus on the perceived "formalities" of writing (plot/structure, setting, theme) and don’t realize that, for many established authors, those formalities simply flow naturally from the real starting point: voice. Nothing is more liberating as a writer than being able to "hear" your narrator begin to tell his or her story. By reading and discussing opening passages from published works that create distinctive voices, and then trying our hand at doing the same, we’ll work to establish a voice for each student that will continue speaking beyond our time together. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of the first few pages (no more than 10 double-spaced) of a novel or story to discuss as time allows. |
 | Kristin Kovacic - Week 7 It has been said that the personal essay is the genre of middle age. Michel de Montaigne, who invented the genre in the 16th century, retired to his tower at the grand old age of 38 to ask: "What do I know?" Nearly 500 years later, all that is required to excel in this genre is what Montaigne had: time to write and the perspective of time. In this workshop we will explore, through guided reading and writing exercises, the art of making literature from a life lived. No previous writing experience is necessary. Work to discuss will be created in class. |
 | Sarah Willis - Week 7 This workshop is designed for the writer who already understands point of view, character development, and how to write scenes and narrative summary. Although we will be discussing these topics, this class will focus on both technical skills and the bigger picture: what makes a short story, or a novel, worth a reader’s time, an agent’s nod, and a publisher’s decision to print it. Please be prepared to share 15 copies of up to 25 double-spaced pages of a short story or the first chapter of a completed novel. Admission to this workshop is by advance submission. Send up to 15 double-spaced pages of a story or excerpt from a novel by April 1 to the Chautauqua Writers’ Center c/o Clara Silverstein, 216 Grove St., Auburndale, MA 02466. |
 | Sherrie Flick - Week 8 This class explores the techniques used in writing flash fiction -- stories of 1,000 words or less. In-class writing exercises examine time, plot, setting, dialogue, detail, and revision strategies for capturing a world in a concise, creative, short-winded way. We’ll read published flash fiction to gain inspiration and knowledge, write a lot of little stories, and have fun. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of 1-2 pages of your own shorts to discuss in class as time allows. |
 | Fred Setterberg - Week 9 Yearning, insight, comedy, mishap -- these characteristics distinguish the compelling travel tale from more predictable narratives. We will explore a multitude of ways to mine our own experience, emotions, and perceptions in order to evoke a strong sense of place filled with intriguing characters. We’ll also read some excellent travel writers, and figure out why and how their strategies succeed. You are welcome to bring 15 copies of up to 10 double-spaced pages of a work in progress to discuss in class as time allows. |
