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Evening Fiction: Craft, Second Draft, and Beyond – Only One Spots Left!
Instructor: Amanda Korman $150 Members | $165 Nonmembers Tuesdays, 6/5/18 - 7/10/18 | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM In writing fiction we begin with what fascinates, dogs, startles us—“You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment” Annie Dillard tells us. The writing process is about making that astonishment live outside ourselves, on the page, so that any reader anywhere can feel it, too. In this class we will sharpen our fiction-writing tools, develop strategies to…
Find out more »Fiction/Nonfiction Generative Workshop – Session is Full!
Instructor: Sharon Harrigan $150 Members | $165 Nonmembers Wednesdays, 6/6/18 - 7/11/18 | 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM No time for homework? No problem. We’ll do all the writing and critique work in class, so you don’t have to do it at home. Each session will begin with a short meditation to clear our heads. Then the instructor will lead participants through a series of prompts that build on each other and move toward the goal of completing a cohesive story,…
Find out more »The Sexy Art of Critiquing Manuscripts
Instructor: Lisa Ellison $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 6/23/18 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM No matter the genre, writers need high-quality feedback to take their work from draft to done. But where do you start? Structure? Character development? Line edits? How can you ensure that what you offer is what the writer really needs? Successful critiquing should be satisfying for both the giver and the receiver of the critique. During this three-hour session, you’ll learn how to align your feedback…
Find out more »Igniting Your Flash Fiction
Instructor: Robert Boucheron $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 6/23/18 | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM Flash fiction is prose less than 1000 words, with a definite story and sharply drawn characters. It can often be written in one or two sittings. We will analyze a few published examples, look at magazines that publish flash, engage in some writing exercises, read aloud, and comment. If it sounds a bit like theater improv, just say yes. About the instructor: Robert Boucheron…
Find out more »A Writer’s Diamonds: Similes, Metaphors, Rhythm and Style
Instructor: Janet Martin $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 6/30/18 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Have you ever noticed that some words clarify while other words sing? That some sentences explain while others sparkle? That phrases stand like statues or skip like sparrows? Often the difference has to do with hidden bits of style invoked by those who sprinkle their manuscripts with imaginative diamonds--similes, metaphors, and rhythms--unusual comparisons that separate good writers from great. In this interactive WriterHouse course we…
Find out more »Reading featuring Novelist Andrew Martin
Tuesday, July 17, 2018 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM This event will be held at New Dominion Bookshop 404 East Main, Charlottesville, VA 22902 Join us for a reading with novelist Andrew Martin, who will be reading from his debut novel, Early Work. This event is cosponsored by New Dominion Bookshop and will be free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided. For young writers of a certain temperament—if they haven’t had such notions beaten out of them…
Find out more »Strong Openings: Right from the Start
Instructor: Noley Reid $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Sunday, 7/22/18 | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM After the title, a short story’s opening can make or break its connection with a reader. After all, the first words, first sentence, first paragraph are the most visible and the spot where most readers, editors, and agents decide to stop reading altogether. In this workshop, we will examine the openings to dozens of well-published authors’ short stories, noting the many techniques used and how…
Find out more »Weeklong Fiction Intensive
Instructor: Christina Ward-Niven $139 Members | $147 Nonmembers Monday - Friday 7/30/18 - 8/3/18 | 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM Modeled after the intensive workshops held at writers' conferences, this class will meet every afternoon for a week. We'll start each session with a craft-focused discussion of pre-assigned reading, and then we'll workshop two fiction pieces per day. Expect a supportive, constructive environment suitable for fiction writers of all levels. Note: Each participant will be expected to submit a double-spaced story…
Find out more »Plot Part One: From Conception to Story
Instructor: Max Sheridan $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Wednesday, 8/1/18 | 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM This four-hour creative writing workshop with author Max Sheridan will show aspiring and more experienced writers how to concept and develop plots for their stories. Using Kurt Vonnegut’s ideas on “story shapes” as a springboard, we’ll see how plots typically evolve according to basic principles. We’ll also look at the ideas of pacing (a story’s rhythm) and conflict (tension), and explore two different techniques for…
Find out more »Plot Part Two: Plot in Action
Instructor: Max Sheridan $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Thursday, 8/2/18 | 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM Just like good music in a movie, when plots are done right, you might not even notice them. In this second four-hour workshop, we’ll be looking at actual plots from stories that work and then taking them apart to see why. After that, we’ll see how the missing piece in this puzzle—character—interacts with plot to turn a concept into a relatable, gripping story. Participation in…
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