Writing Workshops 2013

Taught by some of the area’s most prolific writers, these workshops help beginning writers find their voice, intermediate writers hone their craft, and experienced writers reach new levels of excellence. Skill levels for courses range from beginner to advanced; check individual workshop descriptions for details.

Please be sure to click on the Supply List and Welcome Letter link for each class you plan to attend. They contain important information regarding necessary supplies, equipment, and pre-class deadlines.
 

Beginning Poetry with a Wisconsin Poet Laureate

Join Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2011-2012) for a one-day workshop that will cover what makes a good poem, inspiration, revision, and reading poetry aloud. Beginning*

WA601; Saturday; 8:30am-4:45pm; $120 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2011-2012), is the author of two chapbooks, A Decent Reed and Something Near the Dance Floor. His full-length book, Breather, published by Fireweed Press, won an Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry from the Wisconsin Library Association. Visit brucedethlefsen.com to learn more.

*Attending Beginning Poetry will qualify you to attend Advanced the next day

Advanced Poetry with a Wisconsin Poet Laureate

Join Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2011-2012) for a one-day workshop that will include higher level writing skills, critical revision, and reading poetry aloud. Intermediate/Advanced

WAD602; Sunday; 8:30am-4:45pm; $120 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)
(Attending Beginning Poetry will qualify you to attend Advanced the next day)

 Instructor Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2011-2012), is the author of two chapbooks, A Decent Reed and Something Near the Dance Floor. His full-length book, Breather, published by Fireweed Press, won an Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry from the Wisconsin Library Association. Visit brucedethlefsen.com to learn more.

Chapter One Workshop

The first chapter is all-important in books, both to attract readers—and to acquire an agent or editor. Submit, in advance, the first chapter of your book, whether novel or memoir. In this workshop we’ll discuss each student’s chapter in depth, and you will also receive written critiques from the other students and a line-by-line edit and an overall thematic critique from the instructor. Intermediate/Advanced

E603; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-3pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Kathie Giorgio started writing as soon as she could put pen to paper and her first story was published at the age of 15. She is an internationally known short story writer; her short stories and poetry have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies.

Creative Memoir Writing: Let’s Lie This Time!

Famous memoirs lie a lot. So why not you, too? Write, or rewrite, parts of your memoir with a unique voice, spinning the truth, or making up a “truth” from scratch. Let us embellish what you proudly did, but this time it is your personal story with a fiction that can create “what ifs,” e.g., you become a “Super Julia” with your own cooking show. Yes, the past can be fictionalized with tongue-in-cheek fantasy. Beginning/Intermediate

C604; Saturday-Wednesday; 10:15am-11:45am; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Roger Keene has been involved in theatre for many years as an actor, director, and writer. His most recent work has been with The Milwaukee Public Theatre, touring Wisconsin with a musical he wrote on end-of-life issues.

Ditch Your Narrator and Find the Life in Your Story

Fiction by developing writers, and sometimes published writers, is often bogged down by a self-important narrator that tells us a lot of stuff we skip. The antidote? Practice writing drama. Dramatic writing forces the writer to SHOW, because films and plays are like life: all action and speech. Working with a purely neutral narrator immediately challenges us to write “in scene,” and that alone makes our writing more marketable. Writing drama helps us learn to throw away the crutch of the “telling” narrator, find the action in our story, and reveal three-dimensional characters through action and dialog. Whether you are a dramatist or fiction writer, join us to explore this ancient, vital form of literature, expand your toolbox and give your writing a blast of energy. Come prepared with pen and paper, or laptop, as we will write every day both in our workshop sessions and overnight. Intermediate

E605; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-3pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Bob Curry has MFA degrees in both acting (SMU Professional Theater Training Program) and Fiction (Vermont College). He has been a professional actor for 30 years, with seasons of classical repertory at American Players Theater in Spring Green, WI and The Old Globe in San Diego, CA.

Five Days, Ten Poems

Whether you’re stuck in a rut, find the blank page daunting, or simply want to jumpstart your writing, this workshop provides a friendly space to create new work and develop fresh poetic insights. With a focus on creativity and play, we’ll explore tools and techniques that will encourage us to break out of our comfort zone in order to foster new work. Each day will begin with discussions of contemporary poems followed by relevant prompts and exercises to get you thinking in new ways and moving a little deeper into your work. By the end of the workshop, you will have 10 drafts of new poems to work on. Intermediate/Advanced

C606; Saturday-Wednesday; 10:15am-11:45am; 150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Angela Voras-Hills earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts- Boston, where she taught creative writing and composition. She has served as fiction editor for Madison Review, managing editor of Breakwater Review, and reads poetry submissions for Ploughshares.

Getting Mona Lisa to Talk: Art Inspires Writing

This workshop will look at real and virtual art—paintings, photos, sculptures, etc.—and then write, using the art as inspiration for poetry or short, short (flash) fiction. We will explore 20 or more examples of famous collaborations, like Sexton’s “The Starry Night” inspired by Van Gogh’s painting by the same name. Our class may also respond to art created during School of the Arts. Because arts often inspire each other, this workshop will encourage and enrich that experience for writers. Intermediate/Advanced

E607; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-3pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Mary Sue Koeppel is the author of Between the Bones, Poems; In the Library of Silences: Poems of Loss; Writing Strategies Plus Collaboration; and Write Your Life: the Memory Catcher.

I Want to Write, But …

Have you always wanted to write? This workshop is for anyone who would like to explore writing in a non-threatening, supportive environment. We’ll get the creative juices flowing, and play with words on the page. Each day will include at least one fun activity to get you writing—nothing long or scary, promise! This workshop will also include writing prompts and exercises, individual and group writing, and time to share works in progress. You’ll be able to identify personal obstacles to writing, and come away with strategies to move past writers’ block and at least three short pieces! Don't worry about your grammar or spelling. Don’t worry about what your high school English teacher said about your writing. Join us and experience the joy of writing. Beginning

WAD608: Sunday; 8:30am-4:45pm; $120 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Jennifer L.W. Fink is a working freelance writer who has previously taught at the School of the Arts and Moraine Park Technical College. She also teaches an online writing course, Feature Writing in the Digital Age, through UW-Madison’s Continuing Studies.

The Life of a Poem: Resuscitation and Publication

Do you have a stack of poems waiting to be polished and published? Or perhaps you’ve revised the life out of a poem you once loved? In this workshop, we’ll discuss what we expect from a “good” poem and learn how to revise our poems based on those criteria. Each day, we’ll read contemporary poetry, and participants will share drafts with the group for encouragement, feedback, and guidance for revision. On the last day, we’ll discuss submitting poems for publication in literary magazines and other publication options. Bring your poems for revision and sharing. Intermediate/Advanced

E609; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-3pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Angela Voras-Hills earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts- Boston, where she taught creative writing and composition. She has served as fiction editor for Madison Review, managing editor of Breakwater Review, and reads poetry submissions for Ploughshares.

Memoirs, the Story Only You Can Tell: Getting Started

This is the one workshop you should take whether you 1) have a whopper of a story you want to tell the world, 2) wish your children and your grandchildren to better know who you are and what you have lived for, or 3) simply desire to gain from the life behind you the wisdom to mold the life still before you. More than just helpful writing tips, this session will provide you with five methods for gathering and structuring material and the means to best hook the reader, as well as determine the pivotal scene that will create the greatest dramatic climax. You will not only discover what to include and what to exclude, but leave the workshop with an action plan and timeline for accomplishing your goals, plus enough experience with the elements of scenes to start you well on your way. This workshop is appropriate for both beginning and intermediate writers; for those who have begun their manuscript as well as for those who have thought about it but have not yet started. Beginning/Intermediate

E610; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-3pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor John Lehman is the founder and first publisher of Rosebud, a national magazine of short stories, poetry, and illustration for people who enjoy good writing. He is a nationally published writer and poet with 25 years of experience teaching creative writing.

Memoirs, the Story Only You Can Tell: Polish to Publish

We’ll expand on what we've learned and accomplished earlier. Topics will include altering the order of scenes to increase reader involvement and interest, advantages and disadvantages of different points of view (and how to find the one that’s right for you), and the technique of changing the vantage point within the point of view you choose. We'll also discuss a tool that helps you identify the major and minor dramatic conflicts in your life, and packaging what you’ve written to gain readers and publishers. Intermediate/Advanced

F611; Saturday-Wednesday; 3:15pm-4:45pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor John Lehman is the founder and first publisher of Rosebud, a national magazine of short stories, poetry, and illustration for people who enjoy good writing. He is a nationally published writer and poet with 25 years of experience teaching creative writing.

Mindful Poetry—Attentiveness in Creative and Spiritual Life

Cultivate inner listening and use what rises up as a source for creativity. We will explore stillness, solitude, silence, and sanctuary, and how these qualities connect to our writing and spiritual consciousness. We will view landscapes on the computer screen with meditative poetry. We will reflect on the poetry of minimal language to move from the natural world to metaphorical layers of the inner life, as do many contemporary writers. We will do simple mind/body exercises to enhance our creativity. We will read and contemplate work by Mary Oliver, David Whyte, Jane Hirshfield, Rumi, Wislawa Szymborska, Basho, and others. The class is for ALL skill levels.

F612; Saturday-Wednesday; 3:15pm-4:45pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Mary Sue Koeppel is the author of Between the Bones, Poems; In the Library of Silences: Poems of Loss; Writing Strategies Plus Collaboration; and Write Your Life: the Memory Catcher.

The Novel: Advanced Concepts

Your novel is solid, yet—something’s missing. Some scenes seem thin; they lack passion or drama. You can counteract that by consistently hinting at an arc for every character. You can add metaphor, too—a tool few novelists exploit. A dialogue about dialogue would also help, which is a plan for one of our days together. You’ll also spend time assessing external and internal scenery and the relationship between them. Finally you’ll discover ways to deal with the devil in the details. Advanced

C615; Saturday-Wednesday; 10:15am-11:45am; 150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Dr. Laurel Yourke, UW-Madison Emeritus, is the author of Take Your Characters to Dinner, on the craft of fiction, and Waiting for Beethoven, a poetry collection.

Poetry Without Tears

Poetry’s not just for English majors. Get the keys to unlock its doors. Enjoy—rather than study!—its delicious secrets. We’ll focus on reading poetry. But if you write poetry, or want to, remember that it’s hard to write good poetry unless you’re adept at reading it. This will be an all-new, no-repeat event featuring both contemporary and traditional selections. You just might fall in love—with the written word. And there’s no homework! Intermediate/Advanced

B614; Saturday-Wednesday; 8:30am-10am; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Dr. Laurel Yourke, UW-Madison Emeritus, is the author of Take Your Characters to Dinner, on the craft of fiction, and Waiting for Beethoven, a poetry collection.

Short Story Workshop

Short stories are a viable part of the fiction world, and it is absolutely necessary to publish short stories if you want to go on to publish a novel. In this workshop, we will focus on the short story. Submit a short story (up to 5,000 words) in advance. We’ll read each other's work and discuss it in the workshop, as well as give every student a written critique. From the instructor, the students will receive a line-by line-edit and an overall thematic critique, including if the story is ready for professional submissions. Intermediate/Advanced

C616; Saturday-Wednesday; 10:15am-11:45am; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Kathie Giorgio started writing as soon as she could put pen to paper and her first story was published at the age of 15. She is an internationally known short story writer; her short stories and poetry have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies.

Where’s the Humor in My Life—Everywhere!

There is a healing power in looking at life with humor. Sharp edges become smooth. We laugh more. Our group will study examples of what makes us laugh. Then we will write and present our own humorous writing. e.g., the absurd headlines of The Onion, the humor in Reader’s Digest, Gary Larson’s cartoons, the satire of “Saturday Night Live,” the fantasy of “The Twilight Zone,” some Theatre Games and ComedySportz. They are out of the ordinary, they exaggerate and are often illogical—they simply jump out at us with a new perspective and make us smile. Beginning/Intermediate

E617; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-3pm; $150 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Rogers Keene has been involved in theatre for many years as an actor, director, and writer. His most recent work has been with The Milwaukee Public Theatre, touring Wisconsin with a musical he wrote on end-of-life issues.