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Workshop Schedule |
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MCWW workshops are literally that: a place in which to produce work, receive feedback, encouragement, praise, helpful criticism, and where your efforts will be valued and deeply appreciated by your fellow writers. Each workshop consists of one or two in-class writing exercises, discussion about the previous week’s assignment, the readings, and any questions or concerns students may have about their own writing. A lecture on craft, ethics, publishing business, and other topics follows, before a short break. After break, we workshop the submitted pieces. By the end of the workshop, your classmates will have become trusted colleagues, and perhaps even friends.
Introduction to Nonfiction Writing For any writer who is interested in the world of nonfiction writing, this workshop will provide a survey of the various incarnations of this flexible genre. Covering personal essays, article-writing, reviews, op/eds, travel writing, profiles, and more, Introduction to Nonfiction Writing will include lectures, short assignments, critical reading, and light workshopping.
Course ID: W-004 7-9pm, Wednesdays 6 weeks Fee: $195.00 Enrollment: minimum 4 students
The Short Story
Short fiction presents unique challenges to writers. The smaller canvas requires even more ingenuity and attention to craft than the novel. MCWW is thrilled to be able to offer its first fiction workshop, The Short Story. This eight-week, two-hour workshop will provide writers of short fiction, or those interested in writing it, an opportunity to workshop works-in-progress or works created for this class. Lectures on various elements of short fiction—including plotting, character development, structure, thematic development, dialogue, and craft—as well as in-class and take-home assignments round out this workshop. Led by author Ashley Shelby, whose short fiction has been published in numerous literary journals and has won the William Faulkner Short Fiction Award, The Short Story will give writers a chance to share their work with other writers and focus on craft elements too often neglected. Course ID: W-005 7-9pm, Thursdays 8 weeks Fee: $225.00 Enrollment: minimum 4 students, maximum 8
On the Page: Introduction to Writing This workshop offers the “closet writer” a chance to produce short works in an intimate and supportive workshop setting. Short writing assignments, in-class exercises, and built-in deadlines will help you get those thoughts, stories, and experiences out of your head and on to the page. In addition to in-class writing, assignments, short lectures on craft, and the Workshop, students will read and analyze short works of fiction and nonfiction. Perfect for the writer who needs a little encouragement to get his or her words “on the page” or for anyone interested in taking his or her writing to another level.
Course ID: W-001 12-2pm, Sundays 6 weeks Fee: $195.00 Enrollment: minimum 4 students, maximum 8
Your Story: The Art of the Memoir Every life has a story. Every day has a story. Even every moment has its own story. With this much to write about, putting your story on paper can be daunting. Your Story: The Art of the Memoir will use in-class and take-home writing exercises, critical reading, lectures on craft, and the Workshop, to enable you to identify the narrative arc in your own life story. Expect to learn basic craft and structure skills, as well as research strategies unique to the memoir genre. You will also have the opportunity to have new work or a work-in-progress extensively workshopped up to two times, and sometimes more. Activities include: lectures on craft, structure, thematic development, research, revision, and publishing; intensive critical reading of selected texts, brief free-writing sessions, short writing assignments (critiqued by the instructor), and workshop.
Instructor: Ashley Shelby Course ID: M-001 7-9pm, Tuesdays 8 weeks Fee: $195.00 Enrollment: minimum 4 students, maximum 10.
Book Proposal Boot Camp You have a brilliant idea for a work of nonfiction. You know a little, or a lot, about your subject. And you want to write a book. Where do you start? Book Proposal Boot Camp is six-week intensive that will show you how to prepare a book proposal that will entice agents and editors. Taught by former Penguin acquisitions editor Ashley Shelby, the class will focus on the essential elements of a successful book proposal package, including the query letter, overview, chapter summaries, marketing plan, author bio, and the all-important sample chapters. Students will workshop drafts of the above mentioned proposal elements, and receive feedback from fellow students and the instructor. Students will also learn some of the secrets of the publishing world and get tips for avoiding common mistakes. Class fee also includes a final detailed critique from the instructor of a student’s finished proposal.
Instructor: Ashley Shelby Course ID: P-001 10am-12pm, Saturdays 6 weeks Fee: $250.00 Enrollment: minimum 4 students, maximum 10
*10% of MCWW’s profits are donated to charity. E-mail MCWW for more information.
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Director Ashley Shelby with students from MCWW’s Intermediate Memoir Workshop |