Location: The Attic, 4232 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
~Fall 2008 Classes~
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The Mini-Workshop (A)
FLASH FICTION IN A DAY
Flash fiction (also called short shorts and sudden fiction) is an increasingly popular art form. Learn how to tell a complete story with plot, characters and setting in less than 1000 words. We will create, review, & revise in class by using fun & interactive writing prompts in a supportive workshop format. Short- shorts are a perfect way to sharpen your storytelling skills, whether you want to write micro fiction or a novel.
Liz Prato
Sundays, 9:30-11am, 5-weeks, September 14 - October 12, $215 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Mini-Workshop (B)
PUT YOUR WORDS IN THE WORLD
In this one-day seminar, we will untangle the sometimes dizzying process of publishing your stories, poems & essays in literary journals, including doing research, writing cover letters, and how to deal with the inevitable rejection. After this class, you will be armed with information to go charging into the world of publishing.
Liz Prato
Sunday, 9:30-11am, October 19, $45 (non-refundable deposit $20)
The Narrative Workshop: Sundays A.M.
THE ART OF THE REWRITE
Writing a first draft is a process of magic & creativity. Revision is when your story transforms into art. Explore techniques for looking at & editing your own work, & discovering how your story & your understanding of it, evolves through different drafts. And rather than just spend a little extra time on revising your pieces, we will extend this process throughout the class. Perfect for writers who want to find that next level in their writing.
Liz Prato
Sundays, 11:30am-1pm, 10-weeks, September 14 - November 16, $290 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Narrative Workshop: Sundays P.M.
TELL YOUR PORTLAND STORIES
You live here, you work here, now write here because a great city needs great stories. Tell your great Portland stories in whatever form fits for you--essays, travel articles, reportage, memoir, & fiction. Consider Portland as both subject & setting, read & discuss stories & essays in which locale plays a central role, do exercises to sharpen your writing & thinking about place &, of course, offer supportive feedback on your work.
Rebecca Koffman
Sundays, 4-5:30pm, 8-weeks, September 14 - November 2, $270 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Fiction Workshop: Mondays (A)
NOVEL-IN-PROGRESS
The dedication to writing a novel can be a lonely experience. An opportunity for support, input, & critique. Students should have written at least one chapter. Discussion of style, theme, voice, & character development. By the end of the term, you will be farther along & know that you are working in a community of novelists.
Merridawn Duckler
Mondays, 5:30-7pm, 10-weeks, September 15 - November 17, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Fiction Workshop: Mondays (B)
PLOT 101
Strong stories, in fiction and non-fiction, spring from a firm grasp of the plot. A fundamental necessity for powerful writing in any genre, this course will expand your skills in designing and sustaining the thread of action, learning to listen to the story and revising on behalf of the plot. Together we’ll learn how to master the intricacies of plot design through assignments, readings and workshop. Any level of student welcome, and all genres
Merridawn Duckler
Mondays, 7:30-9:30pm, 10-weeks, September 15 - November 17, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Narrative Workshop
TUESDAY MORNING CREATIVE JOLT
Do you wish you could write? Do you wish your writing felt expansive--the way it did when you first approached the page? Do you feel overqualified or underqualified for other workshops? This class is for new writers, bored writers, "bad" writers, & seasoned "good" writers who are intent on coming up with new ideas for stories & new inspiration for their creative lives. We will mine our image-memories, muscle-memories, dreams, & imagination to create fiction, memoir, & hybrid stories. Also: $25 for textbook and supplies.
Textbook is What It Is by Lynda Barry, available at your local independent bookstore.
Supply list is 3-ring binder, filler paper, two manila envelopes, and a few good pens--available pretty much anywhere.
Ariel Gore
Tuesdays, 10am-Noon, 10-weeks, September 16 - November 18, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Poetry Workshop
FOCUS ON YOUR NEW POEMS
Description to come soon.
Kathleen Halme
Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30pm, 10-weeks, September 16 - November 18, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Screenwriting Workshop
WRITING FOR THE SCREEN
Whether you are at the early stages or wanting to polish your final draft, you will find the right atmosphere and feedback in this workshop devoted to your existing screenplay or your dream one. We will discover tools for formatting your idea (whether it is specifically for film or something you have adapted from another piece of your writing). Special emphasis on character and plot development--and on finding the inspiration to complete the thing. A great class for moving you from idea to the screen.
Barry Hunt
Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30pm, 10-weeks, September 16 - November 18, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)Location: Pacific Crest Community School, 116 NE 29th
The Time to Write Workshop
TIME TO KEEP GOING
Time to start—and finish your pieces. The first half of the course, we’ll use writing exercises and ideas to jump-start new pieces of writing. The second half, we’ll polish and edit those pieces. All the writing and feedback happens in-class, and by the end of the course, you’ll have a number of starts, as well as completed, polished pieces.
Shanna Germain
Wednesdays, 5:30-7pm, 10-weeks, September 17 - November 19, $290 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Narrative Workshop
TRAVEL WRITING
Travel is stimulating for writers of all kinds and a constant source of great material. This class invites you to turn your travel experiences into the shared art of writing. We will workshop original writings, letters and journal entries, as well as weekly assignments, to learn how to transport personal travel experiences into fiction, literary non-fiction, memoir and poetry. Join with fellow travelers to bring that inner raconteur out into the public eye. All levels and genre welcome.
Merridawn Duckler
Wednesdays, 7:30-9:30pm, 10-weeks, September 17 - November 19, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Memoir Workshop A.M.
THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR LIFE
For writers interested in fashioning events from your life into powerful, meaningful stories. Emphasis on jogging your memory & on finding the structures & patterns to tell your real-life stories. Special focus: locating your personal voice.
Ariel Gore
Thursdays, 10am-Noon, 10-weeks, September 18 - November 20, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Memoir Workshop P.M.
THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR LIFE
For writers interested in fashioning events from your life into powerful, meaningful stories. Emphasis on jogging your memory & on finding the structures & patterns to tell your real-life stories. Special focus: locating your personal voice.
Ariel Gore
Thursdays, 5:30-7:30pm, 10-weeks, September 18 - November 20, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Time to Write Workshop
DIRECTION, TIME, & INSPIRATION
Time for exploring with language in a directed and supportive atmosphere. Each session uses unique assignments to help you discover and develop your voice as well as create new material. Unlike a critique workshop, we’ll focus on the process, not the result, so that you’ll have many new pieces to pursue and revise. Develop a variety of tips and techniques that will enable you to create writing time and space in your own life after the class is complete.
Cindy Willliams Gutierrez
Thursdays, 8-9:30pm, 8-weeks, September 18 - November 6, $270 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Fiction Workshop: Saturday Mornings
SHORT STORIES
What are the essentials for story telling & writing fiction? How do you turn your ideas and story starts into a complete, well-written piece of fiction? Learn how to develop unique characters, intense plots, & dynamic dialogue. A workshop on the craft of story-telling & bringing your stories into a fictional framework. Specific feedback related to all aspects of working on and completing short stories, including revision & publication ideas.
Shanna Germain
Saturdays, 9:30am-11:30am, 10-weeks, September 13 - November 15, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
The Poetry Workshop: Saturdays
DRAFTING, REVISING, PUBLISHING--THE WORKS
Is it time to get your poems read closely & revised? Are you stuck or unsure of how to begin the next draft? This class is for those eager to have their new poems read & critiqued in a supportive, intensive environment. Specific feedback related to all aspects of exploring and finishing a poem, including ideas on how to go, as poet and teacher Jeanne Marie Beaumont urges, “further, deeper, wilder.”
Cindy Williams Gutierrez
Saturdays, 1-3pm,10-weeks, September 13 - November 15, $330 (non-refundable deposit $100)
