Natalie Serber is teaching a six week advanced writing workshop in May at Literary Arts.
Short Fiction Workshop
Time: Tuesdays, 6:30 – 8:30 May 14, 2013 – June 18, 2013 (6 weeks)
Place: Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington, Portland
Tuition: $275
Class size: a maximum of 9 students will be accepted into this class. Please see information below about how to register.
Course description:
“I want to try to capture in writing the mysterious process of a life unfolding and how it feels as it happens. We often imagine that mystery is buried deep inside our lives, but it’s also hidden around us, on the surface.” ~ Tessa Hadley
A good short story satisfies and surprises us, touching upon the mystery of our lives and in the best case, making the reader feel less alone. This workshop will have three parts. We’ll do a bit of writing together. We’ll study and discuss master stories, focusing on characters—their desires and quirks, meaningful conflicts, satisfying story arc, effective dialog, and rich settings. Then, the bulk of our time will be spent in seminar style workshop, reading and critiquing one another’s stories in progress. Bring a story that has been troubling you, or start something entirely new. It is my hope that when our workshop is over, aside from having developed an encouraging writing community, we’ll all have a draft of a story and be inspired to take it further.
To enroll: If you have received an Oregon Literary Fellowship in fiction, or are a previous Oregon Book Awards finalist or winner in fiction, you do not need to submit a writing sample to register. All other participants must first submit a writing sample and be given permission before registering. Contact Susan Denning at susan@literary-arts.org for more information. Visit our box office page. Scroll down to “writing workshops”
About the instructor: Natalie Serber is the author of the short story collection, SHOUT HER LOVELY NAME, which is a New York Times “Notable Book” of 2012. Her work has appeared in The Bellingham Review, Gulf Coast, The New York Times, and The Rumpus, among others. Her awards include the John Steinbeck Award and the Tobias Wolff Award.
