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Fall 2019: Memoir Accountability

September 7, 2019 and the first Saturday of the month through May 2, 2019. (no meeting in March)
Saturdays, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. (8 meetings)
Instructor: Jay Ponteri

This class meets once a month from September to May. This will be your monthly dose of accountability for students who are continuing to work on their memoir. Each writer will have the opportunity to workshop pages of their manuscript in progress.

Fall 2019: Building A Writing Habit

September 8 – 29, 2019
Sundays, 2:00 to 4:00 (4 class meetings)

Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Kristina Tate
For writers at all levels

Using The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron as a resource, this workshop gives writers the tools to establish a disciplined writing practice full of healthy habits so they can keep writing. Class time will be spent in discussion, writing and learning strategies for establishing a consistent writing practice.

Kristina Tate is a writer based in Portland, Oregon. She has lived in Arizona, San Francisco, South Lake Tahoe, New York City, Australia and elsewhere. Her work has appeared in Narratively, Guernica, BOMB and others. She is currently working on a memoir and a novel.

Fall 2019: Writing the Memoir 9 month Intensive

September 14, 2019 – May 23, 2020
Saturdays, 2:00 to 4:00 pm. 28 class meetings
Class does not meet November 9, November 30 (Thanksgiving weekend), December 21 – January 18; March 7, 2020
Taught by Jay Ponteri

This class for experienced and dedicated writers meets 28 times over the course of 9 months. The class begins in September, with the goal of finishing a complete draft of a memoir by June.

Participants do not need to be published writers; however, they should have some experience with elements of memoir, including character, setting, dialogue and scene, and have a clear project in mind that they will devote nine months to. They should also be comfortable in a workshop setting, giving and receiving criticism on works in progress.

Students who have taken Memoir Boot Camp one or more times at Literary Arts should find this class an appropriate next step. Memoir Boot Camp is not a pre-requisite. This class is specifically designed for writers who will benefit from spending a year with a community of writers that will support you in goal setting, meeting deadlines, honing your craft and getting the work done.

Fall 2019: Writing the Novel: 9 Months Intensive

September 14, 2019 – May 23, 2020
Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 pm. 28 class meetings
Class does not meet November 9, November 30 (Thanksgiving weekend), December 21 – January 18; March 7, 2020

Taught by Laura Lampton Scott
Click here for Syllabus

This class for dedicated writers begins in September, with the goal of completing a draft of a novel, or rewriting a draft of a novel, by May. The class is for writers who are seeking a community of fellow writers to support one another in improving one’s writing and getting work done. We will meet 28 times over the course of 9 months.

Fall 2019: Grief and the Lyric Essay

September 14 & 15, 2019, Saturday and Sunday
10:00 a.m. –1:00 p.m. (two sessions)
Instructor: Wendy Noonan
For writers at all levels

It can be a challenge to access grief, not to mention represent it in word and forms, yet writers like Claudia Rankine, Ann Carson, and Maggie Nelson pull it off beautifully and in wildly different ways. We will try different ways into the conversation with grief, first through reading other writers, then in our notebooks. Writing exercises will allow you to explore memory, specifically as it can be accessed through the body. You will leave with a solid start into a new piece of writing or a fresh take on an older draft.

Fall 2019: Contents Under Pressure: Experiments in Poetic Form

September 15-29, 2019
Sundays, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (3 sessions)
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Jennifer Perrine

Limited to 10 students

What happens when someone puts severe restrictions on the way you write? What if Edgar Allen Poe wanted to write “The Raven,” but couldn’t use the letter E? Participants will look at some poems created under these kinds of extreme constraints, and we’ll write to learn what happens when we accept such outrageous challenges.

Fall 2019: Short Story Master Class

Mondays, September 16 – November 18, 2019
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (10 class meetings)
Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Jeremy Townley
For experienced writers of short fiction (see prerequisites)

Draft two short stories in ten weeks. This intensive workshop combines study of narrative craft and model short stories with generative writing to help cultivate ideas for plot and character and workshop feedback to assist in developing story arc, structure, and sensory details. By the end of ten weeks, you will have completed drafts of two short stories, created a plan for revision, and developed a consistent writing practice.

Fall 2019: Writing a Novel in 8 Weeks

September 16-November 4, 2019
Mondays, 7:00 p.m. –9:00 p.m. (8 sessions)
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Emily Chenoweth
For dedicated writers with some experience
Limited to 10 students

Through mini-lectures, in-class writing, and lots of workshopping, you will explore matters of storytelling (such as plotting and character development), craft (what makes a good sentence? a good scene?), and motivation (how in the world am I supposed to write a novel in only eight weeks?) to get the work done.

This is a boot-camp-style class designed for aspiring novelists who have a clear fictional project in mind and who can commit to a rigorous eight-week schedule of reading and writing. You do not need permission to register, but you should have some prior experience in writing. And if you’ve got an outline for your planned novel, even better. Each participant will present work to the class for discussion four times.

Fall 2019: Read Your Work in Public! September

September 18, 2019
Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.  
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Tamar Bolkvadze

Most writers find themselves in a position where they need to read their work aloud in public. While it’s an exciting proposition to share your work, not everyone feels comfortable reading their prose in front of an audience. This workshop will help increase your skill and comfort level, so you can share your work with confidence.

Fall 2019: Short Story Intensive

September 24-November 5, 2019 (no meeting October 8) 
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. (six sessions)
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington.
Instructor: Margaret Malone
For writers at all levels

Write a draft of a short story in six weeks. Class includes an emphasis on character, voice, and how to mine detail inside a scene. Class time will be spent on generating ideas for plot and character; participants will have the opportunity to get feedback on some of their writing and learn techniques for establishing a consistent writing practice so they can revise their draft once the class is done.

Fall 2019: Novel Writing Accountability

September 29,2019; October 27,2019; December 8,2019;January 26,2020; February 23,2020; March 29,2020; April 26,2020; May 17,2020
Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (8 meetings)
Instructor: Laura Lampton Scott

Prerequisites:
• Previously enrolled in nine month novel intensive with Laura Lampton Scott or Gina Ochsner or
• Previously enrolled in “Writing a Novel in 8 weeks” or
• Instructor permission (email Susan at susan@literary-arts.org) for information)

This class meets once a month from September to May. This will be your monthly dose of accountability, inspiration, and honest airing of challenges we face when working on book-length work. Each writer will have the opportunity to workshop pages of their novel in progress.

Fall 2019: I Contain Multitudes: Using Persona to Reveal Our Many Selves

October 13-27, 2019
Sundays, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (3 sessions)
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Jennifer Perrine

Limited to 10 students

In “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman wrote, “I am large, I contain multitudes.” We’ll follow in Whitman’s footsteps by reading and writing poems that explore the multiple people we have been, are, and could be. We’ll also blend autobiographical and fictional details and invite in personae—selves who seem vastly different from us—to discover new strategies for writing from the fullness of our messy, contradictory lives.

Fall 2019: October Writer of Color Sunday Morning Workshop

Sunday, October 20, 2019
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Searching for a space to create new work with fellow writers of color? This two-hour workshop meets once a month on Sundays. Writers can register for one or more sessions. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.

Fall 2019: Storytelling Intensive: Stories of Healing/Healing our Stories

November 6 – December 4, 2019 (3 sessions plus a storytelling performance on December 4)
Wednesdays, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Instructor: Mindy Nettifee
Limited to 10 students
For storytellers at all levels

Fall 2019: November Writer of Color Sunday Morning Workshop (Copy)

Sunday, November 17
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Emilly Prado
For writers of color at all levels
Searching for a space to create new work with fellow writers of color? This two-hour workshop meets once a month on Sundays. Writers can register for one or more sessions. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.

Fall 2019: December Writer of Color Sunday Morning Workshop

Sunday, December 8, 2019
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Emilly Prado
For writers of color at all levels
Searching for a space to create new work with fellow writers of color? This two-hour workshop meets once a month on Sundays. Writers can register for one or more sessions. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.

Winter 2020: Elements of Story

January 11–February 15, 2020
Sundays, 10:00 a.m. –12:30 p.m. (six sessions)
Instructor: Zulema Summerfield
for writers with some experience

This workshop is ideal for writers with an early draft of a story, an in-progress story that has stalled, or an idea for a story that hasn’t quite found its form. We’ll take in-depth looks at basic elements of craft, from plot and dialogue to point of view and voice, exploring ways to weave these elements into our own work. Each week, we will share our stories in a supportive, creative workshop setting, with an eye towards exploratory revision and eventual publication.

Winter 2020: Collisions: Short Story Workshop

Winter 2020: The Writers’ Gymnasium: The Writing Workout