Iowa Summer Writing Festival


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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors Faith Adiele Mary Allen Kate Aspengren Thomas Fox Averill Nancy Barry Timothy Bascom Linda Bendorf Venise Berry Bruce Bond Michael Dennis Browne Susan Taylor Chehak John Dalton Thomas K. Dean Amber Dermont Kelly Dwyer Hope Edelman Josh Emmons Katie Ford Patricia Foster Laura Fraser Cecile Goding Douglas Goetsch Kevin González John Griesemer Sands Hall Christine Hemp Jim Heynen Rick Hillis Charles Holdefer Richard Jackson Cheryl Fusco Johnson Wayne Johnson Bret Anthony Johnston Daniel Khalastchi Zachary Lazar Carolyn Lieberg BK Loren Fritz Mc Donald James McKean Gordon Mennenga Katherine Min Sharelle Byars Moranville Michael Morse Barbara Robinette Moss Marc Nieson Shannon Olson Lon Otto Juliet Patterson Anjali Sachdeva Sarah Saffian Sam Samuels Leslie Schwartz Sandra Scofield Mary Kay Shanley Carol Spindel Karen Subach Mary Vermillion Ashley Warlick Jan Weissmiller Bart Yates	Sands Hall Showing And Telling: The Effective Use of Detail Weekend Workshop June 14–15 or Weekend Workshop June 21–22 Introduction To The Craft Of Fiction One-Week Workshop June 15–20 Advanced Craft Workshop One-Week Workshop June 22–27 Biography Showing And Telling: The Effective Use of Detail Weekend Workshop June 14–15 or Weekend Workshop June 21–22 As writers we are told: “Show, don’t tell!” What does this injunction mean? How do we put it into practice? This weekend workshop covers various aspects of detail, that vital element of effective writing. We’ll use published examples to focus on what and how a writer chooses to show, as well as when and why a writer might decide to tell. With the help of short assignments, we’ll explore the use of active verbs, sensory perceptions, the importance of sense of place, action and gesture, as well as discuss some helpful hints on dialogue and point of view. Whether you are working on poems, a play, essays, memoir, or fiction, you’ll come to understand how the choice and the portrayal of detail can give your writing specificity and vigor. Introduction To The Craft Of Fiction One-Week Workshop June 15–20 When we first begin to write, we are often sustained by the novelty of the act itself. But when we move beyond that initial inspiration, we find ourselves developing an interest in craft, and craft is the emphasis of this workshop. As you read and critique the work of published authors, you will begin to read as a writer: what are these authors doing—intentionally—that “works?” What can be learned from them? With the aid of handouts and daily assignments, we focus on specific aspects of craft: transforming autobiography into fiction, the effective use of detail, the difference between showing and telling, and point of view. The work that emerges from these assignments is discussed in a workshop forum. The week is filled with reading, writing, critiquing, and discussion. Your awareness and appreciation of what goes into any piece of writing will be heightened; in the process, you will come to understand how to begin or to improve your own writing projects. Advanced Craft Workshop One-Week Workshop June 22–27 This course is designed for writers who are launched into a novel (and, for those interested in fictional techniques for non-fiction writing, memoir) and are looking for inspiration, encouragement and, most importantly, solutions to some of the problems that arise when working on a longer manuscript. Your first assignment will be to summarize your writing project for the others in the class; then daily assignments ask you to explore and advance your story. Tools and techniques covered include crafting scenes, incorporating sense of place in point of view; sustaining plot and building character; methods to summarize as well as dramatize; and dialogue pitfalls and helpful hints. Each participant’s work will be critiqued daily in a workshop forum. Class discussion will include the subject of personal style as well as the application of these techniques to your particular manuscript. Come prepared to read and write daily; you will leave with an array of tools to improve your entire manuscript. Biography Sands Hall is a graduate of The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and holds a second M.F.A. in Acting. Her experience as director, actor, and playwright gives her a unique perspective on the writing process. She is on the staff of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley, and teaches for the University of California, Davis, Extension Programs, where she was recently honored with an Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Service Award. She is the author of a book of writing essays and exercises, Tools of the Writer’s Craft, and of the novel Catching Heaven, a Ballantine Reader’s Circle selection and a Willa Award Finalist: Best Contemporary Fiction. Her produced plays include an adaptation of Alcott’s Little Women and the comic/drama Fair Use. This is the eighteenth year Sands has taught for the Festival.

	Site Map \| Welcome \| Workshops by Session Date \| Workshops by Instructor Workshops by Genre \| Registration & Housing Information \| Registration Form Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Education Iowa Summer Writing Festival C215 Seashore Hall The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 Phone 319-335-4160 FAX 319-335-4743 iswfestival@uiowa.edu Last updated on January 24, 2008