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	Charles Holdefer Collision Course: Plot & Character In Your Novel One-Week Workshop July 20–25 Biography Collision Course: Plot & Character In Your Novel One-Week Workshop July 20–25 Look at a novel you love, and you’ll see that it can’t be reduced to its plot. A great story is more than a jigsaw puzzle. Its characters, too, do not follow predetermined movements like chess pieces. They can veer wildly yet plausibly. The effect is exhilarating. How does a writer create this energy on the page? This course, which welcomes writers of all levels, will explore how plot and character are inseparable. We will see how shaping your story, or making your characters come alive, are part of the same undertaking, and that when you are experiencing problems with one, the solution might lie in a deeper consideration of the other. Participants will be encouraged to bring short samples of work from home, and also to do a couple of writing exercises during the week. Readings from published writers will also be offered as examples to emulate. Ideally you will go home with practical revisions, new material, and a firmer understanding of your options. Biography Charles Holdefer (M.F.A., The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop; Ph.D., Sorbonne) is the author of The Contractor (2007), an American Booksellers Association “Book Sense Pick,” about a U.S. private contractor interrogating “ghost detainees” at a secret prison. His other novels are Apology For Big Rod (1997) and Nice (2001). His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, including the New England Review, North American Review, Paris Transcontinental, and Yellow Silk. Find more information at www.charlesholdefer.com.

	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 10, 2008