Iowa Summer Writing Festival


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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors Marilyn Abildskov Mary Allen Kate Aspengren Thomas Fox Averill Nancy K.Barry Timothy Bascom Kyle Beachy Karen Bender Linda Bendorf Maudy Benz Venise Berry Bruce Bond David Bouchier Michael Dennis Browne Maggie Conroy Mary Cross Thomas K. Dean Amber Dermont Janet Desaulniers Kelly Dwyer Hope Edelman Josh Emmons Jill Esbaum Sarah Fay Hugh Ferrer Katie Ford Geoffrey Forsyth Cecile Goding Douglas Goetsch Sands Hall Christine Hemp Jim Heynen Rick Hillis Charles Holdefer Richard Jackson Rebecca Johns Cheryl Fusco Johnson Wayne Johnson Daniel Khalastchi Carolyn Lieberg BK Loren Peter Markus Fritz Mc Donald James McKean Gordon Mennenga Sharelle Byars Moranville Michael Morse Barbara Robinette Moss Marc Nieson Shannon Olson Diana Ossana Lon Otto Juliet Patterson Kiki Petrosino Mark Jude Poirier Leslie Carol Roberts Anjali Sachdeva Sarah Saffian Sam Samuels Sandra Scofield Mary Kay Shanley Robert Anthony Siegel Carol Spindel Karen Subach Mary Vermillion Kris Vervaecke Ashley Warlick Michelle Wildgen Bart Yates	Fritz Mc Donald Shaping the Truth: Fictional Structure for Memoir Writers Weekend Workshop June 20–21 Biography Shaping the Truth: Fictional Structure for Memoir Writers Weekend Workshop June 20–21 According to Annie Dillard, “memoirists tell true stories about actual people.” For most of us, writing the truth about our life is difficult at best. It’s easy to get lost, hard to find the right shape for our most important story. This class is for those who have started a memoir, or those who are thinking about starting a memoir and need navigational help. We’ll talk about the kind of fictional structure used in classic memoirs like This Boy’s Life and uncover techniques that will help shape your own. We’ll do in-class writing exercises to develop your narrative muscles and discuss such issues as plot vs. character, technique as discovery, novel shapes, and more. Although we won’t analyze each other’s memoirs in traditional workshop fashion, we’ll talk about them and help each other find direction. This class is for beginning to intermediate writers. Biography Fritz Mc Donald (M.F.A., The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop) is a contributor to The Workshop: Seven Decades of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (Hyperion, 1999) and Now Write! for nonfiction writers. His fiction has recently appeared in Confrontation, and he wrote the script for North Carolina, an upcoming PBS production. For more than 20 years, he’s been teaching at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and has also taught at The Heart of America Writers’ Conference and The University of Iowa. He is currently Vice President for Creative Strategy for Stamats, Inc., where his creative work has been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

	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 February 10, 2009