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	Mary Vermillion Mystery Characters Weekend Workshop July 12–13 Clues To Effective Mysteries Weekend Workshop July 19–20 Creating Characters For A Mystery Series One-Week Workshop July 20–25 Biography Mystery Characters Weekend Workshop July 12–13 Character is at the heart of all great fiction—including the intricately plotted mystery novel. This course will examine the three types of characters essential to the genre: the protagonist, the victim, and the villain. We’ll discuss the trios of accomplished crime writers, and I’ll lead you through a series of exercises that will help you develop or deepen your own trio. As you create characters for your mystery, you’ll also create “mystery” in your characters—secrets and paradoxical desires that fuel all types of fiction. This course will focus on generating new material. Clues To Effective Mysteries Weekend Workshop July 19–20 All writers must create vivid, significant details, but mystery writers must also devote a great deal of attention to their placement. When mystery writers plant clues, they employ a range of strategies designed to guide—and, yes, manipulate—the reader’s attention and response. Our examination of these strategies will serve two purposes. We’ll observe and practice several ways of creating emphasis, and we’ll strengthen our understanding and use of narrative fundamentals such as conflict, dialogue, and setting. This course, which will focus on generating new material, is for mystery writers and other narrative writers who enjoy crime fiction and want to use it to improve their craft. Creating Characters For A Mystery Series One-Week Workshop July 20–25 Kay Scarpetta. Easy Rawlins. V.I. Warshawski. What makes a character compelling enough to sustain a mystery series? How is creating a series character different than creating a character for a stand-alone novel? These questions will guide us as you create or develop your own series character. By engaging in a series of exercises, and by discussing well-known series characters—as well as your own—we’ll tackle the following questions: How can I make my character unique without resorting to gimmick? How much of a past should I create for my character? How will my character evolve from one investigation to another? How can I best use supporting characters? You do not need to bring previously written material to this class, but if you have some writing on a series character—a scene, a chapter, a sketch—you’re welcome to share it. Please limit yourself to ten double-spaced pages. Biography Mary Vermillion is the author of two mystery novels, Death by Discount and Murder by Mascot. She earned her Ph.D. at The University of Iowa and is a professor of English at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For more information, visit Mary’s web site: www.maryvermillion.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