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	Bart Yates Finding Your Own Voice: Writing Like Yourself Weekend Workshop June 13–14 Patience, Caffeine, and Pigheadedness: Everything You Need to Write Your First Novel One-Week Workshop June 21–26 Biography Finding Your Own Voice: Writing Like Yourself Weekend Workshop June 13–14 At the heart of all great fiction is a compelling and utterly distinctive voice—the kind of voice that says “Call me Ishmael,” or “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” or “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.” But how do you know when you’ve found such a voice? How do you develop it? And how do you keep it going through an entire story—or even harder—an entire novel? In this class, we’ll look at some authors who are masters of the narrative voice. How do they manage to draw us in right from the first sentence? How do they keep us hooked? How does the language they’ve selected allow them to elaborate on their characters, settings and plot developments in a credible and interesting way? We’ll also do a lot of experimenting with our own writing, trying on different voices for size. Our goal for the weekend will be to help you come up with at least one terrific, singular voice you can’t wait to use in your own fiction—a voice that leaps off the page and grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck, a voice nobody else but you could have written. Patience, Caffeine, and Pigheadedness: Everything You Need to Write Your First Novel One-Week Workshop June 21–26 You may have a great idea for a plot, or a main character you think will be amazing, or a promising setting. But you still have to get that first sentence down, and then the next, and you have to keep on going for several hundred pages. Then there’s layer upon layer of revision to wade through, and endless proofreading, and yet more revision. Is it any wonder most novelists end up behaving a little like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings? In this class, we’ll discuss the painstaking process of crafting a novel. We’ll start by workshopping your first chapter (rough drafts are fine), with an eye on the basic ingredients—voice, characterization, setting and plot. We’ll talk about establishing an efficient writing routine, and we’ll do in-class exercises designed to help you avoid The Three Most Common Pitfalls For Neurotic Novelists. Our goal for the week will be to provide you with the tools, inspiration and—most of all—the patience you’ll need to complete your first novel. Biography Bart Yates is the author of three novels: Leave Myself Behind, The Brothers Bishop, and The Distance Between Us. Leave Myself Behind received a 2004 Alex Award from the American Library Association, and The Brothers Bishop was a main selection of the InsightOut Book Club. Bart lives in Iowa City and performs in the jazz duo Nica’s Dream.

	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