The Muse & the Marketplace 2017

We often have images in our minds that we sense are a part of a story, but how do we open those images up and see what the stories actually are? Just getting words on the page is the first necessary step, but that can be so hard!

In Mix and Match, we will begin with these images--not much of them, just a sentence or two for each writer. From there, we will look at pieces of stories that we admire. We will read them closely, examining how they do what they do. Then, we will each pair one of the images we've been carrying around in our minds with one of the pieces of writing we admire, and perform a close imitation in the hopes that it will help us open up one of our own stories. We will do this again and again, and in the process, we'll also get the chance to really get inside and move around in some pieces of fantastic writing. By the end, we will each leave with a good start on a story we've been wanting to write for a long time.

Who tells the story, and how? This question fundamentally shapes our narratives, and is inextricably linked to characterization, structure, language, and more. The vantage point and concerns of the narrator influence what is told. This session will use close readings of both fiction and nonfiction examples to explore the underlying mechanics of point of view and narrative strategies, as well as the effects. We’ll discuss narrative distance, temporal modes, and who “owns” the story. We’ll also talk about why we might choose one strategy over another (or how it might choose us), and how playing with these elements can strengthen a piece of writing.

Advice on the all-important nonfiction book proposal from an agent with years of experience helping her authors draft and refine them.

More writers are committed to diversifying their casts with LGBTQ characters. But the fear of “getting it right” remains a concern and a challenge. How can writers avoid problematic representations and common tropes? What challenges can one expect on the road to publication? Will writers get pigeonholed or labeled as just LGBTQ writers -- is this a bad thing, should we care?

In this session, authors of LGBTQ narratives will discuss some pitfalls and issues writers of these characters face, and offer advice for adding dimension to their characters without erasing important parts of who they are.

We’ve all had the experience of reading a book or story and finding ourselves skimming—perhaps even skipping—a stagnant paragraph of scene-setting description. Yet there are ways to describe actively, to incorporate exposition organically, even to set a scene without “describing” at all. This seminar will present effective, original, and artful approaches to “stealth description”: keeping the reader engaged and the story moving forward without drawing undue attention to the act of describing. We’ll learn how to put descriptions to work in ways that serve multiple story elements at once, while addressing common pitfalls (the unincorporated block of prose; the flashy detail that calls too much attention to itself; generic depictions of the familiar). This is a combined lecture-discussion, so bring a pen and paper for note-taking and exercises. 

Do you know how to tap into national media outlets with compelling pitches to get the word out about your novel, memoir or nonfiction book? Getting exposure on television, radio, print or on heavily trafficked sites can really move the dial in terms of sales. In this session, two seasoned authors will share tips on finding the right hooks for your book, and tailoring your message to your target media and audience. We will do an interactive exercise called “Great Pitch or Strikeout?” to learn which angles work and which ones fizzle. You will learn to begin thinking of yourself as an expert, and putting yourself in a busy producer or editor’s shoes.

We are in a time of swift political, institutional, and personal change, and for some writers, it can be difficult to put a finger on the subject that seems most important to explore. Other writers may be overwhelmed by the emotions a particular subject of investigation might provoke. In this workshop, we will move through a series of exercises to help focus work that may have been inspired by big feelings. We will practice strategies for uncovering and making plain the core subject. We will also consider how strong emotions might provide useful direction for the narrative and aesthetic direction of the work.

Writing is only half the story in picture books--images and text collaborate to tell the story together. So how do we write text without saying too much? Where in our writing should we step aside for the illustrator? And how do we compress stories for the strict count of 32 pages? How can we skill up in order to craft manuscripts that appeal to editors and art directors for their illustration possibility? This session will explore the anatomy of the picture book as it pertains to writers and offer guidelines for crafting marketable picture book manuscripts today. We will address the current picture book market and share the gaps, openings and opportunities for writers to get a foot in the door.

In this illuminating workshop, Literary Change Agent and author advocate April Eberhardt examines the state of publishing today along with the implications and opportunities for authors. She presents five different paths to publication, including a candid discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach from an author’s perspective. Discover what partnership publishing is, along with hybrid authorship, and collaborative (also known as cooperative) publishing. Learn how to choose the right path for you and your work, which sometimes involves different paths for different projects, and how to develop a publishing strategy and approach that meets your goals, dreams, timetable and budget.

In fiction, time creates the borders of our worlds, and as a result our temporal choices impact everything else on the page. In our drafts, many of us struggle to shape the passage of time, and if these challenges remain unexamined, our stories and novels are likely to suffer for it. For example, we might find ourselves wondering how best to juggle multiple timelines; to compress or expand time as needed; to make a linear structure more dynamic; to transition from one moment in time to another. Through lecture, close reading (authors might include Edward P. Jones, Justin Torres, and Karen Russell), and discussion, this seminar will explore how time can operate in fiction—both at the level of scene and more globally—and develop new strategies and vocabulary for handling questions and problems around time in our work.

Even the wildest life, recounted straightforwardly from memory, will suffer from what Sven Birkerts calls “the coma-inducing effect of ‘and then.’” Good memoirists know this. So they reach into literature’s bag of tricks and find other ways to keep the pages turning: they speed time up in some places and slow it down in others; they layer two or more thread; or perhaps they find a structure that helps evoke the book’s meaning. All these considerations are part of shifting from thinking about your life as a life to thinking about the book as a book. But how can aspiring memoirists ready themselves to make that leap? In this session we’ll discuss strategies and approaches, as well as break down the choices made by a few published memoirists as they turned memory into literature. As time permits, we’ll do a few exercises to help free you to do the same with your own material, turning life into art.

As writers of color, how much might we feel the urge to "translate" references we make in our fiction and nonfiction to audiences who may not understand them? How might we navigate these choices on the page, and what are there implications? Come for a lively Q&A with Jennifer De Leon and Celeste Ng on these ideas; we won't settle on any "right" answer, but we aim to leave with clearer ideas of the options before us!