Writing Classes – SOA 2011
Initially, the School of the Arts focused on writing and welcomed many well-known authors and teachers, with farmers and community members from northern Wisconsin encouraged to share their stories. Through the years, notable authors like Studs Terkel, Mark Harris, and Jesse Stuart came to inspire and instruct developing writers.
That legacy continues today with the School of the Arts Writing classes. Taught by some of the area’s most prolific writers, these classes help beginning writers find their voice, intermediate writers hone their craft, and experienced writers reach new levels of excellence. See below for appropriate level classes.
25 Tricks to Writing Winning Scenes
with Christopher Mohar (B1) 8:30-10:00 am
Scenes are the building blocks of fiction—you can’t sell a book without them. But what does it take to write a scene that really comes alive in the reader’s imagination? What makes a scene memorable? What types of scenes do agents look for in your manuscript? As we answer these questions, you’ll learn 25 top techniques for polishing action, dialogue, description and other elements of a winning scene in this intermediate-level class.
Christopher Mohar teaches creative writing for UW-Madison Continuing Studies. He is the recipient of a fiction fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing and holds an MFA from the University of Washington, where his creative manuscript received the David Guterson Fiction Thesis Prize. Chris also leads a weekly writing workshop in a men's correctional institution, and has previously been an adult literacy tutor. His recent writing appears in The Southwest Review, Word Riot, and Ink Node.
Brevity: Writing Creative Nonfiction Shorts with Richard Terrill (F1) 3:15-4:45 pm
Practice writing true stories in 750 words or less. The class will review a variety of published work from the online journal Brevity and complete exercises designed to generate material appropriate for the “flash nonfiction” form. The goal is to produce “short shorts” that have all of the characteristics of longer essays: good writing, vivid detail, layers of meaning, and a sense of closure.
Richard Terrill is the author of two collections of poems, Almost Dark and Coming Late to Rachmaninoff (winner of the Minnesota Book Award); as well as two books of creative nonfiction, Fakebook: Improvisations on a Journey Back to Jazz and Saturday Night in Baoding: A China Memoir, winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award for nonfiction. He teaches writing in the MFA program at Minnesota State University–Mankato, where he is a Distinguished Faculty Scholar.
Creating Your Authentic Voice—One that “Pops” with Christine DeSmet (C1) 10:15-11:45 am
Agents comb through submissions looking for mesmerizing and memorable manuscripts. Your voice has to “pop” if you want to sell a novel or nonfiction book. Let’s improve your style and find that elusive “sizzle” that sells. You’ll also learn the “Top 20” clutter words that drag down a manuscript and court rejection. Start something new, or bring a current project to polish.
Christine DeSmet, an instructor at UW-Madison
Continuing Studies, is an award-winning novelist,
short story writer and screenwriter. Her recent books
include Men of Moonstone and Mischief in Moonstone,
about the mysterious antics in a fictional town on
the Lake Superior shoreline. Christine won a past
Slamdance Film Festival contest and optioned that
screenplay to New Line Cinema. She's a member of
Writers Guild of America, Romance Writers of
America, Jewels of the Quill, and Wisconsin Sisters in
Crime.
Critique: Fiction and Nonfiction with Jennifer Fink (C3) 10:15-11:45 am
Participants will share works-in-progress and constructive criticism. Good writing doesn’t happen in isolation; good writing is a conversation between the writer and the reader. Find out if you’re hitting the mark in this interactive critique session designed to support and encourage intermediate and advanced writers of fiction and nonfiction.
Jennifer L. W. Fink is a freelance writer and writing instructor (and busy mom of four!). Her essays, articles, and columns have appeared in Parents, The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Home Education Magazine, Wisconsin Trails, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other regional and national publications. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Wisconsin Parents Association.
Diabolical Dialogue with Gail Sterkel (E3) 1:30-3:00 pm
A great challenge that writers face is creating connections between characters through intriguing and realistic dialogue. We’ll explore a variety of writing prompts to help spark a conversation bonfire. Each day you will have an opportunity to share a short scene with the class and receive feedback from other beginning to intermediate writers in the class, and from your instructor.
Gail Sterkel has been active in the Madison performing arts community for many years. Her plays and monologues have been produced by Kathie Rasmussen Women's Theatre, The Smart Women Project, The Fabulous Crone Show, and At The Edge. Her play, Lust for Infiniti was a finalist in the New Jersey Rep's one-act contest.
Download supply list (pdf)
Dream Journals and More with Darlene Cole (C4) 10:15-11:45 am
A journal can motivate you to plan and find new direction in your life. Writers and others will use collage and writing to deepen self-understanding and ponder future goals. We’ll create dream journals that will focus on those things you still want to do within this lifetime.
Darlene Cole has made journal writing a part of her world for more than 30 years. She has taught journal writing at The Clearing Folk School in Door County, the West Bend Family Center, through various adult enrichment and retirement programs, and has used it in her work as a music teacher and school counselor.
Download supply list (pdf)
Five Deadly Fictional Sins—and How to Fix Them with Laurel Yourke (B4) 8:30-10:00 am
What’s the difference between an okay writer and a really good one? Depth, pacing, and momentum. How do you get there? Some of the best fiction writers around succumb to five dangerous temptations. Discover the strategies to forever cast those nasty little habits and demons out of your fiction in this advanced class.
Laurel Yourke, an instructor with UW-Madison Continuing Studies, is the author of Take Your Characters to Dinner and Waiting for Beethoven and recipient of the UW-Madison Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence and the Council of Wisconsin Writers Award for Encouragement of Wisconsin Writers. Her poetry has appeared in university presses, Wisconsin Academy Proceedings, and numerous national publications, and has twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Joyful Journaling with Darlene Cole (B7) 8:30-10:00 am
Journal writing is a healthy means of recording our life as it happens. It simultaneously increases self-understanding and deepens life’s meaning as we grow and change. Keeping a joyful journal means using a variety of ways to make entries and maintain the positive and negative balance in our life. All are welcome to join us in creating a journal you will love.
Darlene Cole has made journal writing a part of her world for more than 30 years. She has taught journal writing at The Clearing Folk School in Door County, the West Bend Family Center, through various adult enrichment and retirement programs, and has used it in her work as a music teacher and school counselor.
Download supply list (pdf)
Marketing Yourself as a Writer with Laurie Scheer (C7) 10:15-11:45 am
Knowing how to break into the marketplace is essential for all writers. This intermediate-level class focuses on query letter writing, writing effective synopses, understanding how an editor/agent looks at your work, how to make cold calls, and strategies to get your work out there to the marketplace. By the end of the week, you’ll have completed your selling portfolio in class.
Laurie Scheer is an author, professional speaker, and an instructor at UW-Madison Continuing Studies. She's worked as an assistant, producer, and vice president for a number of major media companies and is currently researching the landscape of digital writing and multiple-platform content creation.
People Matter: Creating Deep and Memorable Characters with Christopher Mohar (C8) 10:15-11:45 am - Class is Full
Lackluster characters can deflate even the most expertly-plotted novel. Ensure that this doesn’t happen to you by learning what makes characters compelling, common pitfalls to avoid, and the top five techniques for characterization on the page. Create new characters or bring in your existing characters to polish them up. This class is appropriate for beginning and intermediate writers.
Christopher Mohar teaches creative writing for UW-Madison Continuing Studies. He is the recipient of a fiction fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing and holds an MFA from the University of Washington, where his creative manuscript received the David Guterson Fiction Thesis Prize. Chris also leads a weekly writing workshop in a men's correctional institution, and has previously been an adult literacy tutor. His recent writing appears in The Southwest Review, Word Riot, and Ink Node.
Playwriting Lab for Writers with Liz Fentress (A3) 10:15-11:45 am
This intermediate- to advanced-level workshop provides a review of playwriting basics and an opportunity to develop a play. Participants will discuss theme, character, plot, and writing and revising dialogue. If you have a script in progress, bring it along, or, consider sending your script to the instructor prior to SOA. Be prepared to discuss classmates’ plays, and to work with actors during the Playwriting Lab for Actors held in conjunction with this class.
Liz Fentress is a director, playwright, and actor. In 2008, her play The Honey Harvest won the North American Actors Association annual playwriting competition and was staged in London's West End. Kentucky Educational Television's production of Liz's autobiographical play, Liz's Circus Story, which she wrote and performs, won the 2005 National Educational Television Association award for Best Dramatic Narrative.
Plotting Help—Right Now with Christine DeSmet (B8) 8:30-10:00 am
Plots are like cars. Some work well with no recalls, while others fall apart a mile down the road. Start a new plot right in this workshop or do a manuscript “checkup” before querying an agent. In this workshop for all levels of writers, we’ll cover: fast-track plotting, plot diagnosis an agent might perform on your manuscript, necessary plot points, subplots, and how to raise the stakes step-by-step and page-by-page for pro pacing and better saleability.
Christine DeSmet, an instructor at UW-Madison
Continuing Studies, is an award-winning novelist,
short story writer and screenwriter. Her recent books
include Men of Moonstone and Mischief in Moonstone,
about the mysterious antics in a fictional town on
the Lake Superior shoreline. Christine won a past
Slamdance Film Festival contest and optioned that
screenplay to New Line Cinema. She's a member of
Writers Guild of America, Romance Writers of
America, Jewels of the Quill, and Wisconsin Sisters in
Crime.
Poetry and the Unconscious with Richard Terrill (E6) 1:30-3:00 pm
You know much more than you think you know. This class introduces poetry writing by way of exercises that will generate a wealth of lines, images, and ideas that either first-time or returning participants can turn into finished poems on their own. Bring a journal or a laptop, an open mind, and a sense of humor.
Richard Terrill is the author of two collections of poems, Almost Dark and Coming Late to Rachmaninoff (winner of the Minnesota Book Award); as well as two books of creative nonfiction, Fakebook: Improvisations on a Journey Back to Jazz and Saturday Night in Baoding: A China Memoir, winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award for nonfiction. He teaches writing in the MFA program at Minnesota State University–Mankato, where he is a Distinguished Faculty Scholar.
Poetry Books—Turn Your Pile of Poems into a Book with Mary Sue Koeppel (F2) 3:15-4:45 pm
Is it time to assemble your individual, published and unpublished poems into a unified, well-crafted chapbook or full-length manuscript? Learn to make the important decisions underlying a fine, unified manuscript in this workshop. Find out how and what to prepare before submitting your manuscript to editors, a contest, or for self-publication. Bring your stack of poems; create your manuscript.
Mary Sue Koeppel is the author of four books: Between the Bones—Poems, In the Library of Silences, Poems of Loss, and Writing Strategies. She was the award-winning editor of Kalliope, a journal of women's literature and art. Currently, Koeppel co-edits www.writecorner.com. Her many honors include the highest Teaching Excellence Award from the Florida Association of Community Colleges and Florida's 2006 Royal Palm Literary Award for Poetry.
Poetry Critique With a Literary Journal Editor with Mary Sue Koeppel (E7) 1:30-3:00 pm
Looking for supportive critiques of your poems by creative, skilled readers? Bring poems on which you’d like feedback. Critiques will offer positive suggestions, calm and honest questioning, and collaborative investigations of elements of fine poems. Writers often learn ways to turn critiqued poems into finished, publishable poems.
Mary Sue Koeppel is the author of four books: Between the Bones—Poems, In the Library of Silences, Poems of Loss, and Writing Strategies. She was the award-winning editor of Kalliope, a journal of women's literature and art. Currently, Koeppel co-edits www.writecorner.com. Her many honors include the highest Teaching Excellence Award from the Florida Association of Community Colleges and Florida's 2006 Royal Palm Literary Award for Poetry.
Download supply list (pdf)
Poetry Without Tears with Laurel Yourke (C10) 10:15-11:45 am
Poetry is not just for English majors and academics. We’ll explore poetic elements that distinguish “good” from “mediocre” and new ways to enjoy rather than study its delicious secrets. The focus is on reading. But if you write poetry, or want to, remember that it’s hard to write good poetry unless you’re adept at reading it. And no homework!
Laurel Yourke, an instructor with UW-Madison Continuing Studies, is the author of Take Your Characters to Dinner and Waiting for Beethoven and recipient of the UW-Madison Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence and the Council of Wisconsin Writers Award for Encouragement of Wisconsin Writers. Her poetry has appeared in university presses, Wisconsin Academy Proceedings, and numerous national publications, and has twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Postcard and Flash Fiction with Gail Sterkel (F3) 3:15-4:45 pm
Write fewer words instead of too many! Complete a story in one sitting in two pages or fewer. Experiment while we move from short to shorter and see what has made this type of writing a worldwide phenomenon. Flash fiction cuts right to the truth and can linger long after the reader has left the page. When done well, postcard and flash fiction is highly publishable. Besides, it’s a lot of fun to write!
Gail Sterkel has been active in the Madison performing arts community for many years. Her plays and monologues have been produced by Kathie Rasmussen Women's Theatre, The Smart Women Project, The Fabulous Crone Show, and At The Edge. Her play, Lust for Infiniti was a finalist in the New Jersey Rep's one-act contest.
Download supply list (pdf)
Unleash Your Creativity with Jennifer Fink (E8) 1:30-3:00 pm
Think you’re not a particularly creative person? Think again! Come play with words, clay, fabric, paper, and paint in a supportive environment designed to help you re-discover your creative spirit. Each day, participants will experiment with a new medium, with an emphasis on process, not product. Our goal is to remember the joy of creation. Participants will also discuss ways to carve out time—and space—for creative pursuits and the benefits of creativity in daily life.
Jennifer L. W. Fink is a freelance writer and writing instructor (and busy mom of four!). Her essays, articles, and columns have appeared in Parents, The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Home Education Magazine, Wisconsin Trails, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other regional and national publications. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Wisconsin Parents Association.
Writing All Over the Web with Laurie Scheer (B10) 8:30-10:00 am
Take your existing writing skills and transfer them to web-based multiplatform arenas. The week’s sessions include learning how to navigate the world of websites—including blogs and podcasts—along with a basic introduction of how to write for the web and how to brand yourself. You’ll soon have a portfolio that includes query letters, samples of your work, and a few proposal paragraphs for websites you’d like to write for.
Laurie Scheer is an author, professional speaker, and an instructor at UW-Madison Continuing Studies. She's worked as an assistant, producer, and vice president for a number of major media companies and is currently researching the landscape of digital writing and multiple-platform content creation.