A 10-Week Workshop for Prose Writers
Wednesdays, October 6 - December 16*, 6-9 PM
One of the biggest challenges prose writers face is how—once they’ve launched a story—to maintain momentum and clarity in Act Two. Act Two is where you deliver on the promise set forth in a story’s opening through complicating character, upping the stakes, and deepening the reader’s investment in a story’s outcome. This applies to both fiction and non—the goal is to maintain reader engagement whether you’re writing a fast-paced thriller or an introspective memoir.
In this ten-week workshop, we’ll look at different approaches to structuring Act Two, with an emphasis on breaking the long, lonely middle into clear, manageable parts. We’ll discuss the way the midpoint relates to your inciting incident and climax; how pinch points can help you control pacing; and how to sequence scenes effectively so that character arcs are clear. Through discussion of participant manuscripts and sample novel and memoir excerpts, we’ll work together to ensure everybody leaves ready to move forward with the daunting task of finishing (or revising!) a draft.
Please be prepared to submit the fifty pages of Act Two of your novel or memoir as a double-spaced, 12-point, paginated Word document, no later than Wednesday, September 23. You may also include a brief synopsis (no more than two pages, double spaced). Manuscripts will be shared with the group in advance via a Google Drive link.
*No class November 25.
$475 Members/$635 Nonmembers
Writer and editor Tanya Whiton’s fiction has recently been featured in Hypertext, Collateral, CutBank, Fanzine, and The Cincinnati Review. A recipient of the 2025 St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award, she was a finalist for the 2019 Tennessee Williams Contest, won second place in Zoetrope: All Story’s 2017 Short Fiction Contest, and has been a two-time recipient of the Martin Dibner Memorial Fellowship for Maine writers. Her essay, “For the Winter” was included in Breaking Bread: Essays from New England on Food, Hunger, and Family, and in 2014—with photographer Heidi Killion—she published a collection of travel essays, Two for the Road: Adventures in Maine. She was a co-writer and associate producer of the documentary feature THE ZEN SPEAKER: BREAKING THE SILENCE, and is currently adapting Maine author Elizabeth Garber’s memoir, Sailing at the Edge of Disaster, for a limited television series. For more, visit https://www.tanyakwhiton.com/.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due two weeks prior to the workshop start date, at 9:00 a.m.
→ MORE INFORMATION
MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION