A 5-Week In-Person Fiction Workshop
Sundays, March 1-29, 1-4 PM
"Fiction needs to breathe," says Valleria Luiselli, which we can all generally agree with. Leave white space or oxygen channels so that 'the creative reader silently articulates the unwritten thought," as John McPhee puts it. What is less settled fact--what we will test in this workshop--is that fiction benefits from being breathed. As fiction writers, we can serve as lungs for our prose, pulling in more than we need, then pushing back out what we don't (what is, in fact, poison!). We pull in, we push out, until we are left with prose so distilled it's ready to live on its own. (This is where fiction takes leave of the body; it goes out from us, and has no need to return.)
In this five-week workshop, we'll each start from prompts to generate a new piece of short fiction through focusing on this process of expansion and contraction, with special emphasis on noticing what new opportunities arise as we purge the unneeded. Class time will be spent drafting and revising, thinking critically about our own work and that of our classmates, considering the published work of writers who have left record of their drafting and/or revision processes, and discussing our choices, joys, and frustrations. Most of the work will be done within the hours of the workshop, though some work will be assigned between meetings. Participants should all be prepared to share their works-in-progress at various stages.
After the final class, each participant will be invited to share their final draft with Meghan for written feedback on further opportunities for revision.
This workshop experience will be most satisfying for those open to writing into the unknown--to learning the story rather than telling the story.
$275 Members/$475 Nonmembers
Meghan Gilliss is the author of the novel Lungfish, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was a finalist for the Maine Book Award in fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in journals such as Nat. Brut, Salamander, Guernica, and New Letters, which awarded her the Alexander Cappon Award in fiction. She holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and has been a public library worker in Portland for more than a decade.
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.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION