a PDF of the Fall Quarterly

Transcription

FALL IS A SEASON OF CHANGE
When I was a kid back to school time filled me with dread. Walking into the
local big box store everything would suddenly have switched from the implication of outdoor adventures to the countdown to summer’s end. Then I got into
the classroom on the first day—with a backpack full of fresh pencils—and that
dread turned to excitement. I loved little more than cracking a book and beginning the adventure of learning something new. I loved meeting my classmates
and starting that adventure with them.
This book you hold in your hands contains a new season of learning opportunities for you. Teaching artists, presenting lecturers, fellow students, and Loft
staff have filled these pages with opportunities for you to stretch your mind and
engage in big conversations with literature at the center. How great is that?
This fall marks not only another season of Loft programs but the completion
of my first year on the job as Executive Director of the Loft. I am every bit as
honored and thrilled to be here as I was on the first day. It has been an incredible
twelve months of listening, learning, dreaming big, and planning for the future. I
work with the smartest people I’ve ever met who are committed to serving writers and readers in innovative, joyful, challenging, and genuine ways. As we look
to the future we have big ideas and want to include you in making them a reality.
Please keep your eyes peeled over the next few months for changes in the
stories that we as an organization tell and the ways we tell them. I promise that
we will continue to offer the programs, classes, and opportunities you love. I
also promise that we are throwing the doors open even wider to engage you
and your fellow readers and writers in new ways. It’s an exciting time to be here
and I’m thrilled to be here with you.
Britt Udesen
Executive Director
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
4
Class & Registration Info
8
Loft Events
12
Online Classes
18
Adult In-Person Classes
41
Youth Classes
44
Writers’ Block: Reading Like a
Writer
46
Ask Esther: Avoiding Flat
Endings and Conquering
Narrative Time
OUR
MISSION
The Loft advances the artistic development of writers, fosters a
thriving literary community, and inspires a passion for literature.
The Loft Literary Center
Suite 200, Open Book
1011 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Loft Website | www.loft.org
Loft Offices | 612-215-2575 (T–F)
Loft Fax | 612-215-2576
Loft Education Line | 612-379-8999
CLASS INFO
What to Bring | Unless otherwise noted in the description, all you need is pen and
paper. Some teaching artists will also collect a small copy fee on the first day of
class. Bring a sweater as some classrooms may be chilly. Make sure your laptop is
fully charged. Bring a bag lunch to day long classes.
Class Size | Most classes range up to 17 participants; 1- and 2-day classes typically
cap at 35. Some classes may exceed these limits.
Acceptance | The Loft reserves the right to refuse a registration for any reason.
Location | Most Loft classes take place in Open Book at 1011 Washington Avenue
South, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Parking | Limited free parking is available in Open Book lot on the east side of the
building. There are also parking meters and pay-parking lots and ramps nearby.
Handicapped parking is available in marked spots.
Take the Bus, Train, or Bike | For routes, connections, and schedules, call 612373-3333 or visit www.metrotransit.org. Bike racks are located at the rear of the
building.
Basics | “Basics” classes are designed to provide a safe environment to explore
creative writing. Classes will generally cover more than one genre to let students
sample, and most students will have never taken a creative writing class before.
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| CLASS & REGISTRATION INFO
Beginning | “Beginning” classes are for writers with little or no experience in
writing classes, but who know they want to expand their knowledge of craft, usually
in a specific genre.
Intermediate | Writers with some experience in genre specific instruction
who seek to deepen their understanding and hone their craft should consider
“Intermediate” classes. Students in these classes are familiar with craft terms such
as plot, point of view, rhythm, and alliteration. These classes may introduce the
workshop model, though class time will not exclusively focus on student work.
Advanced | Writers with significant experience who seek assistance and feedback
with revision should consider “Advanced” classes. Classes will often feature a
workshop component where student work will be shared and critiqued. Advanced
level students should already be comfortable with the workshop model and have a
working draft before signing up.
Open to All Levels | “Open to All Levels” classes can be useful to a writer at any
level. They are often focused on topics other than craft.
Workshopping | Intermediate and advanced level classes may include workshop
components. A workshop means that student work is shared and critiqued in class.
Discussion is moderated and contextualized by the teaching artist. A successful
workshop requires participants to articulate why a piece/section/line of writing
does or does not work.
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Need to Cancel? A nonrefundable fee of 15% is included in each registration.
Partial refunds will be granted for cancellations received before the second class
meeting of a multi-week class; or before the first meeting of a single- or doublesession class; or start of the second week of an online class. We cannot refund for
missed classes. In the rare instance that a teaching artist determines he or she
cannot meet the needs of a student, the student’s full tuition will be reimbursed.
Class Cancellation | Classes that do not meet minimum enrollment may be
cancelled a minimum of 3 business days prior to the first class meeting with full
refunds to all students. Register early.
Weather Cancellations | Cancellations are extremely rare. The Loft follows the
lead of the U of M, Twin Cities campus; if classes are cancelled there, consider
them cancelled at the Loft. If concerned, call 612-379-8999 or check www.loft.org.
An announcement on the Loft home page will confirm cancellations by 3:30 p.m.
weekdays, 8:30 a.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. Sundays.
PAYMENTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Payment Methods | No installment payments. Space cannot be held before
receiving full payment. A $20 fee is assessed for bad checks. If an agency,
business, or other organization is paying student fees, payment is due at the time
of registration. (Purchase orders or intent to pay notification cannot be accepted.
We do accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.)
Scholarships | The Loft has established a scholarship pool for Loft classes, both
youth and adult. For more information or to apply, please visit
www.loft.org/scholarship.
CANCELLATIONS
REGISTRATION INFO
Online | Visit www.loft.org/classes. Select your classes, check out
teaching artist profiles, and register.
In Person | Stop in at Open Book during regular Loft office hours, 9 a.m.–
5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Loft administrative offices are closed on
Mondays. This is a great option if you’re looking for advice about what
class to take (appointments also available).
By Phone | Dial 612-379-8999. Loft education staff will be available to
help you with your registration during regular office hours, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Tuesday through Friday.
By Fax | Dial 612-215-2576. Download, print, and fill out the registration
form from www.loft.org and send it “Attention: Education.” This option is
only available when fees are paid by credit card.
By Mail | Download and print the registration form at www.loft.org and
send with your check, money order, or credit card information to:
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The Loft Literary Center, Attn: Education
Open Book, Suite 200, 1011 Washington Avenue South
Please note: It is best to register early to help our teaching artists prepare
and ensure the class does not get cancelled. For this reason, all multiweek
classes now offer early bird discounts (see class listings for details). We
evaluate registration numbers between 7 and 3 days before a class start to
decide whether to run it. Classes that do not meet a minimum enrollment
may be cancelled a minimum of 3 business days prior to the first class
meeting with full refunds for all registrants.
QUESTIONS?
CALL 612-379-8999 DURING OFFICE HOURS OR EMAIL [email protected]
PROGRAM
WHO’S ALREADY PARTICIPATING
loft.org/residency
| EDUCATION PROFILE
RESIDENCY
7
The Loft's Teaching Artist
EVENTS
EVENTS
EVENTS
LOFT
EVENTS
& Deadlines
EVENTS
EVENTS
EV
EVENTS
EVENTS
EV
EVENTS
EVENTS
EV
9/8 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | Lonely Arts: Creative
Urban Growler | $15.00 ($13.50 members)
CR
IN
G
WR
H
CT
AFT
C O NNE
Nonfiction & Memoir
The Loft, Hazel & Wren, and Joey McGarvey have teamed
up to help writers find their critique partner match. Join us September
8 for the Creative Nonfiction edition. All nonfiction writers (memoirists,
essayists, biographers, historical, sports, pop culture) welcome. Paid
admission includes a EVENTS
beverage and light snacks. Register
at loft.org.
EVENTS
EVENTS
IT E R S T H R O U G
EV
9/16 | Friday | 7 p.m. | Nodin Press Book Launch with Emilie Buchwald
The Loft at Open Book (Performance Hall)
9/22 & 23 | Thursday & Friday | 7 p.m. | As Curated By: Latinx Writers
9/24 | Saturday | 8 p.m. | Equilibrium/Immigrants Past and Present:
Bolin Jue and Allyson Jeffredo with Palabristas
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|EVENTS
EVENTS
EVENTS
EVENTS
9/30 | Friday | 7 p.m. | As Curated By: House of Fire
EV
V
V
V
Minnesota History Center, St. Paul | $150 ($125 Loft or MNHS members)
Learn how to research, write, and preserve your family legacy. Share
the expertise of nationally renowned authors, genealogists and editors
including Patricia Hampl, Diane Wilson, Shannon Gibney, Eric Dregni, and
Cheri Register! Please register with the Minnesota History Center.
10/19 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | Holy Cow Press Publication Launch
10/23 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | Second Story Reading Series
10/26 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | Benjamin Percy Publication Reading
Benjamin Percy will read from his recently released Thrill Me: Essays on
Fiction. Register at loft.org.
10/28 | Friday | 7 p.m. | Building Communities, Changing Discourse:
Transracial Adoptees
11/1 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | Tinderbox Editions Reading
11/9 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | Fall 2016 Student & Teaching Artist
Reading
11/10 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | Writers in Conversation: Patrick Rosal and
Elissa Altman
The Loft at Open Book (Performance Hall) | $15 ($13.50 members)
See next page for details. Register at loft.org.
11/12 | Saturday | 7 p.m. | McKnight Reading: Patrick Rosal
11/17 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | Nodin Press Book Launch with Margaret Hasse
11/19 | Saturday | 8 p.m. | Equilibrium: Chaun Webster
|EVENTS
V
10/15 | Saturday | 9 a.m–4:30 p.m. | Writing Your Family Legacy
Conference
9
V
Writers in Conversation:
Patrick Rosal &
Elissa Altman
Thursday, November 10 | 7 p.m.
Advanced tickets required, space is limited.
Purchase at loft.org: $15 ($13.50 members)
The Loft presents Patrick Rosal and Elissa Altman as they
discuss elements of craft in writing. Patrick will read from his
latest work, a book of poems entitled Brooklyn Antediluvian, and
Elissa will read from her forthcoming memoir Treyf: My Life as
an Unorthodox Outlaw before settling in to elaborate on matters
of craft, inspiration, history, and politics, and how they converge
in the mind of a writer intent on telling her or his story.
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|EVENTS
Patrick Rosal is the author of four full-length
poetry collections, which have been honored with
the Association of Asian American Studies Book
Award, Global Filipino Literary Award, and the
Asian American Writers Workshop Members’
Choice Award.
Elissa Altman is the critically-acclaimed, awardwinning author of Poor Man’s Feast: A Love Story
of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking,
the James Beard Award-winning blog of the same
name, the Washington Post column “Feeding
My Mother”, and a finalist for the Frank McCourt
Memoir Prize.
GET YOUR
DUCKS IN A
ROW
THE LOFT’S
PITCH CONFERENCE
RETURNS
APRIL 7–8, 2017
Featuring a Keynote Workshop with
Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation
Visiting Agent Lineup & Registration Details
Coming Soon.
Registration opens November 2016
(Loft Members get First Access)
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
| ONLINE CLASSES
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
NE
NE
ONLINE
12
NE
ONLINE
ONLINE
ONLINE
Loft online classes allow you to join a
vibrant community of writers under
the guidance of an experienced
teaching artist no matter what your
location or schedule may be. Contact
the education department at 612-3798999 or visit loft.org and watch videos
detailing the Loft online classroom
experience.
NE
ONLINE
CLASSES
13
new class!
Getting Past the Blank Page | Megan Frazer Blakemore
Beginning | 9/21–11/2 | 6 weeks | Reg $234.00 Mem $210.60
Are you eager to write but have trouble sitting down at the computer or
notebook? This is the class to take you from wanting to write to actually
writing. In a low-stress environment, we will build up our writing stamina
and make writing a daily habit.
CREATIVE NONFICTION
From Image to Essay and Memoir | Robert Root
Open to All Levels | 9/21–11/16 | 8 weeks | Reg $312.00 Mem $280.80
In this class, we will start journaling about imagery that resonates with
us. In examining family photographs, commercial images, or art, we’ll
discover associations and memories that can push our work forward. We’ll
examine successful models, write our own journal entries, and workshop the
emerging possibilities for essays and memoirs.
new class!
Memoir in Progress | Angela Foster
Intermediate | 10/5–11/30 | 8 weeks | Reg $312.00 Mem $280.80
Have you started a memoir but struggle with next steps? You’ll leave this
class with a more organized draft and the tools to work towards completion.
Students will share weekly writing assignments and receive feedback from
their peers and instructor. Instructor will comment on up to 25 pages of
work.
FICTION
new class!
10 Week Novella | Margaret Chapman
No class the week of Thanksgiving.
Write a novella in ten weeks! We’ll go from start to finish on a 20,000 word
project while exploring the exciting and revitalized form of the novella,
including the history of the form, its recent popularity, the process of writing
a longer work, and publishing opportunities for novella-ists.
| ONLINE CLASSES
BASICS
FICTION (Continued)
new class!
Micromanaging Your Short Stories | Jack Smith
This class helps students create a short story with compelling characters,
a tightly woven plot, thematic levels, a rich, vivid prose style, scenes
that sizzle, and a voice that keeps the reader’s interest. Students receive
feedback, stage by stage, as they write and revise their stories.
new class! Fiction as Social Commentary: Using Real Life to Tell
Stories | Saadia Faruqi
Fiction can not only entertain but also inform and educate. Some of the
most accomplished authors, past and present, use their fiction as social
commentary. This critique-intensive class will teach writers to use real
world facts and events to create great stories.
Crafting a Compelling Mystery | Stanley Trollip
In this class, we’ll apply the traditional three-act structure to the
development of a mystery plot. We’ll look at the hook, the playing out of
the story, including red herrings and twists, and the resolution. We’ll also
work on the creation of characters, and the issues of pacing and tension. MULTIGENRE
Your Book Starts Here: How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book
Mary Carroll Moore
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| ONLINE CLASSES
Get to know your book—what it’s about, how to structure it, how to plan to
finish it! Learn a step-by-step plan, including flexible timelines, chapter
grids, storyboarding, and more. For writers with a book concept or work-inprogress—nonfiction, memoir, or novel—or for any writer who needs help
with structuring their material. Pricing: reg=regular | mem=member | low=low-income
You’ve drafted most (or some) of your manuscript, you’ve assembled your
storyboard. How do you merge it all into a clear narrative arc that will
speak to a reader—and get your book published? Great next steps to hone
characters, conflict, and container via weekly lessons, writing exercises,
and supportive feedback. Your Book Starts Here, Part 3 | Mary Carroll Moore
Advanced | 9/28–12/21 | 12 weeks | Reg $525.00 Mem $472.50
Prerequisite: “Your Book Starts Here: Part 2” or permission from teaching artist.
Your memoir, fiction, or nonfiction book is completely drafted; you’re ready
for serious revision. Small work groups focus on weekly feedback to learn
revision skills, develop voice and theme, build conflict and characters,
hone pacing, and polish your manuscript toward publication.
new class! Small Worlds, Big Ideas: Miniature Motifs in Fiction
Marie Becker
Throughout history, people have been fascinated with miniatures. We’ll
read selections across genres using miniature objects as plot or thematic
elements, and tackle prompts inspired by visual images of real-world
and fantastic miniatures. Open to all genres; readings include children’s
literature, YA, horror, mystery, and historical fiction.
Write On! Six Weeks of Exercises, Prompts, and Practice to Get
You Writing | Margaret LaFleur
In this class, designed for writers of both fiction and nonfiction, students
will use writing prompts and exercises to get into the practice of writing.
Six weeks will yield at least six new starts and newfound confidence to face
the blank page. Classes that start in September, October, and November listed here.
More classes listed at loft.org
| ONLINE CLASSES
Your Book Starts Here, Part 2 | Mary Carroll Moore
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MULTIGENRE (CONTINUED)
POETRY
new class! Prose for Poets: Reading for Craft & Inspiration
Amie Whittmore
In this class, we will read essays by renowned poets, dealing with different
elements of craft each week. These essays will vary in scope, from analysis
of technique to lyrical exploration of a poet’s experiences. Students will
discuss essays, generate poems, and receive feedback on their work.
An Introduction to Poetry | Sarah Sadie
No class week of Thanksgiving
During this class you will be introduced to, and experiment with, the basic
elements of poetic craft and form. Weekly readings, writing, chats, and
discussions will deepen your appreciation of the work of other poets and
open up possibilities for your own work through the practice of basic poetic
techniques and devices. new class! Please Add To This List II: Experiments with the
Sonnet and Beyond | Jennifer Fossenbell
In this class, we’ll continue to explore Bernadette Mayer’s poetry “experiments,” venturing farther (forward and back) into the realms of experimental
poetry and innovations of traditional forms, particularly the sonnet. Play
with visual form, meaning, and sound—you have permission! Part II can be
taken with Part I or alone.
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| ONLINE CLASSES
PUBLISHING & CAREER
Creative Copywriting: Sell Your Writing or Anything Else
Mary Ringstadt
Advertising copywriting is creative writing with a commercial twist. This
class teaches you the tricks of the trade for crafting fresh angles for any
purpose, whether you’re selling your own writing, frosted breakfast cereal,
or memberships in your nonprofit organization.
Pricing: reg=regular | mem=member | low=low-income
17
Online Poetry Workshop | Carolyn Williams-Noren
9/21–10/19 | 4 weeks | Reg $156.00 Mem $140.40
Receive feedback from fellow poets. Does this sound scary? Thrilling?
Both? This class will form a supportive group of young writers who read
and discuss each other’s work, giving constructive, appreciative, specific,
kind feedback. Recommended for writers who have at least a couple of
poems ready for feedback.
Write Now for the Common Application: Get Your College Essay
Done Online | Kate St. Vincent Vogl
10/5–10/26 | 3 weeks | Reg $117.00 Mem $105.30
This class explores what makes for a good essay and what makes a bad one
when applying to colleges. Draft an essay for the Common Application
and find out how to make it stronger. Learn from an Ivy League graduate
how best to present yourself in the college admission process.
Classes that start in September, October, and November listed here.
| ONLINE CLASSES
YOUTH (AGES 13–17)
IN-PERSON
ADULT CLASSES
The Loft in-person lineup is full
of new offerings including classes
covering political writing, issues
around writing and racial and social
justice, advanced topics such as
Master Mondays, and preparing
to pitch your work for agents. We
can’t wait to see you here.
18
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
BASICS
new class!
Creative Writing Sampler | Linda Back McKay
Open to All Levels | Mondays | 9/19–10/24 | 6–8 p.m. | 6 sessions
Reg $210.00 Mem $189.00 Low $147.00 | Small copy fee.
How will you know which genre to write in if you don’t try them all? In this
class, we’ll use prompts and exercises to “try on” a variety of genres to see
what sticks. Participants will experiment and receive feedback with many
forms, including memoir, contemporary poetry, prose poems, and fiction.
Beginning | Wednesdays | 9/21–10/26 | 10 a.m.–noon | 6 sessions
If you have always wanted to write, but are reluctant to start, this is the class
for you. You will study the many forms of writing, including journaling,
letter writing, poetry, memoir, and fiction, as you discover your unique
writing voice, style, and purpose.
Great Grammar: Know It When You Need It | Amy Simso Dean
Open to All Levels | Saturday | 10/15 | 9 a.m.–noon | 1 session
Grammar is fun. And it’s easier than you think. It creates clarity, adds
nuance and makes sentences sing. Forget about confusing terminology.
We’ll learn how to spot and banish common mistakes in punctuation,
sentence structure and more. Jump in and discover how truly exciting a
comma can be.
new class!
Six Secrets for Better Writing | Kate St. Vincent Vogl
Beginning | Mondays | 10/31–12/12 | 6–8 p.m. | 6 sessions
Reg $210.00 Mem $189.00 Low $147.00 | Small copy fee. | No class November 21.
Jumpstart your fiction or nonfiction! Learn how modern masters revise and
energize their writing. This class teaches ways to create an effective desire
line as well as a distinctive voice. Discover essentials for developing scenes,
powerful imagery, and evocative settings. Learn the secrets of writing
secrets. Private half-hour consult included.
First Steps into Writing | Patricia Hoolihan
Beginning | Thursdays | 11/3–12/15 | 6–8 p.m. | 6 sessions
This is a class for those who are new to creative writing, feel rusty, or are
just plain shy about claiming the identity of ‘writer’. The class will invite
and encourage you to explore your stories, the memorable images that live
inside of you and your voice.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Personal Writing—the Perfect Place to Start | Peter Blau
19
BASICS (Continued)
CHILDREN’S & YOUNG ADULT LIT
Master Mondays: Young Adult Fiction | Shannon Gibney
Advanced | Mondays | 9/19–12/12 | 6–9 p.m. | 12 sessions
The Master Monday Series is an intensive writing opportunity for advanced
students with workshop experience.
In this class, we will read and discuss some of the most vital young adult
literature being created today, examine strategies for producing and
revising our own work, complete short writing activities, and workshop
each other’s manuscripts. Both local and national writers and editors will
talk to us, and if participants are interested, the last two class sessions will
be devoted strictly to one-on-one workshops and manuscript critiques with
the teaching artist.
Picture Book Workshop | Molly Beth Griffin
Intermediate | Thursdays | 9/22–11/10 | 6–8 p.m. | 8 sessions
This workshop-only class is for writers who are eager to have their picture
book manuscripts critiqued in a large-group setting. As we discuss student
work, we’ll learn about the craft of picture book writing, and practice the
valuable skill of peer critique.
Nuts and Bolts of Writing for Children | Dara Dokas
Beginning | Saturday | 10/1 | 9 a.m.–noon | 1 session
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Are you new to children’s writing? Or do you have a manuscript or two but
aren’t sure what to do next? Then this class is for you! Learn about categories of children’s books, how to find an editor or agent, networking, and
much more in this info-packed class.
Beginning Picture Book Writing | Dara Dokas
Beginning | Saturday | 10/1 | 1–4 p.m. | 1 session
Are you interested in writing picture books for children? Then this class
is for you! We will examine published picture books, discuss picture book
writing techniques, and do some writing exercises to get the ideas flowing.
You will come away from class with at least one solid picture book idea.
21
Research & Writing: Children’s Nonfiction for Education—Part 1
Lisa M. Bolt Simons
Intermediate | Saturday | 10/22 | 9 a.m.–noon | 1 session
Reg $52.50 Mem $47.25 Low $36.75 | Small copy fee. | Bring a work sample for children
and a laptop or tablet.
Want your foot in the publishing door? Write for education. In this class,
you’ll learn how to apply for assignments, what to expect from a contract,
the pros and cons of the genre, and more.
Research & Writing: Children’s Nonfiction for Education—Part 2
Lisa M. Bolt Simons
Open to All Levels | Saturday | 10/22 | 1–4 p.m. | 1 session
Reg $52.50 Mem $47.25 Low $36.75 | Small copy fee. | Bring your laptop or tablet and
projector adapters if needed.
If you’ve already taken Part One of this class or you’re newly employed as
a work-for-hire author, come to this session. We’ll do research, write a lot,
and critique each other’s work. Bring your laptop/tablet.
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Master Mondays: Creative Nonfiction | Sarah Chandler
Advanced | Mondays | 9/19–12/12 | 6–9 p.m. | 12 sessions
The Master Monday Series is an intensive writing opportunity for advanced
students with workshop experience. In this class, we will turn our lens (sometimes a wide angle, sometimes a
zoom) on a diverse range of nonfiction subgenres. We will experiment with
writing as pensive essayists, jet-lagged travel writers, scientists, skeptics,
cultural critics, fearless investigative journalists, humorists, and the many
guises we might assume in tackling this tricky, exhilarating, maddening
beast of a genre. In addition to exploring contemporary masters of the
craft, we will read and give feedback on each other’s work. Expect to
complete a polished revision of one essay (or book chapter, for those
interested in writing a longer work) that will receive detailed feedback in
a one-on-one session. Towards the end of the class, we will also address
issues of publication specific to nonfiction.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
CHILDREN’S & YOUNG ADULT LIT (Cont.)
CREATIVE NONFICTION (Continued)
new class!
Advanced Memoir Workshop | Angela Foster
Advanced | Tuesdays | 9/20–11/15 | 5–7 p.m. | 8 sessions
This class is for writers who are ready to take the next steps with their
memoir in progress. You will receive feedback from your teaching artist
and peers in a supportive community. Be prepared to share 50 to 75 pages,
and to commit to reading the work of your classmates. The teaching artist
will comment on an additional 40 pages.
new class! Telling Details: The Power of Description in Memoir
and Creative Nonfiction | Margaret Todd Maitland
Intermediate | Tuesdays | 9/20–10/25 | 7:30–9:30 p.m. | 6 sessions
In any significant memory, the details may be hazy. To transform that
memory into a vivid scene, you must capture the details that will awaken the
reader’s imagination. Focusing on observation and description from daily
life—clothing, tools, photographs, nature—you will discover how the smallest
detail conveys essential meaning and emotion.
new class! 18 Techniques to Develop a Personal Writing Practice
Brenda Hudson
Open to All Levels | Wednesdays | 9/21–11/9 | 10 a.m.–noon | 8 sessions
22
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Journaling might give rise to thoughts of “Dear Diary” moments from
childhood, but with the right techniques, a journaling practice allows you
to tap into your creativity, uncover hidden thoughts and emotions, and
delve deep into your memories, hopes, and dreams too. This class will
introduce you to 18 different techniques to help you do just that.
new class! Writing Compelling Narrative Nonfiction
Rachael Hanel
Open to All Levels | Wednesdays | 9/21–11/9 | 6–8 p.m. | 8 sessions
Publishers and editors are always seeking well-crafted narrative nonfiction.
This class will address the research and writing process behind narrative
nonfiction, and students will leave ready to craft compelling stories while
remaining true to the facts.
Your memoir, personal narrative, or essay is finished. But is it done?
Through a combination of workshop, lecture, and in-class exercises,
students in this class will learn techniques for heightening emotion,
intensifying drama, and crystallizing character and voice.
Memoir: Let’s Get Started | Nancy Raeburn
Beginning | Thursdays | 9/22–11/10 | 10 a.m.–noon | 8 sessions
THIS CLASS MEETS AT THE ST. PAUL JCC.
Here’s a chance to move beyond that scary blank page and finally get started
on the memoir you’ve been wanting to write. With inspiration from weekly
exercises, readings by accomplished writers, and help from class members
and the teaching artist, you will make significant progress on a first draft. Introduction to Memoir | Angela Foster
Beginning | Thursdays | 9/22–11/10 | 10 a.m.–noon | 8 sessions
In this class, we’ll study the elements of memoir—setting, character
development, dialogue, tense, scene, summary and reflection. By the end of
this class, you’ll have these seven elements incorporated into your work in
progress and an arsenal of tools to refine and deepen your writing.
Introduction to the Personal Essay | Jim Walsh
Open to All Levels | Thursdays | 9/22–10/27 | 6–8 p.m. | 6 sessions
An enlightening class that, via a variety of thought-provoking prompts,
writings, and discussions, focuses on getting and staying in touch with the
writer’s voice and producing essays, personal and otherwise, that last.
Beginning Memoir: Finding the Story | Angela Foster
Do you have a memory that shimmers in your mind? Is it difficult to get
started? Through the use of writing prompts, we’ll get those memories on
paper. We’ll discuss memoir basics and the details that bring them to life.
You’ll create at least three works-in-progress and ideas for more.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Advanced | Wednesdays | 9/21–11/9 | 6–8 p.m. | 8 sessions
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Punch and Polish: The Art of Revising Creative Nonfiction
Dennis Cass
CREATIVE NONFICTION (Continued)
new class!
Finding the Meaning in Your Memoir | Glenda Reed
Intermediate | Saturday | 10/8 | 1–5 p.m. | 1 session
Your know what happened, but what is your memoir about? And how
do you get the perspective to answer this question? Through lectures,
discussions and a series of in-class writing exercises, students will be
guided toward a deeper understanding of the personal meaning of their
own story. It’s Tense: The Impact of Using Past or Present in Creative
Nonfiction | Kate Hopper
Through class discussion and short writing exercises, we will explore the
benefits, challenges and drawbacks of using past versus present tense as
we craft our lives on the page. Participants will leave the class with a clear
sense of how tense affects voice, reflection, and structure.
new class!
Writing Braided Narratives | Victoria Blanco
Open to All Levels | Saturday | 10/22 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | 1 session
This class is for writers interested in weaving together diverse writing
forms to create compelling, surprising narrative nonfiction. Through
mini lectures, in-class discussion, writing exercises, and feedback from
instructor and peers, students will develop a first draft of an essay or
chapter of narrative nonfiction.
Family Stories into Memoir | Patricia Hoolihan
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
What great story doesn’t draw on the family as its source? It’s all there:
heartbreak, longing, conflict, secrets, and love in all its disguises. This class
will help students generate lots of material, polish their own family stories, and
choose up to 10 pages for class discussion or teaching artist review.
This class is for anyone writing creative nonfiction who wants more focused
attention on the writing process. Structured as a writing group, students will
look at examples of successful creative nonfiction, work through writing
prompts, and workshop their own writing.
new class! Substance, Curation, and the Role of Intimacy in the
Crafting of Memoir | Elissa Altman
Open to All Levels | Friday | 11/11 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | 1 session
Reg $175.00 Mem $155.00 | Small copy fee. | Bring a bag lunch. The teaching artist will
provide feedback on student work. For details see the class description at loft.org.
What makes great memoir versus simply a recollection of experience? In
this class, we’ll explore the concept of curation and the role of intimacy in the
writing of memoir. We’ll also attempt to separate wheat from chaff within the
telling of a story and show how to find the kernel—the heart of the story—that
teems with life at its most basic level. Come to Elissa’s craft talk too (page 10).
new class!
Memoir: On Self & Society | Marc Nieson
This class focuses on localizing what in your individual tale has a
communal and cultural context, then explores the varied narrative means
and structures to best convey that tale. Expect model readings, varied
written exercises designed to help tap and start shaping your life stories,
and some communal critiques.
CREATIVE PROCESS
The Creative Fire of Intuitive Writing
Roxanne Sadovsky
Open to All Levels | Thursdays | 9/22–12/15 | 10 a.m.–noon | 12 sessions
Popularized by the surrealist movement in 1920s Paris, intuitive writing can
take you on a wild ride where you’ll spin your deepest intuition into golden
words of poetry, prose, or song. This class will explore intuitive writing
through in-class writing exercises, group sharing, light workshopping,
intuitive writing “marathons,” and discussion of how the subconscious
lends itself to the creative fire.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
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new class! Now Write! The Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Rachael Hanel
CREATIVE PROCESS (Continued)
new class! Banned Books Week: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Trudy Fortun
Reg $52.50 Mem $47.25 Low $36.75 | Small copy fee. | Bring your already read copy of
The Bluest Eye and your writing journal, laptop, or work-in-progress.
Join fellow creatures of controversy for a unique combination of book
club discussion infused with opportunities to reflect and write about banworthy themes. Our launch pad will be Nobel Prize-winning author Toni
Morrison’s debut novel The Bluest Eye and the cultural narrative about
race and beauty.
new class! Spark The Process: Rediscovering Your Light When
You Feel Lost in the Dark | Kate St. Vincent Vogl
Learn key techniques to alight new material within you. We’ll identify our
sources of inspiration, then shape the big picture of our narratives and
interconnecting storylines. Writing prompts will deepen connections with
characters. Exercises help build trust in our processes. Leave with an armful
of new ideas for your writing!
Silencing the Inner Critic | Rebecca Kanner
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
What is keeping you from the wild uninhibited prose that is the first step
in your journey to good writing? Who is your inner critic, and why does
he demand perfection? In this class, we’ll answer these questions and find
ways to exorcize these voices from our heads and not allow our self critique
to become harmful.
Writing Tasteful Sex Scenes | Joshua Cook
Intermediate | Tuesdays | 9/20–10/25 | 5–7 p.m. | 6 sessions
In this class, we will discover the joys and tribulations of writing sex. With
a focus on literary fiction, we’ll look at some steamy scenes from short
stories and novels, discuss the dos and don’ts, write some of our own
sex scenes, and glean pivotal craft elements—point-of-view, character,
momentum—common to the successful ones.
new class! Missing Girls: A Craft Based Book Club
Erin Kate Ryan
Open to All Levels | Tuesdays | 9/20–12/6 | 6–8 p.m. | 10 sessions
Reg $350.00 Mem $315.00 Low $245.00 | Small copy fee. | No class November 8 or 22.
In the past several years, dozens of bestsellers have centered on a
missing girl. Let’s investigate why! Over 10 weeks, this book-based class
will explore novels, short stories, and films that employ the missing girl
structure, and then we’ll discuss what works and what feels tired. Expect
high-level conversation, writing prompts that challenge convention, and
the cozy environment of the Loft’s Book Club Room, with access to the
Open Book patio. Food and drink welcome. Limited to 10 book lovers.
Intermediate Fiction Workshop | Robert Voedisch
Intermediate | Tuesdays | 9/20–12/6 | 7:30–9:30 p.m. | 10 sessions
Reg $350.00 Mem $315.00 Low $245.00 | Small copy fee. | No class November 8 or 22.
This class is for students familiar with the basics of fiction who are ready to
polish their stories with richer themes, characters, and impact. Most of our
time will be spent discussing your work, helping you to make your stories
the best they can be.
Fiction Workshop | Brian Malloy
The format for this workshop is descriptive review—we’ll read up to 20
pages of each other’s work with a view towards identifying what is at
stake and describing what we believe to be true about the characters.
Writers may choose to submit their own workshop questions for readers to
consider.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
new class!
27
FICTION
FICTION (Continued)
Beneath the Surface: Exploring Subtext
Allison Wyss
Advanced | Thursdays | 9/22–10/27 | 10 a.m.–noon | 6 sessions
Reach a more nuanced understanding of subtext through in-depth discussion of Charles Baxter’s The Art of Subtext and practical writing exercises.
Students should already have a basic grasp of elements such as plot, setting, character, etc., and be ready to explore this more advanced aspect of
fiction writing.
It’s A Mystery: The Basics of the Crime Novel | David Housewright
For beginning and intermediate writers, this class explores the process of
crime fiction with emphasis on its component parts—the ‘McGuffin,’ plot,
structure, POV, character development, dialogue, settings, research, and
authenticity. And we put what we learn into action with in-class exercises
and at-home writing assignments.
How’d They Do That: A Craft Based Book Club for Writers
Allison Wyss
Open to All Levels | Thursdays | 9/22, 10/20, 11/17 | 6–9 p.m. | 3 sessions
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
In this book club for writers, we’ll read The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh
Nguyen, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, and Mr. Fox by Helen
Oyeyemi. Together, we’ll discover the techniques at play in the writing
and analyze the structure of these novels to learn how to write our
own. Participants are invited to make use of the book club room in the
weeks between official meeting dates—to read, discuss, write, or just
connect with your fellow readers and classmates.
Fiction Basics: Five Parts of Story | Brian Malloy
This session is for writers who need help with structuring and building
momentum in their stories. We’ll examine the five parts of traditional
story: exposition, rising action, crisis, falling action, and conclusion. Come
prepared for exercises on each of the five parts of traditional story form.
Master Mondays: Fiction
Peter Geye
Advanced | Mondays | 10/3–12/19
6–9 p.m. | 12 sessions
Reg $630.00 Mem $567.00 Low $441.00
Small copy fee.
The Master Monday Series is an intensive
writing opportunity for advanced students
with workshop experience.
Master Monday classes are a chance for
serious and advanced fiction writers to
take their craft and careers to the next
level. Each student will workshop more
than one submission (the actual number
will vary according to the class size) and
will be expected to be an active participant
in all class discussions.
Students should also expect significant
feedback from the teaching artist, both
in class and during individual meetings
outside of class. Our focus on student
work will include improvement of the work
itself, naturally, but we’ll also focus on
finding a place in the wider world for it. We’ll also be visited by some of those
writers, as well as distinguished regional
editors and publishers. This class should
be viewed as an opportunity to improve
your craft and develop relationships with
other aspiring writers. Community
Postings
Looking for or recruiting
for a book club or writing
group? Seeking places to
submit work? Or maybe
you’re just ready to share
some exciting news with
the Loft community?
The Loft’s community
postings are free. Connect
with your fellow writers
today.
Due to the touring schedule of Peter Geye,
this class starts October 3, and will need to run
consecutively for 12 weeks, including a meeting on
Monday, November 21 (Thanksgiving week).
loft.org/postings
FICTION (Continued)
Fiction Basics: Point of View | Brian Malloy
Point of View (POV) is not simply a question of 1st person (I) or 3rd person
(she): you’ll need to consider reliability, objectivity, distance, and audience.
We’ll review different types of POVs and exercises will let you experiment
to learn which one is the best POV for your story.
Fiction Basics: Characters & Characterization | Brian Malloy
We’ll create characters based on people you know, your passion, your
interest, your curiosity, and your imagination. We’ll look at direct and
indirect methods of characterization. Exercises will help you get to know
your characters better and will identify significant details to make your
characters come alive on the page.
new class!
Novel Revision Workshop | Margi Preus
Bring the latest draft of your novel or novel-in-progress for a hands-on,
pen-on-paper workshop designed to bump your novel up to the next level.
free info session! The Novel Writing Project Information
Session 1 & 2 | Peter Geye
Tuesday | 10/18 | 6–7 p.m. or Saturday | 10/29 | 2–4 p.m. | Free
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
The year-long project will include class time, visiting lectures, a peer community cohort, as
well as significant one-on-one work with the teaching artist.
Starting in January, Peter Geye will lead a year-long Novel Writing
Project. Everything you need to know about the novel, from first thought to
publication, taught by award-winning author Peter Geye. How many times
have you thought: I’m finally going to start writing my novel tomorrow,
only to find that when tomorrow comes, you’re overwhelmed by the mere
prospect of finding the first word, never mind the last?
If you’re like most practicing or aspiring novelists, the answer to this
simple question is haunting. Of course you know that in order to finish, you
The well-rendered setting can create harmony or conflict, characterize,
symbolize, play to or against readers’ expectations, as well as make the familiar
unfamiliar or the unfamiliar familiar. We’ll review how to present compelling
settings and practice these strategies with writing exercises.
Fiction Basics: Scene, Summary, Flashback, and Narrative Time
Brian Malloy
Does an event demand a moment-by-moment scene? Should it be summarized?
How can we transition between scene and summary and move our characters
backward and forward in time? We’ll experiment with methods to weave
together scene and summary, integrate flashbacks, and move through time.
Writing Great Dialogue | Rebecca Kanner
Great dialogue is riveting. It holds a reader tight and won’t let go. We’ll
study different types and uses of dialogue, and the best ways to create
characters with their own voices. Then we’ll do a series of writing exercises
to generate the sort of dialogue that keeps readers turning the pages. new class! Rewrite Your Life: Transform Your Facts into Powerful
Fiction | Jessica Lourey
Open to All Levels | Saturday | 11/12 & 11/19 | 9 a.m.–1 p.m. | 2 sessions
In this class, creative writing professor, sociologist, and popular fiction
author Jessica Lourey guides writers at any level through the redemptive
process of writing and selling a novel which recycles and transforms their
most precious resource—their own emotions and experiences.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Fiction Basics: Setting | Brian Malloy
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must begin. But where? And how? This year-long project will answer both
those questions, and a hundred others. Whether you’ve already written a
completed draft or have only the first inkling of the book you know is in
you, this year-long project and mentorship experience will help you find
or finish it. Curious about what this endeavor will entail? Nervous about
committing to a whole year? Questions about whether or not you’re far
enough along? Come to an info session to answer all of your questions.
Information sessions are free, but we ask you to register online at loft.org.
new class!
Impossible to Look Away: Thrill Me | Roseanne Pereira
Reg $52.50 Mem $47.25 Low $36.75 | Please obtain a copy of Ben Percy’s Thrill Me:
Essays on Fiction (available October 18th from Graywolf Press). No copy fee for students.
In this class, we’ll explore lessons from Benjamin Percy’s new craft book
Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction. Through discussion and writing exercises,
you will gain a more nuanced understanding of suspense and the factors
that contribute to making it work in your writing. You’ll leave with specific
strategies for how to make your own work more gripping, making it
impossible for your readers to look away from the page.
Fiction Basics: Revision Lab | Brian Malloy
Bring your printed manuscript, and yellow, pink, and green highlighters
for this hands-on revision lab. You’ll practice revision methods focused
on scene/summary, arrangement of events, abstract/concrete language,
sensory imagery, and significant details. If you don’t bring your
manuscript, you won’t have much to do at this hands-on session!
new class! Scene + Structure = Story: A Plotting Technique for
Advanced Novelists | Tamara Hogan
Advanced | Saturday | 11/12 | 2–5 p.m. | 1 session
In genre fiction, every scene must reveal character, advance plot, supply
information, and escalate conflict. In this class, we’ll study the scene as
the building block of story. Then, using a story-boarding technique, we’ll
explore ways to structure and sequence scenes into a plot which tells our
most satisfying story. 32
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Descriptive Language in Fiction | Aurelia Wills
Descriptive language is a writer’s most powerful tool for creating what
John Gardner called the best fiction—a vivid and continuous dream.
Readings and exercises will focus on the importance of specificity, how to
deftly work with adverbs and adjectives, the use of all five senses, and how
to communicate emotion.
This class will help you start and sustain new work. Through discussion
of established writers, you will learn new tactics. Then through writing
prompts and free-writes, you will create, shape, and share new work with
the class. By the end of class, you will walk away with multiple new starts
and ideas to continue your writing journey.
new class!
Writing About Illness: An Intro to Narrative Medicine
EmmaLee Pallai
In this class, students will learn about illness narratives in prose and
poetry. Through in-class writing exercises, we will explore our own
relationship with illness whether we work with it, have been touched by it,
or live with it. Each participant will have one of their works discussed and
workshopped by the group.
new class!
The Structures of Story | Erin Kate Ryan
Intermediate | Wednesdays | 9/21–12/14 | 1–3 p.m. | 12 sessions
What makes master storytellers Edward P. Jones, Karen Russell, Italo
Calvino, Alison Bechtel, and Junot Diaz so great? With writing prompts
and opportunities for workshop, this class for storytellers of all stripes will
introduce a wide variety of structures for making your stories sing.
new class! The Art of Loneliness: Finding Connection and
Creativity | Brenda Hudson
Reg $210.00 Mem $189.00 Low $147.00 | Small copy fee. | This class takes place in the
Loft’s Book Club Room and is limited to 10 students. | Please obtain The Lonely City.
In her book The Lonely City, Olivia Laing insists that loneliness is not
failure, but “evidence of aliveness,” an experience with meaning. In this
half book club, half writing class, we’ll explore these experiences and ideas
as well as examine our own lives through creative writing prompts.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Jump Start Your Writing | Karlyn Coleman
33
MULTIGENRE
MULTIGENRE (Continued)
new class! Notebooks to Manuscript: Reigniting Your Earlier
Work | Morgan Grayce Willow
Intermediate | Thursdays | 9/22–11/10 | 10 a.m.–noon | 8 sessions
Rediscover and reignite work you may have long since abandoned. This class is
for writers who have abandoned accumulated writing. Through in-class and athome exercises, students will identify core passages and work with them. After
feedback, students will clarify a project and devise a plan for completing it.
new class! Afternoon Character Intensive: Bring Your
Characters to Life on the Page | Mary Carroll Moore
Open to All Levels | Thursday | 10/20 | 12:30–5:30 p.m. | 1 session
Characters are the heartbeat of story, but how do you, as a writer, work
with them? This class will let you audition the most compelling cast for
your fiction or memoir, then free them from any conscious or unconscious
paralysis via innovative exercises. We’ll explore key character-building
skills such as longing and desire, external and internal motivation, physical
appearance, community, values, secrets, backstory, gestures, and more.
new class! Your Book Starts Here: Learn to Storyboard Your
Book! | Mary Carroll Moore
Open to All Levels | Friday | 10/21 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | 1 session
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Learn to storyboard, with a simple template that many professional writers
use to build a strong structure for a novel, memoir, or nonfiction book. Via
the storyboard, you’ll immediately find which holes need filling, organize
your research, and strengthen weak plots and character arcs. You’ll also get
to know what your book is really about, and what to include and what to
leave out (you may have more than one book here!).
new class!
Politics Through Story | Janet Anderson
In this class, we’ll examine and mimic fiction and nonfiction works like
Jill Leovy’s Ghettoside, Eula Biss’ On Immunity, and Paula Fox’s Desperate
Characters. These works succeed in developing political arguments, not
through stated opinion, but through empathetic characters, exciting plots,
and sensitive metaphors, i.e. effective storytelling.
35
While there’s place and time for manners, you can’t get there ‘til all hell
breaks loose both on and off the page. Give your perfectionist the day off:
liberate your savage heckler, bountiful bard, sacred keener, purest joy by
creating space on the page to say it like it is!
new class! To Be a Citizen: Writing Subversive Through Political
Verse and Lyric Essay | Heidi Czerwiec
In this class, we will spend time discussing Claudia Rankine’s poetry/lyric
essay hybrid book Citizen and some additional texts to discover strategies
for blending the personal and political in our writing. We’ll also have
dedicated writing time to generate our own work.
new class!
Bilingual Writing | Victoria Blanco
More writers today are mixing English with another language, whether
it be their native or an acquired tongue. We will incorporate a second
language—even if it is just a few words—into a new work of fiction, poetry,
or nonfiction.
new class! Queering Story: A Primer on Breaking the Rules
Erin Kate Ryan
Intermediate | Saturday | 11/19 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | 1 session
Let’s celebrate work that queers convention, subverts expectation, and
builds narrative around the lived experiences! We will look at the works of
queer writers such as James Baldwin, Kathy Acker, Lidia Yuknavitch, and
Sapphire, plus writers who queer expectations for story: Ntozake Shange,
Teju Cole, Jorge Luis Borges, Haruki Murakami.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
new class! Real Writing for the (not so) Minnesota Nice
Roxanne Sadovsky
NEW MEDIA
Writing for the Web | Amy Simso Dean
Dominate this brave new world of micro-blogging, blogging, and web
sites. Explore how online writing is different from writing print materials.
Learn online writing techniques, including dos and don’ts. Discover how to
increase the chances your word will be found and read. Short exercises and
numerous examples.
PLAY- & SCREENWRITING
Adapt to Script | Cristina Pippa
Open to All Levels | Tuesdays | 9/20–11/15 | 7:30–9:30 p.m. | 8 sessions
Adaptation is the highest form of flattery. Novels, short fiction, and true
stories make excellent films and televisions series. In this class for writers
of all levels, we will utilize story structure, map out key scenes, and guide
you in writing the first draft of your screenplay adaptation.
new class!
Advanced Screenwriting | Alan Miller
Advanced | Wednesdays | 9/21–11/30 | 6–8 p.m. | 10 sessions
Please obtain The Screenwriter’s Bible by Dave Trottier and bring 5–7 scripted pages to the
first class.
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Building on your knowledge of fundamentals and formatting, we’ll move
your concept and/or initial scripting efforts toward a successful draft,
utilizing both character driven and plot driven concepts, and at the same
time avoiding the screenwriting taboos which get so many scripts rejected.
Expect weekly writing assignments, critiques from peers and your
teaching artist, and at least one opportunity for a one-on-one conference to
discuss your screenplay. Reg $70.00 Mem $63.00 Low $49.00 | Small copy fee.
This class will provide you with a basic understanding of the challenges
and rewards of screenwriting. Interactive exercises and discussions will
stimulate ideas and clarify your approach to writing a screenplay. We’ll
examine what makes a good screenplay idea and how to create compelling
characters, plus further resources for screenwriting.
new class! The Craft of Screenwriting: The Seen Story
Marc Nieson
This class focuses on what makes any image, scene, or screenplay work,
both structurally and emotionally. We’ll look at scripted models on the
page and screen, practice introducing our characters and informing their
dialogue with stakes, and building our story’s overall tension and torque.
In short, how to effectively fashion narratives that will flicker and linger
within the mind’s eye. POETRY
new class! The Noise and Whip of the Whirlwind: Poetry and
Place | Mike Rollin
Landscape, history, myth, language, wonder, and bewilderment: writing
poetry about place allows us to explore them all. In this class, we will read
authors from around the world, investigate the many dimensions of place,
and create several new drafts about the places that thrill and haunt us.
new class!
Writing Gurlesque Poetry | Tara McDaniel
Open to All Levels | Tuesdays | 9/20–11/15 | 7:30–9:30 p.m. | 8 sessions
Advisory: Gurlesque poetry contains explicit language and graphic sexuality.
Campy, hyberbolic, and grotesque, Gurlesque poetics emerged in the U.S.
among Gen X female poets. We’ll look at American poetry written by women
since 1960 and how the Gurlesque differs from the poetry of the previous
generation. Then we’ll look at specific craft techniques such as scrambled
syntax, fragmentation, repetition, shifting personas, and hybrid form and
apply it to our own writing.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
37
Screenwriting Crash Course | Miriam Queensen
POETRY (Continued)
new class! Grounding and Charging Your Poetry
Patricia Kirkpatrick
Intermediate | Wednesdays | 9/21–11/9 | 6–8 p.m. | 8 sessions
In this class, we will explore the elements that ground and charge poetry,
including language, voice, and form, while giving special attention to the
contributions of music (sound) and imagery.
new class!
In Brief: Writing the Short Poem | Katie Vagnino
Open to All Levels | Thursdays | 9/22–11/10 | 10 a.m.–noon | 8 sessions
In this class, we’ll focus on the art of the short poem, exploring how to
compress big ideas into minimal lines for maximum impact. Studying
forms such as haikus, tankas, and triolets, students will workshop pieces
to develop an understanding of how to maintain complexity while dealing
with length constraints.
The Voice of the Heart | Thomas R. Smith
Open to All Levels | Thursdays | 9/22–12/15 | 6–8 p.m. | 12 sessions
Poetry directly communicates from the poet’s heart to the heart of the
reader. How does the ‘voice of the heart’ speak without sentimentality
or cliché? Touching on the most powerful areas of human feeling and
experience, this class helps poets bring more emotional honesty and
openness to their work.
new class! Playing with the Vessels of Poetry
Michael Kiesow Moore
Intermediate | Saturdays | 10/1 & 10/8 | 9 a.m.–noon | 2 sessions
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| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Our aim is to remove the fear of poetry and have fun with poetic form.
We’ll dive into forms like Haiku, Sonnet, Cinquain, Bricolage, and Ghazal.
Poetic form is like a container that holds the poem. We’ll look at these
containers, and if some don’t work, we’ll break them!
In this class, we will cover the poetic tradition of the elegy and how
contemporary versus older writers have memorialized people in verse.
Participants will learn how to shape their feelings about and memories of
loved ones into unique poems using specific poetic tools.
new class!
Poetry Revision Bootcamp | Heidi Czerwiec
Open to All Levels | Saturdays | 10/15 & 10/22 | 9 a.m.–noon | 2 sessions
This class is for students who already have poems that they want to further
refine, revise, or reimagine. This class will focus on intensive critique and
feedback on student poems, and on discussions of various strategies from
surface to deep revision techniques.
Unlocking the Very Brief Poem, East and West | Thomas R. Smith
The very brief poem is ideal for those who want to capture essences, or the
immediate flavor of some moment of living. Inspired by a broad range of
international poets from Basho to Jane Hirshfield, participants will try their
hand at both Eastern and Western forms including renga and cinquains.
new class!
Writing with Risk | Claire Wahmanholm
Intermediate | Saturday | 10/22 | 1–4 p.m. | 1 session
In this class, we’ll approach risk as a tool that all good poets possess. We’ll
read craft essays that discuss the importance of risk, and talk about how
to experiment with content, voice, and form in ways that surprise us and
carry our poetry in new directions.
new class!
The Poetics of Pop | Timothy Otte
Poets can learn more from pop song lyrics than rhyme and how to spot
a cliché. Using pop song lyrics as a guide, we’ll write poems and explore
elements of craft you may not have expected to find in the lyrics of Taylor
Swift or Kendrick Lamar.
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Creating Poetic Memorials | Janna Knittel
39
new class!
PUBLISHING AND CAREER
new class!
Quest for Quality Queries | Sarah Ahiers
Open to All Levels | Saturdays | 10/1 & 10/8 | 1–5 p.m. | 2 sessions
Make query writing easier! In our first session, we will use the 4 Cs method
to build an effective hook, setup, body, and conclusion. We will discuss dos
and don’ts, greetings, and bios. In the second session, students will return
for query critiques, helpful query sites, tips and tricks, and querying strategies.
new class!
Branding Your Author-Self | Aurora Whittet
Branding your author-self is as important as the books you write. Social
media platforms give readers access to authors and strong branding is
key to creating those long-lasting relationships. Learn how to create your
brand identity and how to apply it to social media.
Crafting the Nonfiction Book Proposal | Kate Hopper
To sell your nonfiction book, you’ll need a proposal that’s both concise and
catchy. In this class, we’ll follow a step-by-step process that will help you
distill your book’s ‘hook,’ understand the components of a strong proposal,
and begin to create an ‘about the author’ section and marketing plan.
Everything You Want to Know About Submitting Your Work But
Don’t Know to Ask | Casey Patrick
40
| IN-PERSON CLASSES
Wondering where to begin or what that rejection letter’s really saying?
Gain an inside look at the submissions process and develop strategies for
sending your work out to journals. Plus, the chance to have all your
submission questions answered by a teaching artist with experience as
both writer and editor!
YOUTH
YOUTH
YOUTH
41
YOUTH
YOUTH
YOUTH
YOUTH
YOUTH
YO
new class!
YOUTH
YOUTH
YOUTH
YO
AGES 6-8
YOUTH
YOUTH
YO
YOUTH
| YOUTH CLASSES
YOUTH
YOUTH
CLASSES
From Ruff Drafts to Dog Tales | Isabel Harding
Saturday | 10/15 | 9 a.m.–noon | 1 session | Reg $52.50 Mem $47.25 Low $36.75
They say dogs are a person’s best friend, but they can also be great characters in a story. Using other dog stories for inspiration, along with different
writingYOUTH
games, we’ll work on developingYOUTH
a story for you to share with theYOUTH
world—featuring your dog as the hero!
new class! Haunted House, Hidden Pages: A Loft/MCBA Combo
Class | Holly Day
YOUTH
YOUTH
YO
As a class, we’ll first read some classic, age-appropriate ghost stories, and
talk about why the idea of a haunted house is so thrilling to so many of us.
Character development and basic story form will be discussed, and finally,
we’ll write our own ghost stories to put in our own Haunted House Hidden
Page Book
made in MCBA’s studios. This
is no ordinary book... it holds aYOUTH
YOUTH
YOUTH
secret hiding place just waiting to surprise your readers! Classes that start in September, October, and November listed here.
YOUTH
YOUTH
YO
AGES 9-11
Story Building and Story Busting: It’s in the Bag!
Kate St. Vincent Vogl
Love to know what makes a story work? We’ll break stories apart and put
them back together. Find out how writers pull ideas out of a bag (or out of
real life) and fit stories together. We’ll write in class—to build on what you
have and discover something totally new!
Tasty Soup!: Getting a Story Ready to Publish | Isabel Harding
Using Stone Soup magazine as a model, we’ll learn all about writing stories
and getting them ready for print. Sometimes, knowing where to send your
work can inspire you to develop a story—and with the right mixture of
ingredients, you can really get that soup boiling!
new class! Frankenstein and Monsters!: A Loft/MCBA Combo
Class | Karlyn Coleman
Starting in MCBA’s studios, we will create our own Portrait Pop-Out Book
featuring Frankenstein. With two blank pages to fill, the class will move
to the Loft to read classic spooky tales, write our own, and share what we
have created. Much writing will be done. AGES 12-14
Making Comics: A Loft/MCBA Combo Class | Tom Spence
42
| YOUTH CLASSES
Saturday | 10/8 | 1–4 p.m. | 1 session | Reg $55.50 Mem $49.95 Low $38.85
In this class, you will learn all about the building blocks of comics: panels,
text, pacing, and so on, as well as how to conceptualize your characters and
story. These combined efforts of form and content will result in a unique
comic story of your own making. At MCBA, students will then bind their
original comic story into a handmade comic book.
Character development is essential to skillful storytelling. From the Harry
Potter series to superhero comics, memorable characters are what resonate
with readers. Create your own and learn to render them realistically,
mixing and matching them to populate your stories’ worlds.
new class!
Heading into the Deep | Jane St. Anthony
What underpins the writing we love to read? Depth. We will explore
emotion, the bedrock of our favorite books. Using emotion, we’ll bring
our stories to life. And we’ll open our hearts to music, art, and poetry for
inspiration.
AGES 13-17
new class! Banned Books Week Discussion: Beyond Magenta:
Transgender Teens Speak Out | Trudy Fortun
Explore LGBTQQIAAP themes as we discuss the true stories of six
transgender teens in Beyond Magenta and excerpts from David Levithan’s
Two Boys Kissing and Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel Fun Home. There will
be time for optional writing activities to release your inner censor!
The Secret Lives of Characters | Aurelia Wills
A great character must have a life outside the boundaries of our story or
novel. Through writing exercises, discussions, and readings we will explore how to imagine and depict our character’s history, habits, memories,
and secrets. Please come with a character you’d like to imagine more fully
in mind.
Fiction Intensive | Isabel Harding
In this class for intermediate-to-advanced fiction writers, students will
delve deeper into the major elements of crafting short stories, including
character development, setting, and conflict. Using prompts, exercises, and
readings, they will be guided through in-class writing exercises by their
teaching artist, who began writing literary fiction as a teenager.
| YOUTH CLASSES
Elements of Fiction: Building Character | Su Hwang
43
new class!
READING LIKE A WRITER:
A LITTLE LIFE AND ANCHORING A
READER IN TIME
A VISIT
TO
H
WRITERSBLOCK.LOFT.ORG
anya Yanagihara’s A Little Life follows a group of college friends throughout
their lives, examining the powerful and painful love that can exist in deep
friendship. The book covers a long period of time and takes on multiple perspectives.
What’s interesting to me about the way Yanagihara handles time is that she allows
a very free-form drift through the past as characters reflect on their lives. The story
itself marches forward, sometimes leaping ahead months or years, but the gaps are
always filled in through a character’s reflection on the past. The sequence of these
scenes is more associative than chronological—just like real memory tends to be.
Yet when we’re in the past, the scenes are every bit as vivid as when we’re in the real
time of the story. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget we’re in a memory. Maybe that’s okay.
These memories are vivid to the characters and so should be vivid for the reader.
But when it really matters that we’re in the real-time, forward-moving part of the
story, Yanagihara makes sure we know it.
One way she does this is by planting a memorable detail. My favorite occurs about
600 pages into the 700-page book. It’s limes.
“I’m going,” [Willem] tells Jude, but then he doesn’t move. A dragonfly, as shiny as
a scarab, hums above them. “I’m going,” he repeats, but he still doesn’t move, and
it is only the third time he says it that he’s finally able to stand up from the lounge
chair, drunk on hot air, and shove his feet back into his loafers.
44
| WRITERS’
BLOCK BLOG
“Limes,” says Jude, looking up at him and shielding his eyes against the sun.
Nearly twenty pages later, the limes appear again.
At the grocery store [Willem] fills a paper bag with limes, and then a second one
with lemons, buys some extra seltzer water, and drives to the train station, where
he waits, leaning his head on the seat and closing his eyes until he hears Malcolm
calling his name and sits up.
Between the two mentions of limes—perhaps the only limes that appear in the
whole book—are nineteen pages of other memories. That’s a long time to leave a
scene before returning to it.
Willem filters through these memories associatively. They are mostly about
catching up the reader on what has been skipped to get to this day in his life,
though there are also glimpses of the far past. Willem remembers recent vacations
and the college-day conversations in which they were first dreamed up. He
remembers Jude’s surgeries and details of their current lives.
But even though there’s no light shone on them, limes are memorable. They have a bright
color and a distinct shape and texture. They even have a flavor. When the word “limes”
appears in any story, the reader immediately sees and feels and tastes them. They pop.
The glory, then, of these limes is that they don’t make me stop and take notice when
I first read them. But when they’re pinged a second time, I do. The second mention
reminds me of the first—even though that mention was a whole nineteen pages ago—
and tells me immediately that we’ve returned to that day, to that trip to the store.
Yanagihara also uses tense to indicate when we’re inside and outside of memory. The first
scene with the limes is in present tense (“‘Limes,’ says Jude”) as is the second mention (“he
fills a paper bag with limes”). The memories, as makes sense, are related in past tense (“Now
they drifted through the lake,” “He had dinner,” “It was the middle of June”). So getting the
sudden present tense also tells me I’m back in the real time of the story.
But reading that “fills” doesn’t take my brain instantly to the specific time that I was last
in present tense, because there are many instances of present tense throughout the book.
It tells me I’m in the real time of the story, but it doesn’t remind me of the exact day.
One paragraph before the limes, Yanagihara pulls us into real time more specifically. “That
had been almost two months ago, and since then, he has spent most of his time at Lantern
House.” So we know we’re getting back to the forward moving portion of the story. We even
have a place. But it’s not a precise reference to the day in question. Willem has spent other
days at Lantern House. It doesn’t remind of what he’s doing on this particular day.
The limes, with their vividness, pull us to a specific day in the story.
The limes are named one more time, when Willem makes a phone call to Jude. “‘I got the
limes,’ he tells him.” One mention might have been enough, but since it’s natural enough for
Willem to say this, I think it’s wise of Yanagihara to make sure the reader doesn’t miss them.
The limes aren’t crucial to the plot. I don’t need to remember them because one falls
out of the bag and leads to something else. Everything that happens in the book could
happen without mention of these limes. But they’re the kind of detail that gives life to
the quotidian. Shopping, planning a party—it’s boring, but can be vivid when we get
tastes and textures and colors. More important, these tastes and textures and colors
can help the reader navigate through time and memory.
This is a very small thing, especially in a 700-page book. But the length and complexity of
the book make small things like this, vivid navigational markers, all the more important.
Allison Wyss is published in numerous journals and is a Loft teaching artist.
| WRITERS’ BLOCK BLOG
The limes do a marvelous job of grounding the reader. It’s important that they’re the
kind of thing that can be mentioned casually. The people in the book are often cooking
and drinking and having parties. Food is frequently named. So it’s not strange for one
person to ask another to pick them up; there’s not a spotlight on them or a “ding-dingding, gentle reader, pay attention to this!”
45
I like the feeling of being adrift in memories when I read a book. But I also need to
know when I’m no longer there, when my feet are on firm ground, and the action is
happening in the present of the story.
?
ASK ESTHER
ADVICE FOR THE EVERYDAY WRITER
Every issue will feature Esther Porter
answering questions from writers. Have
a question for Esther? Send it our way at
[email protected].
47
There are countless ways for the second half of a novel to fall short of
the first. Cheers to you for being a critical reader. Understanding how
stories fail will help you avoid these choices in your own writing. Reading as much as possible can give you an internal sense of what you
don’t want to do, and articulating that internal sense is key to improving your writing practice.
So, why did this novel fail to live up to your expectations in the second
half? The simple answer could be that the novel was unfinished—the
second half may have required more editorial attention, more tightening. It’s also possible that the novel could have used some restructuring. Were there vital pieces of information that could have been
delivered earlier on, within the rising action? Or did the resolution
simply need to be condensed? Is it possible that the book needed to
end closer to the 75% mark?
It’s difficult to know when to end a story. That’s why so many stories
end with death. What better way to convey finality? If you find yourself
continuing the story after what seems like a resolution, consider moving on to a different project for a while. You can return later with fresh
eyes and less attachment to the narrative. Remember that you also
don’t have to use everything you write. Sometimes the writing that
feels important is simply a means to developing plot and character.
Though not for every writer, creating an outline ahead of time can help
you plan the level of required suspense at every stage of the book. Listening to critics of your own work is also useful… sometimes. Recruit
readers you trust who will let you know where your story falls short.
What feels vital to the writer can feel extraneous to the reader. The
challenge is determining whose opinion is more correct. And as the
writer, that’s for you to decide.
When writing a story with a timeline that jumps
around, what are some tactics to keep the reader
grounded in the story?
Setting ourselves free of chronological time in our writing can actually
help us see how it affects our worldview. Storytelling often reflects the
experience of time passing, and Time (with a capital T) is how we account for change—how we keep track of cause and effect.
>>> CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
| ASK ESTHER
I recently read a novel that had suspenseful rising
action in the first half of the book, but it fell flat in
the second half. What are some tips to avoid this
in my own writing?
Grounding the reader doesn’t always require chronology. Clear transitions
are what’s important, and they can be as simple as an extra line of blank
space. Depending on the point of view and narrative distance in your novel,
different parameters will apply. Regardless, your reader should see the
significance of each transition. How your characters are pulled from one
memory to another can reveal the intricacies of their inner lives. When the
present moment moves us to remember, we re-experience the past with a
new color wheel of understanding, and we can return with a stronger ability to transform experience into wisdom.
We can ground the reader by strengthening the theme or pattern that
drives the novel from one jump to the next. When it is something other
than chronological time, the key is to clearly yet gracefully indicate which
pattern the reader should follow. You can also return to a specific time
period—a baseline from which all other jumps through your story originate.
But again, not necessary.
Life doesn’t provide us with perfect storylines, because the concept of a
storyline is human-made. It’s only in the looking back that we see the necessary elements of a story, and they’re often out of chronological order.
The joy of storytelling is in the nuances of perspective (distance, proximity,
angle, time). The joy of living is to experience the wild frontier of the Mind
(with a capital M) and its effort to navigate the world—to interpret the present moment using immediate physical experience and the time-traveling
gymnastics of memory.
“Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it.” —Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Esther Porter earned her English degree at the University of Minnesota
and has published eight children’s books, including Peeking Under the City
from Capstone Press. She spent several years working for Coffee House
Press, and was a founding editor at Revolver, an arts and culture magazine
based in Minneapolis. Esther now offers editorial services through the
Loft’s Manuscript Critique and Coaching Program.
48
| ASK ESTHER
Learn more at loft.org/edit.
Photo: Anna Min Enterprises
MINNESOTA POETRY OUT LOUD
Poetry Out Loud is an exciting national recitation competition for
high school students. Participants build self-confidence and master
public speaking skills while learning about art and literature. The
Minnesota state champion receives an expense-covered trip to
Washington, D.C., to compete for $20,000 to put toward college tuition.
Registration for the 2016–17 school year
opens August 1st, 2016
DOES YOUR MANUSCRIPT
STAND OUT?
Give your manuscript its best shot.
The Loft’s renowned teaching artists can now work with
you one-on-one to deepen your skills, get a manuscript
ready for publication, and finally complete that
long-term project.
GENRES INCLUDE
Fiction
Nonfiction
Children’s & Young Adult
Memoir
EDITORS INCLUDE
Ben Barnhart
Anitra Budd
Patricia Weaver Francisco
Molly Beth Griffin
Erin Hart
Nicole Helget
Kathryn Kysar
Elizabeth Law
Laurie Lindeen
Heather McPherson
Carrie Mesrobian
Jude Nutter
Cristina Pippa
Esther Porter
Kathryn Savage
Kurtis Scaletta
Sarah Stonich
Stanley Trollip
Screen- and Playwriting
Poetry
College & Career
FUNDERS
Loft activities are made possible through the generous
contributions of Loft members and by the voters of Minnesota
through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support
grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts
and cultural heritage fund and a grant from the Wells Fargo
Foundation Minnesota. Major support is also provided by
Amazon.com, Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation,
Jerome Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, National
Endowment for the Arts, Target, and the Surdna Foundation.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Loft Literary Center strives to be accessible
to all, without regard to race, color, creed, religion,
national origin, veteran status, economic status, sex,
gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation,
or disability. As possible, we will remove barriers
to participation in our programs to persons with
disabilities.
To arrange for accessibility accommodation, please
contact the Loft at 612-215-2575 or [email protected] three
weeks in advance. Accessibility services are partly
supported by the Rachel Vaughan Memorial Fund.
For more information about accessibility see
loft.org/access.
THE LOFT LITERARY CENTER
loft.org/edit
Does your manuscript stand out?
Loft teaching artists can help.
MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUE
Suite 200, Open Book
1011 Washington Avenue South
TWIN CITIES, MN
Permit 1533
PAID
Non–Profit Organization
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