January 2015 Residency Workshops and Master Classes
On January 3 and January 4, all students will attend the master classes together. These classes are designed with all students in mind, not just for students who specialize in those genres. The descriptions below are designed to give you an idea of the territory to be covered and to provide assignments for advance work. Please also recall my request that you read the work of the two award winners prior to the residency. Their winning titles are listed by each author below.
For the remaining days, select one workshop per day and email me your choices at . We are foregoing the electronic signup system this time. I don’t anticipate that any of these workshops will overload, so once you have emailed me your workshop choices, go ahead and begin your prep work as indicated below.
As usual, faculty and alumni are welcome to sit in on workshops—but please do me the courtesy of letting me know which workshops, if any, you plan to attend, and remember that, while you are more than welcome to participate in the workshops (I know you add value!), we want to make sure the current students have plenty of opportunity to be seen and heard.
Saturday, January 3
Gail Martin, Winner of the 2014 Housatonic Book Award in Poetry for Begin Empty-Handed
Passionate Revision: A Romance
Where is the first flush of heat? Of wildness? When do we lean in? Where do we draw a line in the sand and employ a cold eye? Revision is an elemental step in creating robust poetry. It’s actually many steps, a dance-- two steps forward, one back. We will look at and play with specific practices in the art of revision. And maybe make some unexpected discoveries along the way. Please bring a piece of writing—a short poem or a part of a longer piece—to which you feel attached but which isn't working yet.
Gail Martin is a Michigan native with roots in both southern and northern Michigan. She works as a psychotherapist in private practice in Kalamazoo, where she lives with her husband and dog, Piper. Her first book, The Hourglass Heart (New Issues Press) appeared in 2003. Her most recent book is the Housatonic Book Award winner, Begin Empty-Handed.
Sunday, January 4
Jennifer duBois, Winner of the 2014 Housatonic Book Award in Fiction for Cartwheel
Empathetic Imagination and the Ethical Possibilities of Fiction
In this class, we’ll examine the process by which authors approach stories and characters that differ from their own experiences and the unique opportunities and challenges they confront when doing so. We’ll consider these issues in relation to a broader investigation of fiction’s ethical possibilities—contemplating what (if any) our ethical obligations as writers may be, and how we might fulfill them. Through lecture, discussion, and exercises, we’ll explore the link between imagination, empathy, and craft in literature—and consider how we might develop this link in our own work.
Jennifer duBois is the author of Cartwheel, which was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lion Award, and A Partial History of Lost Causes, which won the California Book Award for First Fiction, the Northern California Book Award for Fiction, and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction. A Whiting Writers’ Award recipient and National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, duBois is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a former Stanford University Stegner Fellow. She teaches in the MFA program at Texas State University.
Monday, January 5
Don Snyder: Building Story (Fiction, Nonfiction, Screen)
This workshop will focus on PLOT. How do writers conceive of a plot and develop it within their stories? What role does plot play? And what is meant by the statement of a great writer who claimed that the plot begins with the first sentence of every story we write? Students are required to bring to class a one paragraph synopsis of the best plot they have ever created.
Don J. Snyder has raised four children in Maine with his wife, Colleen. He won a fellowship to attend the Iowa Writer's Workshop and a James Michener Fellowship for his first novel. His ten novels and nonfiction books have been published by Alfred A. Knopf, Little Brown, Simon & Schuster and Doubleday. He has taught writing at Colgate University, Colby College, The University of Maine, Columbia College, and Western Connecticut. He wrote the 2003 movie, "Fallen Angel" which starred Gary Sinise and Joely Richardson Redgrave.
Erik Ofgang: Writing Short Magazine and Online Pieces for Money
Successful magazines and online publications employ skilled and descriptive writers who use literary techniques to make their nonfiction subjects more compelling. This workshop will provide writers of all genres with strategies for getting their foot in the door of these worlds on a freelance basis. Participants will learn ways they can make real money while simultaneously honing their writing chops. They will be asked to attend the workshop with an idea for a short magazine story or online piece. They’ll discuss and research how to write a query for this piece, and how to write and research the story itself. Students will leave with a completed query, an understanding of how to market that query to magazines and online publications, and hopefully some insight into how to write the actual piece.
Erik Ofgang works on the staff of Connecticut Magazine and has been a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers for several years. He is at work on a book on microbreweries and craft coffeehouses. He is a graduate of the WCSU MFA program.
Erik Mortenson: UNcreative Writing: Found Poetry for Inspiration and Instigation (Poetry)
Poet/theorist Kenneth Goldsmith and literary critic Marjorie Perloff advocate for it. It has been used by surrealists, by Anne Carson, by Susan Howe, by Austin Kleon, and many others. Somehow, though, we either don’t think of it, or, (worse?) shy away from it as “unoriginal.” But, properly understood, found poetry is a valuable mode of composition. It can jump start a stalled project, and can help explore the very foundations of poetry can be. This workshop—largely creative in nature—will explore the notion of found poetry. We shall begin with a brief dose of theory (yes, it’s real AND theoretically relevant), examine some reading (yes, accomplished poets really DO write and publish this stuff), but mostly we shall engage in some exploring and writing (yes, YOU will “compose” some “original” work). Further, we shall explore some publishers specifically interested in found poetry (YES, you can even publish the work!).
E. K. Mortenson is the author of the chapbooks, The Fifteenth Station (Accents Publishing, 2012) and Dreamer or the Dream (Last Automat Press, 2010)—which happens to be a “found” text, as well as a full-length collection, What Wakes Us (Cervena Barva Press, 2014). His work also appears in many print and online journals as well as anthologies. He was the 2008 recipient of the Leslie Leeds Poetry Prize, the 2012 Accents Publishing Chapbook Award, and is an instructor in the MFA in Creative and Professional Writing program at Western Connecticut State University. He writes and teaches in Pennsylvania where he lives with his wife and two children.
Tuesday, January 6
Jane Cleland: The Art of Distraction: Using Red Herrings to Create Suspense
A red herring is a “false clue” used by writers the way magicians use sleight of hand—the goal is to distract readers from what’s really going on. When done well, red herrings add complexity to plots and intrigue to stories. Red herrings fall into three broad categories: Human Nature (including the halo and devil effects); Details (including the ones readers miss); and Expertise (including trusting those characters with specialized knowledge). You’ll learn how to weave red herrings into your narratives, allowing you to increase suspense as you create engaging and ingenious puzzles.
Jane K. Cleland writes the IMBA bestselling and multiple award-nominated Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine]. The eighth in the series, Lethal Treasure [2013], is a tale of silent movie posters, hidden messages, and love. Jane is the chair of the Wolfe Pack’s Black Orchid Novella Award and hosts the televised author interview program, The Writers Room. She’s on the faculty at Lehman College. www.janecleland.com
Joe Klemczewski: Building Platform
A platform can be more than a buzzword or marketing spin; it can make a career. The public remains glued to the 24-hour news cycle and fascinated by reality television, hungry for fact-based content with a story arc. You, my professionally-trained writer, have the edge. Novel content, well-written by an expert, will rise above the crowd. This workshop will blend the art of creative nonfiction with strategic techniques to enhance business acumen for a robust, authentic platform. We will explore:
· Why facts matter and content is still king
· How to blend storytelling and journalism for impact
· Effective platform building tactics
· Alternate platform styles for unique markets
· Platform expansion without watering down expertise
Participants will receive a set of articles to review prior to the residency. Skim as many of the articles as possible prior to the workshop; come ready to comment on one topic that interests you. Each student will share primary genre interest and discuss strategies for content and distribution. Bonus points will be awarded to writers who bring an up-to-date CV and portfolio. Partial credit will be given to anyone who at least thinks about creating a CV and portfolio.
Joe Klemczewski is a graduate of the WSCU MFA program and owner of The Diet Doc, LLC (thedietdoc.com). He has written for fitness magazines for almost two decades, publishes the quarterly magazine ALPHA Mag: The Evolution of Fitness (alphamagonline.com), has maintained a newspaper column for ten years, and has written four nutrition books, one published by Harvest House. He is the president of The Shadow Foundation (inspire-themovement.org) and maintains an active list of clients through his creative consulting division: WordSpank (wordspank.com). Joe has lectured at Fortune 500 companies, universities, school systems, and medical organizations throughout the country. Klemczewski’s greatest passions are his family—including four kids, social- and neurosciences, exotic tequila, and cheesecake, frequently all at the same time.
Matt Debenham: Blogging the Review
We're in the midst of a criticism explosion. The reviewing landscape has shifted heavily in recent years from traditional (print) newspapers and magazines to blogs. Regular reviews of television, movies, books, and music fills sites like A.V. Club, Vulture, Vox -- while also becoming a key facet of larger news sites like Gawker, Slate, Buzzfeed, and the Huffington Post. All of which means an exciting field filled with opportunities for writers both established and non-. But how does modern reviewing differ from traditional criticism? What are editors and readers looking for? How can a student prepare for working in this medium? Is there a style or format one can learn? And what does it pay? We'll answer these questions and more while creating and workshopping our own blog-based criticism. We'll also learn the keys to working quickly without sacrificing quality.
Materials: your WestConn login info, as we'll be using classroom computers; an outline-style breakdown of a cultural property -- book, movie, TV show, album, dance program, play -- you've experienced recently and know well enough to review. You will work from this breakdown to write your blog posts in workshop. (We'll also learn the most efficient ways to create new breakdowns.)
Matt Debenham is the author of The Book of Right and Wrong, winner of the 2010 Ohio State University Press Prize for Fiction. He writes weekly television reviews for Previously.TV, a site created by the founders of Television Without Pity. His fiction has appeared in The Pinch, Painted Bride Quarterly, The Battered Suitcase, and elsewhere. He's contributed nonfiction work to The Rumpus, No Depression, and We Wanted To Be Writers, as well as the anthology Best of Books By The Bed 2.
Wednesday, January 7
Daniel Asa Rose: Travel Writing
What is good travel writing? In the simplest terms, it’s observing freshly. Not passively watching your environs roll by but perceiving them sharply, interpreting them originally, and reporting them with zest. As a former travel columnist for Esquire Magazine and travel editor of several glossy international magazines (now, alas, defunct), I will challenge you to do this, as well as to punch up your reportage with a little attitude, when possible. We’ll examine the seemingly humdrum for signs of excitement; we’ll exercise our capacity to surprise ourselves as a way of surprising others. Practical advice on publishing, too. Fun is foremost. Remember -- if we writers aren’t having fun, how can we expect our readers to do so?
Reading requirements: some short and sweet pieces from Esquire, Conde Nast Traveler, The NYTimes travel section, to be provided.
Daniel Asa Rose is a novelist, memoirist, columnist, essayist, travel writer, critic, editor, and former Writer in Residence in the WCSU MFA program. He is author most recently of the bestselling Larry’s Kidney and has written for Esquire, Conde Nast, and many other magazines.
Onnesha Roychoudhuri: Getting the Support You Need: Resources for Writers