Under the direction of novelist and playwright John Biguenet (and with workshop assistance from novelist Lauren Grodstein), this class will offer students an opportunity to write short fiction and poetry, as well as dramatic scripts for the stage and screen. Examining the student's own writing alongside published works, the workshop will present instruction in the essential elements of literary forms while providing each participant a community of readers to respond to his or her work. The fundamentals of publishing will also be addressed along with other aspects of succeeding as a professional writer.
Travel writer Rolf Potts will lend a professional touch to this workshop, which delves into the essence of nonfiction storytelling. Since the Paris setting is ripe for place-based narrative, travel writing will be a central aspect of this workshop — but students will also be encouraged to explore the art of memoir, as well as the ins and outs of literary journalism. Though this class primarily aims to sharpen and evolve writers' instincts for constructing narratives, it will also touch on the practical matters of working with agents and editors, and submitting stories for publication. Potts will give one-on-one guidance for each student's work, and final portfolios will include one polished nonfiction story to be submitted for publication.
This class, taught by novelist Lauren Grodstein, will focus on the building-blocks of narrative fiction and nonfiction (character, dialogue, plot, setting), as well as some of the trickier aspects of story-craft (how to write from a child’s point of view, how to create suspense, etc). The first half of each class will be dedicated to examining a critical component of creative writing, using published work as examples; the second half of each class will focus on free-writing and discussion.
Guided by Rolf Potts and Lauren Grodstein, students will keep a notebook throughout the course, working in a variety of modes of journal writing. This notebook will become a source for more finished pieces — poems, memoir, etc. — in the other courses. In-class free-writing assignments will dovetail with independent student excursions in and around Paris.
The drama of the spoken word is the focal point of this one-time seminar, taught collectively by John Biguenet, Rolf Potts, and Lauren Grodstein. Regardless of the form they wish to explore, writers will learn how to enhance the dramatic potential of their work through readings in the workshop. Writers will grasp how their presentation appears and sounds to others; and why it is essential for publication that a work possess its own voice once removed from the actual writer.
This end-of-month seminar, taught collectively by John Biguenet, Rolf Potts, and Lauren Grodstein, will give students information, insight and strategies for getting their portfolio work published. Topics covered include literary agents, book publishing and periodical markets — as well as online publishing and new-media venues.
To start the application process, send an email to: info@pariswritingworkshop.com