Spring 2009 Writing Institute Courses
To register for one of the workshops below, please download and complete the registration form.
The Writing Process
NEW Writing from the Chaos of Our Lives
Instructor: Alexandra Soiseth
Fridays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
February 20–May 8 (No class March 20)
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
Vivian Gornick calls the life you have lived The Situation, but for her, it’s The Story that counts. The Story is what we, as writers, make out of the chaos of our lives. The Story is how we interpret our experiences and make sense of it all. In a supportive and non-competitive environment, we will explore your story. We will help you find a way to tease it out from your day-to-day life—in essence, help you learn to see the world as a writer. We will then help you tell those stories by exploring the craft of writing, through writing exercises, both in class and at home, as well as through a close reading of your work and published memoirs, personal essays, and short fiction.
Alexandra Soiseth (SLC 2000 –) (BA, University of Saskatchewan; BAA, Ryerson University; MFA, Sarah Lawrence College) is the assistant director of the MFA writing program at Sarah Lawrence. She has taught writing to a variety of students, including high school students, seniors, and men and women in prison. She is the former managing editor of and communications director for Global City Review, a New York City-based literary magazine, and her work has appeared on babycenter.com, literarymama.com, and in McGill Street Magazine, The Ryersonian, and on the radio program LifeRattle, among others. Her memoir, Choosing You, was published in May 2008 by Seal Press.
Nonfiction Workshops
Homeward Bound: Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Instructor: Steve LewisTuesdays, 6–8 p.m.
February 17–April 28
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
The home is the wellspring for almost all meaningful narrative. In this engaging creative nonfiction workshop, novice and experienced writers alike will develop family-related narratives that are honest, present, and resonant. Whether the home is a tent, a cave, a trailer, a house, a homeless shelter, or a mansion, we will shine light on the inhabitants and their stories. We will begin by dispensing with the ridiculous Tolstoy quote from Anna Karenina: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” All families, in their joy and their sorrow, have unique stories to tell. Find the voice to tell yours.
Steve Lewis is a mentor at Empire State College and a longtime freelance writer whose publication credits include The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, AARP, and a biblically long list of parenting magazines. His recent books are Zen and the Art of Fatherhood, The ABCs of Real Family Values, The Complete Guide for the Anxious Groom, and Fear and Loathing of Boca Raton: A Hippies’ Guide to the Second Sixties. A collection of poems, A Month on a Barrier Island, is scheduled for publication in December 2008.
Micro Fiction and Nonfiction:
The Whole Enchilada on a Single Page (or Less)
Instructor: Steve Lewis
Tuesdays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
February 17–April 28
11 sessions: Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
The great (and wordy) novelist William Faulkner, whose forte was apparently not mathematics or understatement, advised would-be authors that writing is “99% talent, 99% discipline, and 99% work.” In this unique workshop, novice and experienced writers alike will take Faulkner’s advice and exercise 297% of their writing talent, discipline, and work ethic toward the creation of short narratives. Built on image and suggestion, these short pieces will blossom into literary experiences much larger than themselves. There will be lots of in-class exercises, takehome triggers, and rich, ongoing conversations about the way less can be more.
Steve Lewis is a mentor at Empire State College and a longtime freelance writer whose publication credits include The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, AARP, and a biblically long list of parenting magazines. His recent books are Zen and the Art of Fatherhood, The ABCs of Real Family Values, The Complete Guide for the Anxious Groom, and Fear and Loathing of Boca Raton: A Hippies’ Guide to the Second Sixties. A collection of poems, A Month on a Barrier Island, is scheduled for publication in December 2008.
Travel Writing—Your Life, Your Journey
Instructor: Betty Ming Liu
Mondays, 10 a.m.–noon
February 23–May 4
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
Whether you’re writing about a fun family vacation, a favorite little neighborhood spot, or the emotional landscape of a life experience, your adventures make great stories. Our goal is to shape your travels into compelling, well-organized narratives wrapped around life lessons large and small. The principles that we’ll be exploring are easily adapted to the range of story-telling genres: from essays, short stories, and newspaper travel section articles, to chapters of a memoir, novel—or even a blog. Both experienced and new writers can count on lots of supportive, individual feedback that will power evolving writing styles and personal voice. Let’s finally get those special places and moments in your life down on paper—because these stories have already waited too long to be told.
Betty Ming Liu (BBA, Baruch College; MS, Columbia University School of Journalism) is a former nationally syndicated columnist for The New York Daily News who also worked at the paper as a gossip columnist, business reporter, and lifestyle writer. She has also been a staff reporter at The Newark Star-Ledger and Crain’s New York Business, and worked on-air for Thirteen-PBS. In addition to freelance writing, she is currently teaching at NYU, The New School, Mediabistro, and Baruch College.
The Art of the Memoir
Instructor: Joelle Sander
Fridays, 10 a.m.–noon
February 20–May 8 (No class March 20)
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
Many people have personal experiences they would like to write about. Converting these experiences into art, however, requires honing critical skills: the conveyance of insight into one’s experience so that a piece isn’t merely anecdotal; writing effectively using fresh, clear language; learning how to organize a work; finding an appropriate narrator’s voice; developing characters and dialogue; learning to use particulars rather than generalities. Students will be asked to write every other week, to read their work out loud, and to offer constructive comments about the work of other students. Readings by other writers will also be assigned. New students and those who have not attended this class for a minimum of two years must submit a writing sample to: jsander@sarahlawrence.edu.
Joelle Sander (SLC 1989 –) (BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, New York University) is the associate director of the Center for Continuing Education and taught for many years in the Center’s BA program. Her own books include Before Their Time: Four Generations of Teenage Mothers, which won the Janus Korchak Award for best adult book about children (1991 & 1992) and The Family (co-written with Joan Berg Victor), as well as numerous professional articles and chapters in the field of adolescent fathers, mothers, and adolescent pregnancy. She has written many articles for magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, Parents Magazine, and Parenting.
Fiction Workshops
Introduction to Fiction Writing
Instructors: Patricia Dunn and Jimin Han
Saturdays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
February 21–May 2
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
There are two things most writers need and crave: time and space. In this class, we give ourselves the gift of time. In the nurturing space here at Sarah Lawrence College, we find and begin to write the stories we live every day. Using our histories, our memories, and our senses as launching pads, we will begin to transform the ordinariness of our lives into extraordinary fiction. This class is for those who want to write but don’t yet believe they have anything to say, as well as for those who want to write but need the time and space to do it.
Patricia Dunn (MFA, Sarah Lawrence College) was managing editor of Muslim Wakeup!, America’s most popular Muslim online magazine with over 200,000 monthly readers, from 2003-2008. Her fiction has appeared in Global City Review, salon.com, Women’s eNews, The Christian Science Monitor, The Village Voice, The Nation, and L.A. Weekly, among other publications. Her work is anthologized in Stories of Illness and Healing: Women Write Their Bodies, Kent State University Press. Her essay, “When the Second Plane Hit”, is in MotherVerse, issue number 9.
Jimin Han (BA, Cornell University; MFA, Sarah Lawrence College). Her nonfiction and fiction can be found in The NuyorAsian Anthology, Global City Review, The Asian American Pacific Journal, and EssentialMom.com, among others, and on NPR.
Fiction Writing (Intermediate/Advanced Level)
Instructor: Steven Schnur
Thursdays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
February 19–April 30
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
In writing fiction, we discover essential truths about ourselves and others that the workshop environment enables us to fully realize. By providing a sense of audience as well as constructive and supportive criticism that focuses on richness of language, originality of thought, succinctness, and narrative cohesion, this class enables writers to quickly identify their strengths while providing the tools necessary to address their weaknesses. Through weekly presentations of work in progress, participants hone both their writing skills and their critical faculties as they respond to each other’s stories and essays.
Steven Schnur (BA, Sarah Lawrence College; MA, Graduate Center, City University of New York) has published numerous books for adults and children, including Days of Awe, Sanctuary, Father’s Day, The Koufax Dilemma, The Shadow Children (winner of the Sidney Taylor Award for outstanding juvenile fiction), and The Tie Man’s Miracle: A Chanukah Tale (which aired as a PBS animated special in 2005).
Finding Your Voice/Creating Convincing Dialogue
Instructor: Sarah Goodyear
Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
February 18–April 29
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
Whether you’re writing memoir or fiction, establishing a compelling and convincing voice is vital. In this class, we will use a variety of writing assignments to create convincing dialogue and understand how language gives a distinctive shape to our stories. We will pay close attention to word choice and the use of idiom and slang in dialogue. We’ll also talk about how interviewing, conversation, and even eavesdropping can inform the identities a writer creates.
Sarah Goodyear (BA, University of California at Berkeley) has worked as a journalist for nearly two decades, writing and editing for publications including the Village Voice, Time Out New York, Rolling Stone, and Ms. magazine. Her first novel, View from a Burning Bridge, was published in 2007 by Red Hen Press.
Writing for Children and Young Adults
Instructor: Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Mondays, 10 a.m.–noon
February 23–May 4
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
In this class, we will focus on the key elements of creating stories for children and adolescents. Whether exploring the picture book, journeying into fiction or nonfiction for the older reader, or branching into young adult literature, we will pay particular attention to creating worlds through texts that evoke imagery and inspire our readers’ imaginations and emotions. The class will include discussion of the submission and publication process and is intended for anyone who has ever wanted to write and publish a book for young people.
Alyssa Satin Capucilli (BA, Sarah Lawrence College) is the author of more than 50 books for children, including the best-selling series for emergent readers, Biscuit. She is the recipient of numerous honors including the Washington Irving Award, the Garden State Award, and several American Library Association awards.
Novel Writing Workshop
Instructors: Patricia Dunn and Jimin Han
Thursdays, noon–2 p.m.
February 19–April 30
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
Are you in the middle of a first draft? Second, third, or when-will-this-be over draft? Or are you just starting to think about writing a novel? Wherever you are in the process of writing an extended piece of fiction, this is a course that will challenge and support you. Along with group feedback, you and your work will receive a great deal of one-on-one attention from the instructors.
Patricia Dunn (MFA, Sarah Lawrence College) was managing editor of Muslim Wakeup!, America’s most popular Muslim online magazine with over 200,000 monthly readers, from 2003-2008. Her fiction has appeared in Global City Review, salon.com, Women’s eNews, The Christian Science Monitor, The Village Voice, The Nation, and L.A. Weekly, among other publications. Her work is anthologized in Stories of Illness and Healing: Women Write Their Bodies, Kent State University Press. Her essay, “When the Second Plane Hit”, is in MotherVerse, issue number 9.
Jimin Han (BA, Cornell University; MFA, Sarah Lawrence College). Her nonfiction and fiction can be found in The NuyorAsian Anthology, Global City Review, The Asian American Pacific Journal, and EssentialMom.com, among others, and on NPR.
Micro Fiction and Nonfiction:
The Whole Enchilada on a Single Page (or Less)
Instructor: Steve Lewis
Tuesdays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
February 17–April 28
11 sessions; Tuition $550 | Register Online >>
Steve Lewis is a mentor at Empire State College and a longtime freelance writer whose publication credits include The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, AARP, and a biblically long list of parenting magazines. His recent books are Zen and the Art of Fatherhood, The ABCs of Real Family Values, The Complete Guide for the Anxious Groom, and Fear and Loathing of Boca Raton: A Hippies’ Guide to the Second Sixties. A collection of poems, A Month on a Barrier Island, is scheduled for publication in December 2008.
Screenwriting Workshop
Introduction to Screenwriting
Instructor: Scott Webster
Tuesdays, 6–8 p.m.
February 17–April 28
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
Turn your ideas into movies by learning the basic principles of writing for the screen. Focus will be on character development, story structure, dialogue, theme, and imagery. Class will consist of group critiques in a workshop environment and analysis of great cinematic stories. Students will leave with the first act (approx. 30 pgs.) of a feature-length screenplay or a completed short subject. All genres welcome.
Scott Webster (BFA, University of Colorado; MFA, Columbia University) has won numerous awards for his screenplay, The Buddy Grim Show, including Faculty Honors at the 2008 Columbia University Film Festival and placing in the top 13 out of 3,500 in the 2007 Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition. He was recently invited to participate in ScriptConnect, an initiative that introduces talented young writers to top industry professionals. He also works as a script analyst for Walt Disney Pictures.
Poetry
Poetry Workshop
Instructor: Elaine Sexton
Tuesdays, 6–8 p.m.
February 17–April 28
11 sessions; Tuition: $550 | Register Online >>
In this workshop, we will look at the poems we admire for structure, sound, and sense. These and other elements of craft are central to the way we critique the poems you will write and share with the class each week. Reading and writing assignments offer a springboard to deepen our conversation about poetry, and new ways to approach the next poem you sit down to write. Students are encouraged to exercise and experiment with new material in both traditional and non-traditional forms.
Elaine Sexton (BA, University of New Hampshire; MFA, Sarah Lawrence College) is the author of two collections of poems, Causeway (2008) and Sleuth (2003), both with New Issues Press (Western Michigan University). Her poems, reviews, and interviews have appeared in numerous journals, including American Poetry Review, Art in America, ARTnews, Poetry, New Letters, The Massachusetts Review, the Lambda Book Report, Hunger Mountain, O! The Oprah Magazine, and posted on Poetry Daily.