This workshop is FULL. To be added to the waitlist, email programs@mainewriters.org.
A 5-Week Workshop on Pushing Through the Middle and End of Your Novel
Tuesdays, November 16 to December 14
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
You’ve written 50, 100, or more pages of your novel, but the easy part is over and you’re lost in the murky middle. What now? Many novel and craft courses focus on the fundamentals and beginnings, but what skills do we need to sustain, develop, and finish our stories with satisfying endings?
This course is designed to motivate, inspire, and provide writers with the tools to enter the wilds of the midpoint of their novels, and push through to the finish. You’ll learn how to plan and outline your novel, what the middle and ending of a plot require, how to develop and sustain your narrative voice and strategy, and how to craft your ending. We will read writers including Toni Morrison, Alexander Chee, Zadie Smith, Raymond Chandler, Graham Greene, and Miriam Toews, among others; in our weekly meetings, we’ll workshop novel excerpts and have writing time to respond to prompts. We’ll have regular discussions about writing and productivity, tools of the trade, maintaining motivation in less-than-easy times, and more. We’ll make the process of writing and finishing novels transparent, inspiring, and fun.
This course is for intermediate to advanced writers who have already completed a significant portion of their novel drafts (50+ pages suggested) and are looking to make progress on the middles of their novels.
This workshop is limited to 10 participants.
CLASS TAKEAWAYS
- In-depth peer and instructor feedback on a novel chapter
- An enthusiastic community of writers who will hold you accountable to your writing goals
- An outline for your novel, with ideas for how to shape the story and where to head from here
- Strategies for staying productive and continuing to work on your novel in the future
+ SUBMIT After registering, participants are asked to submit a short story or novel excerpt of 5000-words or less, by no later than 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 9. Please take this deadline and word limit seriously as late submissions likely cannot be accepted, and excess words will be cut. Please note that these manuscripts will be distributed in advance via email to the other workshop participants. Please email the manuscript to programs@mainewriters.org with the subject line: “Hurley WORKSHOP MSS.” *Please use standard formatting (1” margins, double-spaced, 12 pt font), and Word docs (ideally) or PDFs only.
+ PLEASE NOTE This workshop will occur online via Zoom. Students do not need to create an account to participate, but should test out Zoom before their class if they are first-time users. On Monday, November 15, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, MWPA staff will offer a tech help session on Zoom. Students are encouraged to attend the tech help session, which usually takes only 5-10 minutes, if they have any tech concerns, use Zoom infrequently, or simply would like to test their connection, and those who do not are responsible for ensuring that they are able to use Zoom on their own. The week of the workshop, students will be emailed a link that they may click to enter the test session and the class.
+ REQUIRED EQUIPMENT A reliable, fast internet connection (broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE), speakers & a microphone (built-in or USB plug-in), and a webcam (built-in or USB plug-in).
If you would like to quickly and easily test your internet connection and your computer’s compatibility with Zoom, click HERE. Full details on supported Operating Systems, internet browsers, and more can be found HERE. To download and familiarize yourself with Zoom, click HERE.
PAYMENTS MWPA members may pay for this workshop in one payment, or may pay in two installments of $122.50, due at registration and December 6. *PLEASE NOTE If you have selected to pay for this multi-week workshop on the installment option, once registration for the workshop has closed, you are responsible for paying all of the remaining installments. If you should, for any reason, leave the workshop after registration has closed, you are still responsible for paying all of the remaining installments.
CEU The MWPA is proud to offer Continuing Education Units (CEU) for this workshop. The CEU is a nationally recognized method of quantifying the time spent in the classroom during non-credit learning. Ten hours of instruction equal one (1) CEU. (*Please note that by definition, CEUs are non-credit continuing education and therefore not transferrable as academic credit.)
Blair Hurley is the author of The Devoted, published by W.W. Norton, which was longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Her work is published or forthcoming in The Georgia Review, Ninth Letter, Guernica, Paris Review Daily, West Branch, Mid-American Review, and elsewhere. She received a 2018 Pushcart Prize and scholarships from Bread Loaf and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. VISIT www.blairhurley.com
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advance registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online (see below). We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact Hannah Perry at hannah@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one full scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due on November 1 at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION