A 5-Week Multigenre Workshop
Wednesdays: March 5 - April 2, 6-9 PM
Whether you’re drafting a nonfiction magazine story, memoir, essay, or novel, your writing may benefit from a bit of research. But navigating, organizing and weaving that research into your writing can often feel like a craft unto itself.
In this workshop, we will read examples of writing that have effectively incorporated research, while also exploring the ins and outs of a variety of different information-gathering techniques, including:
Conducting interviews
Scanning academic literature
Tracking down primary documents
Field reporting
And more
We’ll discuss how to access the information that we need, how to organize that information in streamlined ways, and how to translate what we’ve learned into beautiful prose. Along the way, we’ll share insights from our own writing and research practices and refine our strategies for deciding which rabbit holes to travel down and which to leave be.
Research can sometimes feel like a daunting part of the writing process, but it can also spark creativity and take our prose in directions we never anticipated. Students in this course will gain a new suite of tools that will add depth to their writing no matter what genre they are working in.
As a finished product, students will have a draft of a 2,000-word piece of writing that incorporates two or more forms of research. Participants are welcome to bring a work-in-progress or start fresh with a new project; there will be opportunities to give and receive feedback throughout the course. Weekly readings will be provided in class.
$275 Members/$475 Nonmembers
Laura Poppick is an environmental writer and journalist with stories that have appeared in Smithsonian, Scientific American, National Geographic, Audubon, and elsewhere. She has a B.S. in geology from Bates College and a graduate degree in Science Communication from UC Santa Cruz. She is currently at work on STRATA, a book to be published by W.W. Norton that melds creative nonfiction, journalistic reportage, and personal narrative to bring our planet’s geologic history to life. She has taught science writing at Bates College, Inside Climate News’ Institute for Environmental Journalism, The Telling Room, and elsewhere. She lives in Portland, Maine.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. 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 programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 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 partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due by April 30 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