We will work on the skill of showing, not telling-learning to write sharp, gripping vignettes that reveal key characteristics and peccadilloes about your subject. In addition, we will learn how to gather relevant data and shape it in interesting ways. Finally, we will grapple with the paradox that resides at the core of every human being and look at how that paradox may be controlling the life of your subject. Come ready to wrestle with and write about the most interesting person in your life. Pianists practice scales.
Artists study for years, experimenting with color, perspective, design.
Many writers just write and write and write, thinking there is something magical about the act itself that produces a good writer. The skills have to do with sophisticated sentence forms-sentences with shape and rhythm that actually strengthen the power of the thought. These include the balanced sentence, the series, the cumulative, and the suspended. By sharing what you write and listening to the writing of others, you will develop both that particular skill and an ear to hear it. By the end of the weekend, you will have a new tool in your writing toolbox, ready to be used when needed in your poetry and prose.