This workshop begins with the belief that the study of genre fiction strengthens ALL writing. Consider the plotting, clues, and structure of a mystery. The world building of fantasy and sci-fi. The historical specificity and symbolism of iconic objects in Westerns. And the character dynamics, tension, and sex scenes found in a Romance. By analyzing and practicing the unique masteries of genre fiction, writers of all styles and forms can advance their craft in much the same way elite athletes train in areas outside their focus to improve their performance, endurance, and strength. Cross-training is also a productive way to avoid creative burnout. While it feels like a break, you’re actually fine tuning specific craft skills. In this session, presenters will share strategies to engage in your own playful, genre cross-training, and kickstart your adventure with some generative exercises.

TIME: 9:30 to 10:30

CROSS-GENRE

What happens to an imaginary friend once their childhood best friend outgrows them? Do you remember the fun and risks of dodgeball, freeze tag, or the drama of playing house? A child has the ability to imagine anything and act upon these whimsical illusions so what happens when a child is the witness of something only grown folks talk about? In this generative workshop, participants will study various examples of flash told from the point-of-view of the child narrator. Attendees will also receive prompts based on the examples provided and given time to write.

FICTION

10:45 to 11:45

Learn to tell a moving, powerful story in less than 1,000 words, with tips on how to create and sustain narrative tension, how to make meaning with the reader, and how craft elements of flash storytelling can also be applied to longer creative projects such as memoir and novels. Hosted by founding editor of In A Flash Kate Lewis, whose flash fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Literary Mama, Short Reads, River Teeth’s Beautiful Things,The New York Times, and Barely South Review, this session will also discuss the growing market for flash and why short short pieces can make a big impact. 

Time: 4:00 to 5:00

FICTION

When working on a project that contains a large cast of characters, whether in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, writers benefit from practices and mechanisms that help them both generate and organize said characters in a way that supports and catalyzes, rather than constrains, the creative process. In this generative workshop, we’ll explore several mechanisms for creating and developing memorable characters, from D&D character sheets to case studies from contemporary novels and poetry collections. Then we’ll use provided shells to kickstart the process of character-building and identify productive tensions. We’ll conclude with time for experiential sharing, Q&A, and trouble-shooting. Participants may have a project in mind/project in progress to work on during the workshop, but that is not required. Participants will receive paper and digital copies of the provided generative and organizational shells that they can modify for their own use.

TIME: 10:45 to 11:45

CROSS-GENRE.

Writing about trauma can be both powerful and deeply challenging. This workshop is intended for prose writers who write about traumatic experiences and who want to treat trauma sensitively in their writing. Together, we will cover social science perspectives on trauma’s impacts, how to take care of yourself when writing about trauma, and our personal experiences writing about trauma.

Bios:

Dr. Jane Palmer, Associate Professor in Justice, Law and Criminology and a part-time MFA in creative writing student at American University. She is former social worker and previously worked with adult and child survivors of violence. She was also the executive director of a program for men who had perpetrated violence. As a professor, she writes extensively about vicarious trauma, community-based responses to harm, and help-seeking for survivors of interpersonal violence. Her poetry and creative non-fiction has been published in various literary magazines and anthologies.

Rhonda Zimlich is an author and educator, teaching at American University. Her award-winning novel, Raising Panic, tells the story of two sisters navigating life in an alcoholic home while grappling with survival and family secrets. Her writing focuses on themes of grief, family dysfunction, and intergenerational trauma. She often combines poignant storytelling with explorations of societal and personal challenges. Her work is published in various literary journals and anthologies, such as Brevity, Chestnut Review, and American Story Review. She is the recipient of the 2020 Dogwood Literary Award in Nonfiction, the 2021 Fiction Award from Please See Me, and the 2024 Nonfiction award from Barely South Review. 

For many of us, literature is a powerful way to engage with the world, to grapple with the larger social, political, and human issues at work in our lives. But what happens when our world is in turmoil and some of our most important values are called into question? What is our responsibility as writers to support our community and take on political concerns in and out of our writing? What communal and social roles can and should writers play in times of turmoil? And how do we keep from feeling silenced or overwhelmed by events? This panel of writers and organizers will discuss how we can engage social and political concerns in our writing, as well as the role of the literary arts in the larger community.

TIME: 10:45 to 11:45
CROSS GENRE

Nobel Laureate Czeslaw Milosz once said that a poet’s true vocation was to contemplate Being, but that often they are “cornered by history.” The tension between the historical and the ultimate can be tracked in some of the most spiritual poets of the last fifty years, including Mary Oliver, Thich Nhat Hanh, William Stafford, and Yusef Komunyakaa. It may be argued that it is only in the periods when the historical bears down on the contemplative quality of art that highly important texts are written. In this talk/workshop we will discuss the roles of urgency, patience, and repose in mapping the landscapes of so-called spiritual texts. Participants will write and some will share a response to a prompt. 

David Keplinger directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University. He is the author of eight collections of poetry, most recently Ice (Milkweed, 2023) and a recipient of The UNT Rilke Prize, The Emily Dickinson Award from the Poetry Society of America, The Colorado Book Award, The TS Eliot Award, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and other honors. A certifued teacher of Mindfulness, he founded The Mindfulness Initiative at AU in 2022 and runs Friday meditations on Zoom each semester using poetry as a way to explore contemplative practices.

TIME: 9:30 to 10:30

This is a workshop about the craft of revision, primarily. We will consider structure in effective essays as a controlled pattern of attack (action or momentum) and release (reflection or diversion). How can a writer improve upon an essay draft through choices in compression (cutting or combining) or decompression (expanding or pattern-breaking)? When should the attack or release be faster or slower, quieter or louder? What’s the right ratio and sequence for your piece? It all depends on how you want your reader’s consciousness to experience the consciousness of your narrator-self. We will go over this particular method of revision, ask these questions, and study a few brief essays with distinct choices in patterning as examples of possible resulting effects.

NONFICTION

Speculation: the contemplation or consideration of a subject. To think about something in a new way, not necessarily based on observable facts.

Nonfiction: narrative prose based on facts and reality.

Memory, as we all know, is subjective. And it’s worn into us, events repeating in our minds until we’re absolutely sure of our truth. But what happens if we stretch beyond that understanding? If we explore the “what if,” symbolic storytelling, or even ghost stories?

What might we write if we’re brave enough to reexamine our personal history?

In this fast-paced introduction to speculative nonfiction, we’ll use exercises to brainstorm and begin two new flash nonfiction drafts. Come ready to put bold, honest words on the page…and leave with a new understanding of your own writing process!

NONFICTION.

We know, we know, we're all supposed to be part-time writers who aspire to quit our jobby jobs and live our best lives as Full Time Writers... but what if you LIKE your jobby job? Moderated by Jen Dary (a person who very much likes running her own non-writing-related-business), this panel will share a new perspective on modern life of a writer. Themes may include non-traditional career paths, working parents, entrepreneurship, the reality of health benefits and work/life balance. We will talk about how being a full-time writer is only one option - and how the world needs writers with a variety of depths, experiences and 40 hour work weeks. Specifically, audience members will leave with details on how the panelists fit writing into their busy lives and wide permission to enjoy all types of work!

WRITING LIFE

What do editors love? What do they hate? What really goes on behind the scenes? Should you be worried about your cover letter (spoiler: not really)? Our editors will answer all of these questions and more.

Editors: Austin Ross (HarperCollins), Vonetta Young (the Offing), more to be named later.

Time: 4:00 to 5:00