Quebec Writers' Federation Workshops

Spring Session 2009

Develop your writing with the mentorship of an acclaimed professional writer and feedback from your peers.

Workshops take place at the QWF office, Suite 3, Atwater Library unless otherwise indicated.

RE-VISION: SHAPING SHORT STORIES

Eight Mondays, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (March 2–April 20)

1200 Atwater Avenue, Suite 3
Workshop leader: Ami Sands Brodoff

Revision literally means: to see again. Most short story writers—even the masters—do numerous drafts in order to create finished work. This process is one of discovery: searching, seeing, and sculpting rough material into its final—most compelling—form.

Michelangelo said of one of his extraordinary sculptures "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." This seeing and shaping process is applicable to the craft of writing and re-writing short stories: finding what glows and building on those strengths, seeing extraneous bits, and carving away distracting elements, until the shape of the story emerges.

This workshop will focus on students' short stories in varying stages of development, helping to guide writers from drafts to finished work. The basis of the class will be peer critique and support, guided by the instructor's insights, knowledge, and experience. The workshop leader will provide detailed verbal and written critiques of each student's works-in-process. She will strive to pinpoint each writer's strengths and identify those areas which need development. The atmosphere will be warm and supportive.

As a group, we will look at short story masterpieces and favourites, chosen both by the instructor and participating writers. We will discuss and analyze how and why these stories work, as well as what we can learn—and apply—to our own writing.

The leader's writing catalysts and narrative callisthenics will help jump-start fresh material and serve as a bridge to spark the transition from the quotidian into the world of imagination.

Writing is an act of faith. Good work can only be accomplished by venturing into unknown territory, by taking risks. Stories are how we make sense of our lives, how we attempt to create order out of chaos. This workshop will help bridge the gap between the glimmering conception of a story and the actualization of that story, the distance between the perfect idea and the dishevelled jumble of words, characters, and notions on a page that compose most early drafts.

Writers interested in this workshop should have a few short stories on the go and the desire to persevere, or as Frank Conroy bluntly put it, carve out some "ass-in-chair time."

Writing is difficult, scary, and exciting, a process of discovery. Let the room fill with fresh voices.

Ami Sands Brodoff is an award-winning novelist and short story author. Her latest book is the novel, The White Space Between, which will be published in the U.S. this spring. She is the author of the volume of stories, Bloodknots, short-listed for the Re-Lit Award and the novel, Can You See Me?, an excerpt of which was nominated for The Pushcart Prize. Ami has won fellowships to Yaddo, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and many other colonies. She is currently at work on a new novel. You can learn more by visiting her website: amisandsbrodoff.com and her blog: chez-ami.blogspot.com

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