Workshop: The Magic of Sudden, Micro and Flash: Very Short Stories led by Pam Painter

ALL DAY SUNDAY, OCT. 23 
Workshop: The Magic of Sudden, Micro and Flash: Very Short Stories led by Pam Painter

Sunday, Oct. 23 @ 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | 
In-Person at Pitkin County Library (120 N Mill St, Aspen)

Pam will be teaching the workshop in-person. Space is limited.

AWN members receive a discount ($40 for AWN members; $90 for non-members).

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: 

This workshop will explore the elements of stories under 750 words.  To begin, we’ll discuss the concept of the unstable situation.  Plot and conflict sit like boulders on these tiny stories although the tension in an unstable situation is the only drama necessary.  And because first sentences are windows into worlds, we’ll write a lot of first sentences in a short amount of time.  Next, we’ll experience the mystery and magic of prompts and how they arrive out of nowhere and immediately will conjure up six or seven new stories.  Then we’ll discover how the words “what if” can lead to startling ways to continue and even complete a story.  Finally, we’ll ride some of these new story beginnings to satisfying ends. The class will be fast-paced and exciting and most of all productive.  I’ll send you home with a list of my favorite Flashanthologies and collections, places to submit your work, and inspiring quotes by writers to serve as future signposts.  We have a whole day to write.   A luxury.  Let’s do it.   

All attendees must upload their proof of vaccination in advance on the ReturnSafe app

$95

Writing Workshop: Let the Writing Make the Rules – with Kate Milliken

Saturday, September 30
In-Person at Pitkin County Library
120 N Mill St, Aspen, CO

Registration for this workshop is now closed, all available spots have been filled. Please reach out to Mallory.Kaufman@aspeninstitute.org to add your name to the waitlist. 

Cost for AWN members: $20; cost for non-members $50. 

WORKSHOP DETAILS
When we talk about (and teach) creative writing we often speak in terms of the rules of craft. While it is important to have a knowledge of what has worked time and again to create compelling stories, in order to write a truly singular story you will need to move beyond convention. Often students of creative writing are so aware of how a story is supposed to be told that they fail to hear the wisdom that is already present in their own writing; its subtle whispers about how it wants to be told. In this one day intensive, through close readings of unconventional narratives, generative writing prompts, and an in-depth discussion of our own projects, we will deepen our understanding of the voice, the shape, and the themes that our work seeks to articulate. Whether you come to our meeting with just an idea of the story you want to tell or you have a full rough draft in your desk, our time together will embolden you to take the next step—from getting the first pages written to embarking on a needed revision—with a deeper connection to the material and a greater authority, moving you beyond crafting a story to making it your very own.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate Milliken is the Iowa Award winning author of the short story collection "If I'd Known You Were Coming" and the novel, "Kept Animals," which was long listed for the 2020 First Novel Prize and hailed by the New York Times Book Review as a novel of “deft insights and gorgeous, sensual description.” Kate has written television and commercial advertising and taught on behalf of UCLA, the University of Michigan, and The Center for Fiction. Her work has appeared in O, the Oprah Magazine, the Santa Monica Review, Zyzzyva, and Fiction, among others and her work has been supported by Tin House, the Vermont Studio Center, Sewanee Writers Workshop, and the Ragdale Foundation. Kate is currently a freelance editor and writing coach and she lives with her family in the Midwest. 

$50

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