Faculty:  Ann Hood

“The page is still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible,” Nabokov said of writing a novel. That’s our goal in this workshop—to bring that miracle of words that tell a story to the page. We will discuss the architecture of novels, the best ways to begin, the muddle of the middle, rising tension, character development, situation versus story, making characters breathe on the page, and where to end. And more. Through examples from published novels and close reads of your own work, we will investigate, explore, and celebrate writing your novel.

Submission guidelines:
 

In a single file, submit the opening 25 pages of a novel-in-progress plus a 1-page synopsis (as p. 26).  Synopsis should include the following: one brief paragraph summarizing the novel and status of the project (i.e., unfinished first draft, completed first draft, completed draft which has undergone multiple revisions, etc.). If you are submitting a portion which appears later in the work (for example, pages 25-50), provide in the synopsis a summary of the pages prior to your submission (e.g. pages 1-24).
 

PLEASE NOTE: we are reading to assess the strength and readiness of the manuscript for workshop. What you submit here will be what you workshop during the conference.
 

Required format for writing samples:

1. Accepting Word documents only (.doc or .docx).
2. Page numbers must be consecutive throughout the manuscript.
3. Font must be 12-pt Times New Roman or Arial.
4. Margins must be 1 inch.
5. All manuscripts must be double-spaced including the 1-page synopsis. All manuscripts must contain a header or footer with page numbers and author’s name.
6. No extra spacing between paragraphs except that which indicates transitions.
7. If you submit more than 26 pages (25 of manuscript + 1-page synopsis), only the first 25 pp will be read and considered.
8. Do not include title pages or dedications.
9. Please submit manuscript + synopsis in a single file (with synopsis as final page).