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WOW! Women On Writing
Classes & Workshops
Spotlight: Memory Power! Crafting Fierce Flash Nonfiction
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Writers!
You're probably familiar with flash fiction, the very short story told in just a few hundred words. But how about flash nonfiction, or what is sometimes referred to as the micro-essay? It's an exciting genre where you tell a compelling true story in the briefest way.
Award winning author and teacher Melanie Faith has created a brand new class to help you learn the art of flash nonfiction. Start off the New Year learning something fun and new that will also enhance your overall writing skills. With Melanie's guidance and encouragement, you'll be crafting your own fierce flash nonfiction in no time.
Memory Power! Crafting Fierce Flash Nonfiction starts Friday, January 11, 2013. In this class you'll explore various facets of this miniature yet dynamic nonfiction genre. Each week, students will craft a flash nonfiction piece of 250-750 words (topic of each student's own choosing) for constructive and supportive instructor feedback. A variety of writing prompts and tips, both in the text and at the class Google group, will motivate your nonfiction writing. Enrollment is limited to ten students. (We are half full, so sign up soon!)
In the article below, Melanie Faith explains what flash nonfiction offers the writer, and shares some tips to help you craft your own super-short nonfiction.
We also have several other courses starting soon, some within a matter of days! Check out: How to Write Children's Picture Books and Get Published (Jan 5), How to Write a Hobby-Based How to Book (Jan 5), Writing Your Novel from the Ground Up: The Early Draft (Jan 7), Literary Devices Writing Workshop (Jan 7), Creating and Building Your Author Online Presence (Jan 7), Write from Your Soul: Memoir Workshop (Jan 7), No Matter How Busy You Are, You Can Find Time to Write! (Jan 7). Sign up now and start the New Year writing strong!
Happy New Year!
Marcia & Angela
Marcia & Angela
Classroom Managers
WOW! Classes & Workshops
classroom@wow-womenonwriting.com |
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Why Write Flash Nonfiction? By Melanie Faith
Good things come in small packages. In recent years, writers, editors, and readers alike have come to appreciate flash prose. While flash fiction has gained much praise, its first cousin flash nonfiction has also interested many writers. Why write this genre?
Flashes are Ambitious Try boiling life down to under 1,000 words, and frequently far less, in the neighborhood of 250-500 words. Flash nonfiction encourages compression without skimping on the essence of the event or scene. Impossible? Never. Challenging and fulfilling? Always. What Robin Hemley calls "the well-chosen detail" becomes essential to this vibrant, compressed genre. Philip Graham concurs, "Intensity is even more essential in flash nonfiction, where brevity must be balanced by the gripping necessity to speak." Less is more and over-explication must go. Use fewer adverbs and adjectives and more succinct imagery. Flashes are Transformative
Writing one of life's moments invariably leads to deeper reflection and internal change. As Sue William Silverman notes, "We write creative nonfiction to discover the story behind the story--what we didn't understand or know at the time of the event." In the midst of penning the past into a structured narrative, aspects of ourselves and our choices are illuminated: "Within each brief narrative an image or object or symbol held the key to the gravity of the story," writes flash nonfictionist Rigoberto Gonzalez. As you draft, highlight any repeated images for further inspection. Ask yourself: who changed in this instance, and how? Compare and contrast these before-and-after moments of metamorphosis. Zero in on the catalyst for this change.
Flashes Encourage Attention and Vulnerability
Life zooms by, and frequently even writers forget to reflect on those events which got us to this very place, this very day. Writing flash nonfiction can shed light on areas of our lives which we brush aside or ignore. "Be aware of the tensions that exist between different aspects of yourself," writes Lee Martin. Flash nonfictions also shine light on the I. The author becomes a character, navigating the reader through the piece. Authors often find it refreshing and revitalizing to step front and center to explore personal experiences that they rarely speak about otherwise. As you write, pay attention to places where your writing goes vague--a sure sign of emotional evasion on the page. Aim for direct, uncluttered phrases.
Flash Nonfictions are Question-Seeking Play
It's fine and in fact good to ask questions in your narrative, as readers will identify with a writer's honesty and search for meaning. Writers don't have to have succinct, pat answers--in fact, Judith Kitchen encourages writers, "Your brain will find connection. Or if not your brain, then your heart. There may be an emotional connection that defies logic." Jot down a list of five questions you have pertaining to the topic or theme you've chosen to focus on writing. Integrate at least one of the questions directly into your flash--enjoy the deeper exploration this question promotes. Break out letters, photos, and/or journal entries as you develop your piece.
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Memory Power! Crafting Fierce Flash Nonfiction
Instructor: Melanie Faith
Workshop Length: 5 Weeks
Price: $175
Start Date: January 11, 2013
Limit 10 Students
Course Description: "The brief essay form is discrete, sharply focused, and must be held up, studied like a small tableau, to reveal the secrets of human nature contained therein," notes Dinty W. Moore. In this five-week course, we will explore various facets of this miniature yet dynamic nonfiction genre. Via flash nonfiction packets provided by the instructor as well as exercises from the instructional nonfiction text,The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction: Advice and Essential Exercises from Respected Writers, Editors, and Teachers, students will find inspiration for their weekly writing assignments. Each week, students will craft a flash nonfiction piece of 250-750 words (topic of each student's own choosing) for constructive and supportive instructor feedback. A variety of writing prompts and tips, both in the text and at the class Google group, will motivate students' nonfiction writing. Topics covered will include: Crafting Voice; Writing into the Flash: On Finding Short Nonfiction's Decisive Moment; Writing in Place; Friendship, Intuition, and Trust: On the Importance of Detail; Weaving Past, Present, and Future in Flash Nonfiction; Communal and Personal Voices; "Thingy-ness" in Flash Nonfiction; On Beginnings and Endings; and Writing the Brief Contrary Essay. Join us for this inspiring journey developing our own fierce flash nonfiction!
Visit the Classroom Page for a complete listing of what you'll be learning week by week and instructor testimonials. 
About the Instructor: Melanie Faith holds an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, NC. Her poetry chapbook, To Waken is to Begin, was published by Aldrich Press in September 2012. Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction most recently were published in Linden Avenue (June 2012), Vermillion Literary Project (U. of South Dakota, Spring 2012), The New Writer (April 2012), Foliate Oak (Spring 2012), Mason's Road (Winter 2012 issue) and Origami Poems Project. Her photos were published in Foliate Oak (May 2011), Epiphany Magazine (October 2011), Up The Staircase (Fall 2011), and Ray's Road Review (December 2011). She was a semi-finalist for the 2011 James Applewhite Poetry Prize, and an essay about editing poetry appeared in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Writers' Journal. In 2011, her poetry and essays was featured in Referential Magazine (July and June 2011), Tapestry (Delta State U., Spring 2011), and Front Range Review (U. of Montana, Spring 2011). She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her work won the 2009 Anne E. Sucher Poetry Prize for the Iguana Review. She has been a small town journalist, an ESL classroom teacher for international students, and (currently) a literature and writing tutor at a private college prep high school, and a freelance editor. She has enjoyed teaching writing classes for WOW for three years. In addition to writing two novels seeking representation, her instructional articles about creative writing techniques have appeared in The Writer (Nov. '09) and Writers' Journal, among others.
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Upcoming Classes & Workshops
All the classes operate online--whether through email, website, chat room, or group listserv, depending on the instructor's preferences--so you do not need to be present at any particular time (unless a phone chat is scheduled and arranged with your instructor). You can work at your own pace in the comfort of your own home. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or email us at: classroom@wow-womenonwriting.com Enjoy!
Starts Every Friday (Self-Study Course) by Deana Riddle:
Independent Publishing: How to Start Your Own Self-Publishing Business | $99 or $150 with 1 Hour Phone Consultation
Starts the First Tuesday of Every Month: (Next class: January 1)
Introduction to the Craft of Screenwriting | 6 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Christina Hamlett
Introduction to Playwriting | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Christina Hamlett
How to Write a TV Pilot | 4 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Christina Hamlett
Starts the Third Friday of Every Month: (Next class: January 18)
Get Paid to Write! Become a Freelance Writer | 8 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 15 Students | Instructor: Nicky LaMarco
Published in 90 Days | 12 Weeks | $299 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Deana Riddle
January 5, 2013
How to Write Children's Picture Books and Get Published | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Lynne Garner
5 Picture Books in 5 Weeks (Advanced Course) | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Lynne Garner
How to Write a Hobby Based How to Book | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Lynne Garner
January 7, 2013
Writing Your Novel From the Ground Up: The Early Draft NEW! | 8 Weeks | $195 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Diane O'Connell and Renate Reimann, PhD
Creating and Building Your Author Online Presence: Website Creation to Beyond Book Sales | 6 Weeks | $125 SALE! (New Year's Special! Normally $150) | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Karen Cioffi
No Matter How Busy You Are, You Can Still Find Time to Write! | 4 Weeks | $50 SALE! (New Year's Special of $75 off! Normally $125) | Limit: 25 Students | Instructor: Kelly L. Stone
Literary Devices Workshop | 8 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Gila Green
Literary Devices Workshop II | 8 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Gila Green
Write from Your Soul: Memoir Workshop | 6 Weeks | $249 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Annette Fix
January 8, 2013
FREE TELESEMINAR: Show VS Tell and Overwriting in Children's Fiction NEW! | 4:00 pm PST, 5:00 pm MT, 6:00 pm CST, 7:00 pm EST | FREE | Instructor: Margo L. Dill
January 11, 2013
Memory Power! Crafting Fierce Flash Nonfiction NEW! | 5 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Melanie Faith
January 14, 2013
How to Get the Right Literary Agent for Your Manuscript | 4 Weeks | $249 SALE! (New Year's Special! Normally $299) | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Annette Fix
January 22, 2013 Writing a Children's or Young Adult Novel NEW! | 4 Weeks | $100 | Limit: 20 Students | Instructor: Margo L. Dill February 4, 2013 Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults NEW! | 8 Weeks | $175 SALE! (First Time Sale! Normally $200) | Limit: 20 Students | Instructor: Sue Bradford Edwards February 18, 2013 Journey Through Life's Losses | 4 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Alice J. Wisler March 4, 2013 Writing Your Novel From the Ground Up: The Final Draft NEW! | 8 Weeks | $195 | Limit: 10 Students | Instructor: Diane O'Connell and Renate Reimann, PhD Writing for Children: How to Get Started and Take Hold of Your Career | 4 Weeks | $75 SALE! (Sale! Normally $100) | Limit: 20 Students | Instructor: Margo L. Dill
Empower Your Muse, Empower Your Writing Self | 4 Weeks | $50 SALE! (Sale of $75 off! Normally $125) | Limit: 25 Students | Instructor: Kelly L. Stone March 22, 2013
Click here to see all of our upcoming workshops
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