Fiction galore! Here’s some more fiction-focused panels at this years Winter Wheat!
“The Kitchen Sink, the Teaspoon: Telling It All vs. Telling Barely Enough,” with Brad Modlin
When should writing go maximalist and pack itself full with details, complexities, chewy sentences, asides, long paragraphs, regret from high school days, and nostalgia for the tangerines your aunt gave you? When to—minimalist—seize the jugular? We will explore examples of maximalism and minimalism from writers of all three genres, such as David Foster Wallace, Amy Hempel, Margaret Atwood, and David Shields. And we will flex both kinds of muscle in our own writing exercises. All genres welcome.
Brad Modlin is the author of Everyone at This Party Has Two Names (Southeast Missouri State U Press, 2016) which won the Cowles Poetry Book Prize—and the author of Surviving in Drought, a small forthcoming fiction collection that won The Cupboard’s annual contest. His nonfiction publications include River Teeth, Florida Review,Fourth Genre, and DIAGRAM. Find him at bradaaronmodlin.com
(this workshop will be held on Friday, November 4th from 4:30-5:45pm. If you’re interested in attending this workshop, select B6 when you register!)
“Look Who’s Talking: Writing Believable Dialogue,” with Courtney Ebert
Anyone can get stuck when trying to write dialogue that is believable and stays true to their characters. We may even let our own voices overpower our characters’ voices, forget that our characters are doing something while they talk, or let our characters ramble on too long. In this workshop, we will explore different ways to obtain believable dialogue from our everyday lives, to make sure that our characters’ dialogue/voices are not too similar, and to create dialogue with a necessary conflict for the story.
Courtney Ebert is a senior at BGSU studying French and creative writing. She is an intern at Mid-American Review.
(this workshop will be held on Saturday, November 5th from 9:30-10:45am. If you’re interested in attending this workshop, select C4 when you register!)
“Arias and Air Guitar: Writing about Music in Fiction,” with Rebecca Orchard
From A Visit from the Goon Squad to The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter to Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nocturnes, music plays an important role in the lives of many fictional characters. Just as a vivid description of setting can anchor a work in the physical world, a compelling musical moment can give insight into a person’s inner world. What makes a musical description vivid, interesting, and essential to the dramatic action of a work? This workshop will explore ways to write about fictional encounters with music through prose examples and musical prompts.
Rebecca Orchard holds a degree in music performance from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and is a current MFA student in fiction at BGSU. In between, she has been a professional baker, a New Yorker, and a wannabe arts commentator.
(this workshop will be held on Saturday, November 5th from 11:00-12:15pm. If you’re interested in attending this workshop, select D4 when you register!)
“Brainstorming the Novel,” with Lawrence Coates
“Brainstorming the Novel” will be a discussion / workshop on conceiving and developing your novel idea. The presentation will feature an outline of the seven basic plots, some guided exercises that can be shared, and some questions that can be used to strengthen your idea or the manuscript you’re currently working on.
Lawrence Coates has published five books, most recently The Goodbye House (U of Nevada Press, 2015), a novel set amid the housing tracts of San Jose in the aftermath of the first dot com bust. His work has been recognized with the Miami University Press Novella Prize, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction.
(this workshop will be held on Saturday, November 5th from 1:30-2:45pm. If you’re interested in attending this workshop, select E3 when you register!)
“Flash Fiction Battle to the Death,” with Brian Lee Klueter and Zachary Kocanda
Back by popular demand! Contestants will have 40 minutes to write a flash fiction piece based on a photo prompt. Two finalists will be determined by the group. Those finalists will read their pieces to a live audience, who, through applause, will determine a champion.
Brian Lee Klueter has a BFA in creative writing from BGSU, and is the former creative nonfiction editor of Prairie Margins. He currently lives in Columbus, OH, and is addicted to chicken fingers.
Zachary Kocanda is a second-year MA student in creative writing at Ball State University. He earned a BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University, where he was editor-in-chief of Prairie Margins and an intern for Mid-American Review.
(this workshop will be held on Saturday, November 5th from 3:00-4:15pm. If you’re interested in attending this workshop, select F5 when you register!)