Fiction-Writing Workshop

"Fiction Essentials: Creating a Voice"
with Pamela Erens

This workshop will teach a key skill in the writing of successful fiction: the conscious creation of a voice or persona that is separate from the writer him/herself.  Through examining excerpts of published fiction and doing brief in-class exercises, workshop participants will gain an awareness of the vast variety of persona possibilities available to them in both first and third person. They'll begin to discover the great freedom and pleasure that result from fashioning a successful voice.

Workshop Leader: Pamela Erens's novel, The Understory (Ironweed Press, 2007), was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Pamela's short fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in many literary and mainstream magazines. She is the recipient of two New Jersey State Council on the Arts fellowships in fiction.

Sponsor: Dzanc Books, a nonprofit, independent publisher of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Each year, Dzanc Books holds National Workshop Day, better known as Dzanc Day. Consisting of dozens of creative writing workshops in almost as many cities, Dzanc Day provides local, affordable two-to-four hour sessions led by professional writers, authors, and editors, all open to attendance by the public for a very affordable fee. Sessions are conducted in fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and are generally suitable for writers of all levels. 

In addition to being a great way for participants to receive instruction, get inspired, and meet other local writers, Dzanc Day helps to partially fund Dzanc Books's many charitable endeavors, such as providing free writing workshops in hospitals, to the elderly, and in under-served school communities. 

Cost: $30. Visit website listed to sign up.