Upcoming Courses
To register and for more information:
sands@sandshall.com
Fiction Strategies for the Memoirist
SATURDAYS, October 14-November 18 12:00-3:00 PST (Zoom)
I began as a fiction writer, and loved getting to know the tools of that particular craft; for years, I wrote and taught and edited works of fiction. When I began to work on my memoir, it was a lovely surprise to realize how much I could rely on those hard-earned techniques and strategies. The purpose of this course is to convey those ideas to you, so that you can put them to use as you work on your own memoir.
Every Saturday, we’ll study published examples that incorporate specific elements of craft; weekly prompts allow you to apply these techniques to your own writing. These assignments, shared in a workshop forum, include topics such as how to build effective scenes (using remembered moments), how point of view applies to the memoirist, and how to move between scene and summary as well as how and when to incorporate reflection. Come prepared to read and write; you will leave with powerful tools to apply to your entire manuscript. Includes an Individual Conference. Limited to eight participants.
Email me via the “enroll” button below, and I’ll be in touch with registration and payment information.
$495. Includes an individual conference to discuss how to apply what you’ve learned to your particular project.
SCENE: The Essential Building Block of Story (Fiction, Memoir, Creative Nonfiction)
Weekend Intensive, November 25 & 26
Saturday & Sunday: 10:00-12:00 & 2:00-4:00 PST (Zoom)
Limited to eight participants
Whether we’re writers of fiction or playwrights or memoirists, we’re up to the same thing, which is building a story. And stories, no matter the form or genre, proceed scene by scene. With the help of published examples, we’ll examine the essential elements of scene. We’ll look at character and character needs, discuss the importance of setting and activity and the power inherent in inanimate objects; we’ll take a look at point of view and sense of place, and even talk about creating effective dialogue. Targeted assignments, which allow you to put theory into practice, are discussed in a workshop forum. You’ll leave this weekend with a powerful understanding of scene, and how to incorporate this essential into your own work.
Email me via the “enroll” button below, and I’ll be in touch with registration and payment information.
$225
Tools of the Writer’s Craft (Fiction, Memoir)
Six Saturdays
I’ll offer this course again in 2024
While some aspects of the writing life are ones over which we have little dominion—luck, timing, gestalt, even talent—what we can begin to control is our craft, and that is the focus of this workshop. With the aid of handouts and weekly assignments, we’ll focus on tools and techniques that make writing effective, including the differences between and respective uses of showing and telling, a thorough understanding of point of view and its relation to sense of place, and the all-important understanding of how to craft an effective scene. In the process, we’ll also look at some dialogue pitfalls and helpful hints. Each session ends with an assignment that asks you to apply—practice—what we’ve been looking at in class; that writing is critiqued the following week in a workshop forum. Come prepared to work hard; you will leave with deep confidence in your writer’s craft.
$495. Includes an individual conference.
POINT OF VIEW: An Introduction to the Options
This course is full. Email me if you’d like to be informed about the next session.
Limited to eight participants.
Whether we’re working on stories or a novel or a memoir, it’s essential to understand point of view. Yet the topic can seem vast and inchoate—or so simplistic that it’s possible to wonder what the fuss is about. This course is designed to clarify this delightful and essential aspect of all creative writing, and to give you tools to utilize into this rewarding piece of craft. With the help of published examples, we’ll examine various options and strategies, and the reasons for selecting one particular perspective over another. We’ll look at examples written in first person and third; we’ll examine more “distant” narrators, including that fascinating but often misunderstood option, omniscient; we’ll also take a look at how memoirists put these ideas to work. Short assignments, discussed in a workshop forum, will strengthen your ability to utilize point of view; the course will deepen your understanding of your narrator(s) (even if that narrator is yourself), and how to get her/him/them effectively onto the page.
Email me via the “enroll” button below, and I’ll be in touch with registration and payment information.
$225
The Next Draft (Novel, Memoir)
I’ll be offering this course again in 2023. Let me know if it interests you and I’ll be in touch.
Limited to eight participants
Email me via the “enroll” button, below, and I’ll be in touch with dates and registration information.
So you’ve finished your manuscript! Or you’re very close. Congratulations are in order, but you also know it needs a rewrite—at least one—before it’s ready to meet the world. How do you begin that process?
In our six weeks together we’ll roll up our sleeves and examine what you’ve accomplished so far, including issues of plot and character (as apropos to memoir as they are to fiction). Then, with the help of weekly assignments, we’ll focus on specific aspects of craft, including issues of characterization; scene (that vital building block of any story); as well as the differences between scene, summary, and the all-important reflection (again, ideas as intrinsic to fiction as they are to memoir). While you’ll no doubt refer to your current draft, you’ll be writing new material for every class meeting—writing that will incorporate the ideas and insights discussed in class. That is, while you’ll write for (and workshop) every session, the writing is expected to be new. Come prepared to work hard. You’ll leave with confidence and enthusiasm to head into your next draft.
$495. Includes an individual conference to discuss how to apply what you’ve learned to your particular manuscript.
Education
M.F.A. Fiction: Iowa Writer’s Workshop, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
M.F.A. Theatre Arts: University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Advanced Training Program, Acting: A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theatre), San Francisco, California.
B.A. Drama (magna cum laude): University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California.
Work History
Franklin & Marshall College: 2008 – 2020
University of California, Davis Extension: 1998 – 2004
Iowa Summer Writing Festival: 1990 – present
Community of Writers at Squaw Valley: 1989 – present
Sierra Writer’s Workshop: 1993 – 1998
American River College: 1994 – 1998
University of Iowa Extension: 1990 – 1995
Honors
2001: “Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Service in Continuing Education” University Extension, University of California, Davis
1998: May Martin Goyne Outstanding Woman in the Arts Award, for Literary Contributions.