Anne Elliott
is the author of The Artstars: Stories (Blue Light Books / Indiana University Press) and The Beginning of the End of the Beginning (Ploughshares Solos). Her short work has been featured in Story, Crab Orchard Review, Witness, Hobart, Bellevue Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her story “Black, Black, Red, Black” appeared in A Public Space No. 28. She lives in Maine.
Workshop
Anne Elliott
Online
Sundays, March 13–April 3, 2022
Registration is now closed for this class.
Friction and Resistance Workshop
The standard advice in a fiction workshop is that stories are made from conflict. The word conflict conjures Western-style showdowns and Shakespearean sword fights. But do all stories need to involve battle? Maybe the word is wrong, but the idea is right—and what stories really need is friction, the coming together of opposites to generate electricity and heat.
In this workshop, we will look at examples of friction in stories—friction between people, between ideas, between institutions, and even the friction between the page and the reader, considering the way that a story might participate in a larger discourse of resistance. And, in the spirit of risk-taking, we will also discuss the resistance we might encounter as a normal part of the creative process, exploring ways to find the courage to push into difficult scenes, language, or subject matter.
We will investigate both published stories and the unfinished drafts of participants. Reading likely to include works by Elizabeth Bowen, Carmen Maria Machado, Mitchell S. Jackson, Margaret Atwood, Rion Amilcar Scott, and Amy Hempel. Light reading and writing homework; student work to be read aloud.
Course Schedule
Sundays, March 13–April 3, 2022
3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
4 sessions
Online on Zoom
Where are the Master Classes and workshops located?
Currently, all Master Classes and workshops are held online on Zoom.
I registered but did not receive a link. What do I do?
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Is closed captioning available?
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Are scholarships available?
Scholarships are available for all Master Classes. Scholarships are not currently offered for workshops. To apply, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the subject “Master Class Scholarship Application” and include 1) a short statement outlining your interest in this class, and how a scholarship would benefit you as a writer or a reader; and 2) a short bio. Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis.
The Master Class or workshop I want to join is sold out. Is there a waitlist?
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I signed up for a class but can't make it. Can I be refunded?
Full refunds are offered if requested at least two weeks prior to the start date of the class. After that, before the start date, we are able to offer a 50% refund. We cannot refund day-of cancellations, and we cannot refund or partially refund tuition once the class has started. Please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you need to cancel your registration.
But I signed up for a class after the cut-off point for a full refund had passed. Can I still be eligible for a full refund?
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Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel your enrollment in an Academy class, please let us know as soon as possible. We can only offer full refunds if you cancel two weeks prior to the start of class. After that, before the start date of class, we can offer a 50% refund. We cannot refund day-of cancellations, and we cannot refund or partially refund tuition once the class has begun.