Summer 2001

All classes are held at the Hudson Valley Writers' Center and
are limited to 10 students unless otherwise indicated.

Fall 2001 Class Schedule

--- Writing Retreat with Susan Pliner
--- If You Can Tell It You Can Sell It: How To Get Your Words In Print with Beth Holden
--- The Write of Your Life with Reggie Marra
--- Screenwriting with Staton Rabin
--- Romancing the Poem with Rebecca McClanahan
--- Creative Non-Fiction with Rebecca McClanahan
--- Fiction Writing with David Surface
--- Manuscript Review with David Surface

--- Getting Published: A Panel Discussion

Explore the varied and moderate trails of the Rockefeller Preserve in a day of close observation of the natural world with poet and gardener Susan Pliner. Featured last July in The New York Times, this workshop asks participants to write short descriptive passages on location, beginning with the smallest fern on the forest floor and working toward what we can see in the larger river and meadow vistas. There will be time for editing and revision with a longish piece of poetry or descriptive prose as the goal for the end of each day. Retreat begins and ends at the Writers’ Center. Bring carry-all with writing equipment and a bag lunch. Bottled water will be provided.

Ms. Pliner is a poet and gardener. She has taught writing at Teachers College, Yale, Sarah Lawrence's Writing Institute, and Wave Hill. Her poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, and The Paris Review. She has been a gardener and educator at the New York Botanical Garden.

return to top

A nuts and bolts workshop covering the nitty-gritty of freelance writing. Learn the markets and how to crack them, how to get writing clips without experience, and gain other practical information you need to know to get your writing published. Includes how to write an effective query letter.

Ms. Holden has worked for eleven years as a freelance writer. She worked on the Late Show with David Letterman from 1993-96 and reported and wrote articles for Allure magazine from 1996 -98. Her stories and articles have appeared also in Incentive, Self, Adult Education Today, Great Life, Soundings, McCall's, Family Circle, YM, New Age, and the Thursday section of The Daily News.

return to top

Each week will have a different topic (e.g. “Choice and Change: Telling Our Life Stories,” “The Power and Paradox of Silence,” or “Stuckness, Gumption Traps and Value Rigidity”) through which you will explore your values, beliefs and experiences at whatever depth you feel comfortable. All workshops will provide participants with basic writing guidelines, especially - but not only - what to do when you don’t know what to write. Reading aloud (if you choose) and getting feedback (if you request it) will provide additional opportunities to enhance your self-exploration and your writing.

Poet and teacher Reggie Marra hosts The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center’s Open Mike Night every month. He was a high school teacher and coach for fourteen years, a college lecturer and administrator for seven years, and has been a poetry-writing workshop leader for groups of all ages - from second-graders to grandparents. He has also been a poet-in-residence for New Milford, CT’s Promising Young Poets Program for the past several years. He is the author of The Quality of Effort: Integrity in Sport and Life for Student-Athletes, Parents, and Coaches.

return to top

SCREENWRITING
with Staton Rabin
3 Sundays, July 15, 22, 29
2:30 - 4:30 pm
Fee: $150 ($130 for members)

Screenwriting, done well, is an art, but it always begins as a craft. Just as a dancer masters the five positions before undertaking Swan Lake, so a screenwriter must learn the basics of form before finding "Hollywood" success. Whether you've never written a screenplay or, having mastered the essentials, you're wondering why Spielberg isn't beating down your door, this course gives you the tools you need. Topics include concept development, format, story structure, characters, dialogue, selling your script, and screenwriters' most common mistakes. There will be a guest speaker from the film industry.
Class size will be 8 - 15 students.

Ms. Rabin is a screenwriter and freelance story analyst who has evaluated hundreds of film projects for Warner Bros. Pictures, the William Morris Agency, and New Line Cinema. She is a screenplay competition judge for Scr(i)pt magazine. Betsy and the Emperor, a novel she wrote based on her own film treatment, is the basis of a movie expected to star Al Pacino. Her most recent screenplay, A Quiet Town, has James Whitmore's commitment to star. She has a BFA in Film from New York University (NYU) and is a frequent guest in Mark DeGasperi's NYU course in screenplay marketing.

return to top

-- Back by popular demand, in an extended format.
If you’ve never had an affair with poetry, or if you wish to rekindle your passion, this is the workshop for you. You will be introduced to contemporary poets writing in various forms, discuss issues of caft and creativity, and write and revise poems of your own. Suitable for beginning or intermediate poets.

Rebecca McClanahan has extensive teaching experience at the secondary school and college levels and has published three books of poetry and two books of nonfiction, most recently Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively. A new book of poems, Naked As Eve, was recently released. She has received a Pushcart Prize in fiction, the Wood Prize from Poetry magazine, and the Carter Prize for the essay from Shenandoah. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, The Gettysburg Review, The Kenyon Review, Boulevard, The Best American Poetry 1998, and The Best American Essays 2001.

return to top

This workshop will focus on shaping your creative nonfiction pieces for the reader's eye Although there will be brief weekly assignments and continuing discussion of issues surrounding creative nonfiction, the emphasis will be on close review of your drafts and helpful responses from the instructor and fellow students.

Rebecca McClanahan has extensive teaching experience at the secondary school and college levels and has published three books of poetry and two books of nonfiction, most recently Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively. A new book of poems, Naked As Eve, was recently released. She has received a Pushcart Prize in fiction, the Wood Prize from Poetry magazine, and the Carter Prize for the essay from Shenandoah. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, The Gettysburg Review, The Kenyon Review, Boulevard, The Best American Poetry 1998, and The Best American Essays 2001.

return to top

Designed for writers at all levels, this course introduces you to various narrative strategies that help break through inhibitions and release a powerful, personal voice onto the page. You will look at how other writers have unlocked their imaginations and then try these techniques in writing exercises and peer-group critiques that sympathetically develop the skills needed to create more imaginative and emotionally rich work.

Mr. Surface's fiction has been published in numerous literary journals, including DoubleTake, North American Review, Crazyhorse, Fiction, Willow Spring, and Artful Dodge. Excerpts from his novel, A Good Life, have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has taught as a writer-in-the-schools for the Lincoln Center Education Department and as a Visiting Writer at the College of Wooster.

return to top

This class of no more than six students will focus exclusively on manuscript critique. Interested students should submit a brief writing sample to the HVWC no later than 6/22 to insure consideration. (After 6/22, inquire at office for space availability.)

Mr. Surface's fiction has been published in numerous literary journals, including DoubleTake, North American Review, Crazyhorse, Fiction, Willow Spring, and Artful Dodge. Excerpts from his novel, A Good Life, have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has taught as a writer-in-the-schools for the Lincoln Center Education Department and as a Visiting Writer at the College of Wooster.

return to top

Our mailboxes, desks, and libraries overflow with written material, most by people paid to produce it. So why does getting published seem so difficult? This gathering will help evaporate some of the mystery and is both for those who want to break into print and those seeking to expand their publishing opportunities. Panelists include Herbert Hadad, a regular HVWC instructor whose work has appeared widely in publications from Yankee to The New York Times; Beth Holden, described above; member Michelle Leder, a full-time freelance writer who specializes in writing about finance and business; and others on both sides of the publishing desk. Editors seeking writers are being encouraged to come. Bring your questions and your business cards!

return to top

Notes:

HVWC = The Hudson Valley Writers' Center, 300 Riverside Drive, Sleepy Hollow, NY. Classes and worshops are held in the restored Philipse Manor railroad station. For travel directions, visit our Directions page or see train schedules at Metro-North's Hudson River Line.

For further information about any of these classes or workshops, call the Writers' Center at 914-332-5953.

return to top