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Seaside
Institute
Writers' Workshop
Sponsored by FIU's
Creative Writing Department
October 20-23, 2004
Seaside, Florida Panhandle Region
This
enduring conference provides an exciting panorama for writers.
You'll find great ocean views along with invited (and resident)
faculty members who are among the top-named contemporary authors
today.
The workshops continue from October 20 for a four day program
of day and evening events to October 23. Seminars begin on the
morning of Wednesday, October 20 and conclude (sometimes with
a great wrap party) on Saturday night. Invited speakers and
regular faculty who are participating this year include:
ANITA
SHREVE (All He Ever Wanted), Fiction
MADELEINE BLAIS (Uphill Walkers), Non-Fiction
MEGHAN DAUM, (My Misspent Youth), Telling the Story.
Previous
instructors include Connie May Fowler (Before Women Had Wings,
The Problem with Murmur Lee) and resident faculty member LYNNE
BARRETT (The Secret Names of Women), Revising for the Plot (Pictured
L/R).
Additional faculty at this year's FIU/Seaside conference:
JOHN DUFRESNE (Deep in the Shade of Paradise), Writing the Novel
DENISE DUHAMEL (Queen for a Day), Poetry
DAN WAKEFIELD (Spiritually Incorrect), Memoir
MARIAN YOUNG, New York Literary Agent
and
LES
STANDIFORD [pictured
below] (Last Train to Paradise), Structure in Screenplay and
Novel
When
you visit Seaside for this event, you'll find the scenery in this
village screams for genre titles: Murder on the Dunes,
or Grayton Beach Siren. This town's atmosphere, and the
workshops given by the university faculty start the ideas flowing.
Sure, you think theses titles just pop out. Just wait until you
have to get up for the 7:30 AM morning workshops with John Dufresne.
These morning exercises fill up fast, with the non-morning people
participating with the cheery had-my-coffee-at-sunrise types.
The meeting room expands to meet the needs of night owls who sit
next to an early rising Birdsong Betty. She's the writer who is
always organized and she sits next to someone who isn't. Someone
who asks to borrow things; nothing better than mental conflict
in the morning.
And
yet they all get along. After all, the participants are writers
who are attending Seaside to accomplish the next step
in their careers. If you are serious about perfecting your craft,
this is the place to do it.
Classes are held in private seaside cottages leased out for
this event. You'll sit in living rooms of homes that could appear
in Southern Living or Architectural Digest—yes,
they are spiffy and may be somewhat distracting since your goal
is to think about character development not I wonder if
this couch would fit in my game room. Each day offers up
to three different classes. Attend them all or choose according
to your writing goals. Listen to afternoon panels where the
topic of book publishing is discussed.
At night, author readings and more informal events are planned
and generally listed on the handouts. If you miss the first
day's orientation, ask other participants to let you see their
copies. You'll need the guide for each day you attend until
you get oriented.
This conference offers great sessions and great value for your
writing dollar. In addition, the faultless beaches and charming
location allow for the best of all worlds for a writer's lexicon:
vacationing while plotting.
USF
Florida Suncoast
Writer's Conference
February's great escape. An event
with more than twenty-five years of outstanding
workshops, authors,
agents, and editors.
By Colleen Tripp
Writer's
Conference
Planning & Tips
Plan
ahead to get more from the workshops, to meet authors, agents,
and editors that you'll encounter at a writing conference.
By Kate Sullivan
Word
Smitten's Storycove (Flash Fiction)
Native Shore
Fiction (Short Stories)
