Learn to tell your story in an immersive 4-day workshop led by National Book Award Finalist and gifted writing instructor Patricia Henley!

Once you’ve reached a certain age, you’ve accumulated a wealth of wisdom and perspective. But turning your insights into stories can be challenging.

Perhaps you’ve thought about writing a memoir, but aren’t sure where to start, or what to include.

Perhaps you want to turn your experiences into stories you know others will resonate with, but get lost in the narrative arc and plot when writing your novel.

In an age of bigger is better and more is more, sometimes short stories–fiction or memoir–can reveal more of the whole than longer ones. Micro-memoir and micro-fiction can also be more manageable, and much less overwhelming, than a book-length project.
You’re a wealth of knowledge and inspiration

In this immersive 4-day workshop with gifted writing instructor Patricia Henley, you’ll explore the story possibilities inherent in your unique life experience. You’ll excavate your story-telling voice, and write and revise three short prose pieces in fiction or memoir.

Together with a small group of mature women writers, you’ll read the work of other women and learn how to model your writing after the work of those who have gone before. You’ll also gain inside knowledge about journals and magazines publishing micro prose.

You’ll also have the opportunity for one-to-one exchanges with the workshop leader, as well as post-workshop correspondence.

What you can expect at the Long Story Short Workshop
-Daily warm-up writing exercises in class
-Reading and discussing short memoirs and fiction by women
-Short writing assignments
-Daily writing time
-Providing and receiving critique and feedback
-A small cohort to learn in

What you’ll focus on
-Harvesting your memory and examining your experiences for stories
-Shaping your life experiences into powerful, authentic stories
-Excavating your unique storytelling voice, the voice that’s been waiting in the wings all your life
-Producing short-form prose (micro fiction and memoir) from idea to ready for submission
-Your writing, surrounded by women and peers in a space that invites you to be your most authentic self

What you’ll take home with you
-Three publishable pieces of short prose, ready to submit to publications, that you’ll write and revise over the course of four days
-A developed story-telling voice
-The knowledge of how to craft micro forms, in fiction and memoir
-Insight and information on publishing your work
-An experience of community with like-hearted writers

The four-day workshop is held in beautiful Eugene, Oregon, and welcomes women age 60+ (including trans women and gender-nonbinary folks comfortable in a women-centered space).

Our Workshop Hotel is the beautiful Campbell House Inn located just a few blocks from the studio. Call 541.343.1119 and ask for the Wordcrafters room block. (Your lodging is not included in the price of workshop)

Schedule

Wednesday, Sept 18
-5 pm: Check-in begins at the Wordcrafters Studio
-6 pm: Welcome Dinner at Jazzy Ladies

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Sept 19-21
-10 am-noon: morning session
-Noon-4 pm: Writing time in the studio
-4-6 pm: afternoon session
-TBA: A reading/talk with Patricia at the Eugene Public Library

Sunday, Sept 22
-10 am-noon: final session
-Noon: farewells

Questions? Email us at bewriting@wordcrafters.org

Register here: https://wordcrafters.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/wordcrafters/eventRegistration.jsp?event=2014&

Date: September 18-September 22, 2024

Times: 5 pm-6 pm Sept 18 | all day Sept 19-Sept 21 | 10 am-noon Sept 22

Location: Wordcrafters Studio 436 Charnelton St. Ste. 100, Eugene, OR 97401

Price: Pay From Your Heart
We want everyone to have access to our writing programs. Choose the ticket price that best reflects your financial capacity. If you need further support, please contact us at bewriting@wordcrafters.org.

Participant: $487
Sustainer: $649
Patron: $799

Members save 10% at whatever level they can commit to, on this and other events and classes. Want to know more about becoming a Wordcrafter? Click here: https://wordcrafters.org/be-a-wordcrafter/

About Patricia Henley

Patricia Henley’s micro-memoirs have appeared in Brevity, Atticus Review, Gargoyle, Booth, and other journals. She is the author of three novels, four collections of stories, two chapbooks of poetry, and a stage play. Her first novel, Hummingbird House, was a finalist for the National Book Award and The New Yorker Fiction Prize. Haywire Books published a 20th Anniversary Edition of Hummingbird House in November, 2019. Her short fiction has appeared in The Atlantic, Ploughshares, The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and other journals. Her first collection of stories, Friday Night at Silver Star (Graywolf), won the Montana First Book Award. Her work has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, Circle of Women, The Last Best Place, and other anthologies.