Join us for this powerful and inspiring four-day writing workshop that will help writers identify topics for their personal essays and explain how to craft them for magazines and newspaper editors. Using excerpts from published essays, participants will look at literary elements including characterization and dialogue, setting and sensory details, thesis and narrative arc, reflection and conclusion. You'll complete daily warm up exercises, gain new insights through craft talks, and learn how to revise and submit your work to editors professionally. Participants will have the option to share drafts in a safe and supportive setting. You'll leave with a bibliography of related books, websites, podcasts, and a robust list of self-generated topics so that you can begin your work as a personal essayist.
Led by veteran journalist, essayist and author Melissa Hart, a long-time contributing editor for The Writer Magazine and an instructor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University. Melissa has taught at conferences for writers, teachers, librarians and booksellers all over the Pacific Northwest, California and New York. Between sessions, enjoy Ashland’s quaint Main Street, iconic Lithia Park, or relax with other writers in the extensive pollinator gardens surrounding the inn.
Dates: Thursday, August 29th 5 p.m. through Sunday, September 1st 11 a.m.
Cost: Workshop fee $395 per participant plus lodging for the whole weekend as follows: $375 (triple-occupancy room); $525 (double-occupancy room); $675 (single-occupancy room). The lodging fee includes a welcome meal at the inn Thursday evening, breakfast Friday — Sunday, and tickets to an evening OSF performance, details TBA.
What to expect:
Thursday at 5 p.m., arrive and get settled in your room, then join the group for a wine and appetizer event in the inn’s charming great room. You’ll get to know your fellow participants as Melissa sets the stage for the weekend’s work.
Friday and Saturday: following breakfast at 8:30 a.m., prepared by longtime innkeeper Dean Clark, you’ll dig in with group sessions interspersed with breaks for individual work and sharing.
Either Friday or Saturday evening, you’ll join the group for an OSF show, selection to be announced. Otherwise, you’re free to enjoy one of the top-rated restaurants in downtown Ashland, just a short stroll from the inn.
Sunday morning, after breakfast, you’ll wrap up with Melissa in a final session, then check-out by 11 a.m.
TO REGISTER call our innkeeper Dean at 541-482-1919. You can select a triple, double, or single occupancy room, and pay your deposit by credit card or check. The workshop fee of $395 is paid by check directly to the instructor — details provided upon registration. If the workshop is full, you can opt to be added to the waiting list. A workshop deposit of $100 plus the first night’s lodging is due upon registration, with balance due on the first day of the course.
Cancellation policies: Full refund of workshop fee and lodging deposit for cancellations up to 14 days before the event. For cancellations after that time, a will be issued if the spot is filled by a wait-listed participant, or a voucher of the deposit will be provided to use toward a future conference.