Frank Conroy, the long-time director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop once said, In good writing, you can feel a soul pressing up against the narrative. The question is how do writers discover that “soul” and translate it into good storytelling? We’ll first focus on finding the soul that’s pushing you to write by offering a true laboratory, a safe place to inspire and experiment with new ideas generated by in-class prompts and exercises. We will talk about the craft of narrative, as well. Students will be required to read assigned essays and memoir excerpts outside of class to get a sense of the forms and techniques of narrative. The hope is students will be well on their way with a map for a new project by the end of class. The Writer’s Laboratory is ideal for beginning writers but also for more established writers seeking to generate new lively autobiographical material. | Maximum: 12 writers