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- “The masterclass format is an excellent way to learn, in detail, how editors and
agents think, act, and work. I got a ton out of this fast-paced workshop
and will definitely return.”
— David Dennis, alum
- “I liked the small size and contact with faculty. Faculty and peer critiques were done with care;
all candid and constructive. I also learned a lot from the pre-workshop homestudy.”
— Annemarie O’Brien, debut author of Lara’s Gift (Knopf/Random House)
- “Well organized, well structured. Everything moved smoothly. I liked the intimacy.
My faculty questions were answered. Friendly writers!”
— Natasha Yim, author of
Otto’s Rainy Day (Charlesbridge), a Kids’ Pick of the Lists selection
- “Critiquing peer manuscripts before the workshop meant I could put much more thought into
them than with a cold reading. Very helpful to see how differently the various faculty assessed the same manuscript.”
— Bobbie Pyron, author of The Ring (WestSide Books)
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SAMPLE WEEKEND SCHEDULE (Not 2021)
Revise and Shine! Polish Your Novel with the Pros
For details about teens’ concurrent schedule, read the Teens workshop pages.
WORKSHOP HOURS
THURS. Check-in starts 4:30 PM.
Teens’ check-in starts 5:00 PM.
FRI. Teens 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Everyone 3:00 to 5:45 PM,
after dinner
faculty talks, teen s’mores and open mic
SAT. 8:15 AM to 6:15 PM
Dinner is “Writer’s Night Out”
(on your own); teen party night
SUN. 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM (includes lunch) |
Start times: Adults Friday 3:00 PM; teens Thursday 5:00 PM. There may be Friday private consults or an optional focus session before 3:00 PM. Adults may also check in Thursday after 4:30 PM (added fee) or Friday early. Enjoy the quiet beach outside your door!
Overview: If you’ve polished a complete draft of your novel—or if you have a story beginning that sparkles, and a solid idea of where it’s going—our seminar may be perfect for you. Our whole-novel focus features in-depth critiques, advanced novel-crafting sessions, and an intimate group of savvy peers. Top professionals will work with you on macro and micro revisions—insider’s tools to help shape your manuscript for publication.
In the schedule below, color-coding denotes different activities and tracks: focus sessions, three-minute Spot Critiques on teens’ first pages, Masterclass Critiques by editor-agent team on partials with open clinic format, and whole-novel consults. To see guidelines for critiques of whole novels (Group A) and partials (Groups B and B-Plus), read our overview.
 Teens-only sessions are indicated with this icon and purple font.
 |
| Sit, dream, write… |
| THURSDAY |
Adults: Optional, informal get-together
Teens: Creative icebreakers, pizza dinner, focus session |
| FRIDAY |
Morning and/or early afternoon: Group B-Plus consults
(with Kat Dougherty; see 8:45 PM for her bio) |
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8:00 AM Morning Muse aka self-directed writing; 9:15 craft sessions till 11:50 lunch, 12:50 to 2:10 more craft sessions followed by snack and free time. Unless otherwise noted, teens attend all Friday sessions shown below. |
| 3:00 |
Welcome! All gather for faculty and peer intros. |
| 3:15 |
Focus Session #1 (Keynotes) Shape Your Novel for Publication Tips for self-editing and revision. Each presenter: 20 minutes. (Editor, agent, bestselling author) |
| 4:15 |
Break |
| 4:25 |
Masterclass Critique #1 |
| 4:45 |
Spot Critiques #1, 2, 3 Editor and agent critique teens’ opening pages; each author’s total time is 4 to 5 minutes. |
| 5:10 |
Teen-led Panel Teens field adults’ pre-selected literary questions; offer Spot Critiques on selected adults’ partial and full novel manuscripts. |
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6:00 Break, optional beach sports |
| 6:00 |
Break |
| 6:30 |
Dinner (Meals are mostly organic; vegetarian options.
Dessert deferred. See 8:15 PM.) |
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6:45 Dinner, followed by teens’ open mic (watch and/or
perform creative acts—writing in any genre, music,
drama,
dance, comedy… magic tricks?!... or artshare) |
| 7:30 |
Masterclass Critiques #2, 3 |
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8:15 S’mores with beach bonfire, and/or take a moonlight walk—if weather does not permit, enjoy movie with popcorn and indoor s’mores. |
| 8:15 |
Socialize, refreshments |
| 8:45 |
Focus Session Spice Up Your YA (Any Genre) with Romance Why does one love story steal a reader’s heart and another feel flat and uninteresting? We’ll explore the essentials of effective YA Romance, then see how you can use these elements to warm up any story. (With story consultant and YA novelist Kat Dougherty; past chapter president, Romance Writers of America.) |
| SATURDAY |
| Continental breakfast starts at 8:00 AM; available all morning. |
| 8:15 |
Whole Novel Initial Consults (45-minute sessions, 10-minute breaks; till 11:45) |
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8:00-11:45 Morning Muse writing, focus sessions, attend one whole-novel consult
with editor or agent. |
| 12:00 |
Lunch (everyone together) |
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1:10-1:55 Focus Session #2, then break or optional 2:00 session |
| 1:10 |
Focus Session #2 “What If...?” A strong narrative consists of many small but pivotal decisions. So what if one of these scenarios changed? Challenge each of your characters to go beyond what’s currently on the page to see if a slight change in direction unfolds a stronger adventure. Only by analyzing the smaller details can we truly test our narrative arc and perhaps create an entirely different and more compelling outcome—keeping novel revisions, and subsequently the reader, at their most engaged and absolute best. Through group discussion, flow charts, and cause and effect diagrams, this session will be full of what if speed bumps to get those creative juices flowing. Get ready to change lanes and test your imaginative limits! (Editor) |
| 2:00 |
Focus Session #3 Line Editing: What and Why? Editor and agent share a few pages of enrollees’ manuscripts, revealing reasons for their line-editing choices. Samples are sent to enrollees to edit in advance. Then we’ll compare and discuss. |
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3:20 Meetings Concurrent 15-20 minute sessions: (a) with whole-novel authors teens
have critiqued, and (b) one-on-one critiques with teens’ faculty. Break until 4:20 snack. |
| 4:20 |
Snack |
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4:40 Focus Sessions Two sessions; the first for those not attending the concurrent, optional Focus Session #4 (see below). Dismiss at 6:15 for dinner and party night. |
| 4:40 |
Focus Session #4 It’s What’s On the Inside That Counts! Let’s talk about interiority—those crucial glimpses into what characters are thinking and feeling that make readers care about them. Without that insight, an otherwise solid story can fail to convince readers (or agents or editors) to invest their time and attention in it. We’ll look at examples of effective interiority and discuss how they raise the emotional stakes of a character’s journey, and discuss ways you can add dimension to your own characters by giving readers context for what they think, say, and do. (Agent) |
| 5:35 |
Focus Session #5 Turning Real Life into Fiction: The how and why of turning true-life people and true-life situations into characters and plots, along with the importance of digging into the emotional realities—both glorious and ghastly—that all readers can relate to because of our common human condition. (Chris Crutcher, bestselling YA author) |
| 6:15 |
Dinner “on your own” |
 |
| Making unusual ice cream! |
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6:15 Teens’ pizza party and other evening
activities.
May include baking, music jam, movie, games, crafts…
more s’mores? |
| SUNDAY |
| Continental breakfast starts at 7:30 AM; available all morning. Teens do not attend whole-novel consults today, but remain in teens’ focus sessions. |
| 8:00 |
Whole Novel Follow-up Consults (30-minute sessions, 10-minute breaks) |
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8:00 Morning Muse Writing then 9:20 Focus Sessions including wordcraft, wrap-up revision and sharing. 11:10 break, check-out. Join adults at 11:30. |
| 11:00 |
Focus Session #6 Craft a Winning Flap Copy
Writing a mock flap copy for your novel is an excellent
tool to help pinpoint your story’s core. Flap copy is also
easily converted to a query letter element. Faculty will
review an enrollee’s flap copy for a workshop manuscript,
which everyone may review in advance. Then each faculty
will provide a model flap copy and discuss it, suggest
tips
for creating your own. (Editor and agent) |
| 11:30 |
Spot Critiques #4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| 12:00 |
Take-home Enrollees’ single sentences; editor and
agent
wrap up |
| 12:20 |
Lunch (or lunch to-go) and brief written evaluations |
| 1:00 |
THE END… or hang out for a while at the beach. Then stay in touch. |
See you
next year at the sea!
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Sept. 29–Oct. 2, 2022 (Virtual) 
INQUIRE EARLY for maximum critique options and lowest fees on full novels or partials. See