This one-on-one program combines personalized instruction in the art and craft of short story writing with meeting your writing goals, sustaining motivation, the submission process, publishing, and more. The program provides support for your project and you as a writer, from a published writer and professional developmental editor. The program lasts eight (8) weeks. We will schedule when you submit your writing and receive feedback according to your project and needs. Typically, mentees submit up to five (5) pages of writing each week and receive feedback within two (2) days, along with substantial ideas and resources. Mentoring is suitable for students working on developing and polishing short stories for submission.
lso included:
THREE (3) ZOOM CALLS:Call #1 (30 minutes during week 1), to discuss your project and goals.
Call #2 (30 minutes during week 4), review questions or considerations and set/revise goals.Call #3 (30 minutes during week 8), address remaining questions and set up next steps, discuss submission options.
RESOURCES:
The mentor will suggest exemplar writing, craft pieces, helpful books, authors to follow, and/or other resources.
GOAL:
Depending on your progress and writing level, we will aim to complete three or four edited and submission-ready short stories (of approximately 6000 words each), develop your writing tool kit, and your understanding of the submission process.
LEVEL:
Intermediate / Advanced writers
WHERE:
ZOOM and via email
DURATION:
Eight (8) weeks
ADMISSION:
Rolling admissions year-round
START DATE:
The program begins during, or shortly after, the first week of the season, with the writer's first submission and the first Zoom call (mutually agreed upon date and time)
END DATE:
Eight (8) weeks after the start date, with the final feedback and last Zoom call
For more info, please call 203.227.3250 or email dramaticlabs@westportwritersworkshop.com
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About the Instructor:
Sam Keller's short fiction has been a Narrative Story of the Week, a finalist in American Short Fiction's Halifax Ranch Prize, and shortlisted in the Bridport Prize. She recently won the Anthony Grooms' Prize 2024 and appears in The Connecticut Literary Anthology 2024. Sam completed her MFA at Fairfield University, taught a fiction workshop at the Darien Arts Center, and works as a freelance Developmental Editor. Her first children’s picture book will be published in the UK in 2025. Her first novel, The Light Remains, received an honorary mention in the Fairfield Book Prize and will be published in 2025. Visit her website here.