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“The Truth Told Slant: Personal Experience Turned into Fiction” with Nan Cuba

September 16 2023 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM CDT

$59.00 – $119.00

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$59 for Members
$119 for Non-Members

Can’t make it to the live class? No problem! All classes are recorded and made available to class registrants for one month.

Do you have personal stories you want to fictionalize? 

People we’ve known, moments we’ve witnessed, conversations we’ve overheard, places we’ve been: these influence aspects of our fiction. Sometimes, a whole experience is so profound, we decide to use that memory as inspiration for a story. But how does a writer free herself from the restrictions of facts in order to follow craft requirements for producing meaningful art? This class will introduce techniques for identifying appropriate material and then adapting it for fiction. Personal examples will be shared and participants will be guided through a sample exercise.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF

  • You’ve had a personal experience you’d like to adapt to fiction.
  • You have trouble moving beyond facts to craft fiction.
  • You can’t pick a personal experience that can be adapted to fiction.
  • You can’t decide whether to stick to facts or fictionalize an experience.

The deadline to register for this class is Friday, September 15 at 5:00 PM CDT.

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

The WLT is committed to making our online classes accessible to all writers including writers who do not have the financial means to pay for programming. Five (5) seats in this class have been set aside for scholarship recipients to attend free of charge. Please fill out this application no later than 2 days prior to the class to be considered for one of the scholarship seats. We do not ask for any corroborating documents; we only ask that you help us understand your situation. If you are selected for one of the available seats you will be notified via email (from ) no later than 24 hours before the start of the class. Please note, each writer is limited to no more than four (4) total scholarship seats per catalog season.

Instructor

Nan Cuba is the author of Body and Bread, winner of the PEN Southwest Award in Fiction and the Texas Institute of Letters Steven Turner Award; it was listed as one of "Ten Titles to Pick Up Now" in O, Oprah's Magazine and was a "Summer Books" choice from Huffington Post. She reported on the causes of extraordinary violence in LIFE, Third Coast, and D Magazine. Texas Monthly included Cuba in its group of "Ten to Watch." She is the founder and executive director emeritus of Gemini Ink, a nonprofit literary center (www.geminiink.org) and teaches in the MA/MFA Program in Literature, Creative Writing, and Social Justice at Our Lady of the Lake University, where she is writer-in-residence. Her website is www.nancuba.com.

Before purchasing, please read all policies as noted below and on our Classes page.

If your browser has difficulty with our website store, or if you prefer to mail in a check, click here for a class registration form. The document provides instructions on where to mail it. If you prefer this option, please email wlt@writersleague.org with a copy of the form as well to ensure we add you to the class roster as soon as possible.

Expecting to see the member price, but it’s not appearing?

Confirm you are logged into your account first and foremost. The member price will only appear when you are logged into your account and have an active membership on file. If you are having trouble accessing your account, please email member@writersleague.org and explain the situation.

Class & Event Registration Policy

Once a purchase has been made, registrations are not refundable and cannot be transferred to a different class or event. No exceptions will be made. If you purchase a registration and then find you cannot attend the class or event, someone else can attend in your stead. Simply contact us at wlt@writersleague.org and let us know the name and contact information for the person who will be using the registration so that we can update the class or event roster.

Credit Card Transaction Handling Fee Policy

All credit card transactions will incur a 4% handling fee. If you’d prefer to pay by check for membership, a class, or an event, you can use the provided forms on the membership or event pages and mail to: WLT, P.O. Box 14355, Austin, TX, 78704.

HOW WLT CLASSES WORK:

Our classes offer a combination of lecture and practical exercises, determined by the individual instructor, on focused aspects of the craft and business of writing. Your fellow participants will come from a range of writing experience, from beginners to people with MFA degrees and published books. WLT instructors, participants, and administrators all work together to create a welcoming, supportive environment.

If you haven’t taken a class with us in recent years, feel free to email the WLT staff at wlt@writersleague.org if you’d like to discuss whether our programming is the right fit for your needs.

HOW ONLINE CLASSES WORK:

Once you register for the class, you’ll receive an email with detailed instructions no later than 48 hours before the class date. You should expect 2-2.5 hours of direct teaching and 30 minutes of Q&A (for three hours total). If you need to leave the class early or can’t attend the class on that date, all registrants will have access to the recording for one month after the class date. No microphone or camera required, just an Internet connection capable of streaming video. All online classes are hosted on Zoom. To learn more about how Zoom works, click HERE. 

Plan to log in to the online platform an hour before the class so that you can update your software or any other settings required to access the platform. (Updates usually only take a few minutes, but you don’t want to wait until the beginning of class.) Questions? Email us at wlt@writersleague.org.

Cultural Arts City of Austin

This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

Texas Commission on the Arts

Writers’ League of Texas classes and workshops are also funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts – Investing in a Creative Texas. For more information, go to www.arts.texas.gov.

National Endowment for the Arts

This project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Mid-America Arts Alliance

This project is supported in part by the Mid-America Arts Alliance. For more information, go to www.maaa.org.

Details

Date:
September 16 2023
Time:
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM CDT
Cost:
$59.00 – $119.00
Event Categories:
,

Venue

Online via Zoom