$395
6 Sessions
Out of stock
Once a week Tuesdays, 7:00 pm EDT - 9:00 pm EDT September 21 to October 26, 2021
Online via Zoom
This workshop has reached its capacity. Please click here to join the waitlist.
The beating heart of every great story is a unique and complicated character. In this generative workshop, participants will read like writers by isolating the character traits that make beloved stories come alive, discuss the creative process, and identify the necessary elements for a complete short story. Through in-class and at-home writing exercises, participants will examine how to craft complex characters that move readers, and will complete a draft of a brand new story. Participants will leave the course with a deeper understanding of what makes a propulsive and deeply felt narrative as well as how to wield the tools of craft to refine their draft.
Levels: Introductory, Intermediate
Capacity: 12
Led by
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Kate Milliken
Kate Milliken
Kate Milliken is the author of If I’d Known You Were Coming, winner of the 2013 Iowa Award for Short Fiction, and the novel Kept Animals, which was longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2020 First Novel Prize. The recipient of fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center, Tin House, and Yaddo, Kate holds an MFA from the Bennington College Writing Seminars.
By Kate Milliken
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Kept Animals
By Kate Milliken
Published by Scribner
It’s 1993, and Rory Ramos works as a ranch hand at the stable her stepfather manages in Topanga Canyon, California, a dry, dusty place reliant on horses and hierarchies. There she rides for the rich clientele, including twins June and Wade Fisk. While Rory draws the interest of out-and-proud June, she’s more intrigued by Vivian Price, the beautiful girl with the movie-star father who lives down the hill. Rory keeps largely separate from the likes of the Prices—but, perched on her bedroom windowsill, Rory steals glimpses of Vivian swimming in her pool nearly every night.
After Rory’s stepfather is involved in a tragic car accident, the lives of Rory, June, and Vivian become inextricably bound together. Rory discovers photography, begins riding more competitively, and grows closer to gorgeous, mercurial Vivian, but despite her newfound sense of self, disaster lurks all around her: in the parched landscape, in her unruly desires, in her stepfather’s wrecked body and guilty conscience.One night, as the relationships among these teenagers come to a head, a forest fire tears through the canyon, and Rory’s life is changed forever.
Kept Animals is narrated by Rory’s daughter, Charlie, in 2015, more than twenty years after that fateful fire. Realizing that the key to her own existence lies in the secret of what really happened that unseasonably warm fall, Charlie is finally ready to ask questions about her mother’s past. But with Rory away on assignment, Charlie knows she must unravel the truth for herself.
About this series
Writing Workshops
We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.